Rebekka Bakken – Nord (Supreme Music Group, 2025)
Norwegian singer and songwriter Rebekka Bakken has released a mesmerizing new album titled Nord. The breathtaking record focuses on Norwegian folk material and original songs that she has preciously preserved since childhood.
The album features eleven tracks sung primarily in Norwegian, with English and Arabic lyrics appearing on select pieces. Bakken recorded Nord over four days at Kongshavn Studio with a team of outstanding musicians that provided elegant performances. These include Rune Arnesen (drums), Stein Austrud (piano, production, mixing), Eivind Aarset (electric guitar), and Svein Schultz (electric bass), alongside guest contributions from Hildegunn Øiseth (goat horn), Syrian vocalist Saleh Mahfoud, and joik singer Simon Issát Marainen. However, it is Bakken’s charming, evocative, natural and emotive vocal work that stands out throughout the album.
The repertoire features traditional Norwegian songs that Bakken associates with her upbringing in Oslo, including church hymns, lullabies, and spiritual pieces, next to new compositions. She describes the material as “prayers, laments, cries, and lullabies” that returned to her “full of their own power” after many years, and says she waited for the right group of musicians before recording them.
Nord includes the spellbinding central track “My Choicest Hours,” set in English to words by Sufi poet Rabia al-Basri and featuring a duet with Mahfoud. Another key moment brings together Bakken with Marainen on the traditional “Ingen Vinner Frem Til Den Evige Ro (None Shall Reach Eternal Rest).” Bakken cites these collaborations as expanding the album’s scope, connecting her Norwegian roots with influences that reach into Arabic song and joik traditions.
Bakken defines Nord as a present-day reimagining rather than an archival project, describing it as a way “of , not as heritage, but as living ritual.” The album follows a splendid catalogue that includes The Art Of How To Fall; the Tom Waits tribute Little Drop Of Poison; and Always On My Mind, and continues her mix of jazz, folk, pop, and world music with a strong emphasis on Nordic themes and atmosphere.
Musicians: Rebekka Bakken on lead vocal and vocal harmonies; Rune Arnesen on drums, percussion and vocal drone; Stein Austrud on synthesizers, organ, piano, kalimba, hangdrum, vl1, fingerboard, strings, soundscapes and vocal drone; Eivind Aarset on electronic guitars, acoustic guitars and soundscapes; Svein Schultz on electric bass, bass guitar, bass string percussion and vocal drone; Saleh Mahfoud on overtone singing, additional vocals, poem, and guest vocals; Hildegunn Øiseth on goat horn; Simon Issat Marainen on joik.
Buy Nord.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.