Mikael Marin and Mia Gustafsson, Mot Hagsätra (Dimma Sweden, 2008)

As the violist for Väsen for nearly twenty years, Mikael Marin needs no introduction among followers of Swedish traditional music. Marin's wife Mia Gustafsson is not nearly as well known, but she has fiddled with the group [ni:d] who have one album out and are working on a second. Their first album together is titled Mot Hagsätra, in reference to a Stockholm subway line. Marin's viola and Gustaffson's fiddle are the only instruments on this recording. A handful of the tunes are traditional, and the tune "Cajunvals" was composed by Antti Järvelä of Frigg, but most of the pieces were composed by one of the two performers.

Predictably, Mot Hagsätra's biggest strength is the playing. Gustafsson is a fine fiddler who more than holds her own playing next to her husband and handling a wide variety of melodies. Marin, as he does in Väsen, supplies creative harmonies and countermelodies. There is no driving guitar or percussion on this album, so the listener can focus fully on the interplay between the two stringed instruments.

The album contains a typical assortment of polskas, along with a few waltzes and one schottisch and reel apiece. In contrast to what you might expect from a Väsen recording, the arrangements are quite easy on prospective dancers. Waltzes appear to be the duo's strongest suit. The opening tune "Hjärtklappen" sets the tone for the CD perfectly, and their joyous version of "Cajunvals" is my favorite track on the CD. The Swedish reel "Kung Harts," composed by Gustafsson for Marin's birthday and performed with the usual melody/harmony roles reversed, is another particularly strong track.

If Mot Hagsätra has a weakness, it's its length; eighteen tunes running nearly an hour is a bit much, especially when most of the best performances are placed in the first half of the album. Still, Mikael Marin and Mia Gustafsson give solid performances throughout, and the album on the whole is at least as good as the most recent Väsen CD Väsen Street. Fans of Väsen who are in the mood for something with a more purely traditional feel will like this recording a lot.

Overall grade: B+

reviewed by Scott

A cute animated video set to "Cajunvals"

[ni:d] (Academus AB, 2006)

[ni:d] (pronounced "need") are a Swedish folk/jazz trio consisting of Mia Gustafsson on fiddle, Hanna Wiskari on saxophone, and Petter Berndalen (also of the more well-known band Gjallarhorn) on percussion. For their self-titled debut CD, produced by Väsen's Mikael Marin, [ni:d] combine traditional and self-composed folk tunes with free-form improvisation. The tunes here definitely do not follow steady rhythms or tempos in a way that would work for folk dances. The band members do possess a fresh and creative take on arranging folk music, though, and their set at this year's Nordic Roots Festival in Minneapolis was one of the highlights of the weekend.

For whatever reason, not enough of the spark and vibrance they had in concert comes across on this CD. The album does possess a definite highlight in "Blackberry Blossom," a sharp upbeat piece they learned from the American fiddler Bruce Molsky, but that was the only tune that really captured the same spirit as their live show. By contrast, my favorites among the remaining tunes on the album are the more subdued ones like "Benjamins Vals," which Wiskari composed and performs solo. Another track worth a few listens is the extended set of tunes called "Svängräven." The piece opens with two very similar melodies played simultaneously, one of which is a traditional Swedish tune and the other of which is "Morning Has Broken." The rest of the album is decent enough, but nothing else really grabbed me as much as I expected.

It's not unusual for instrumental folk acts, Scandinavian or otherwise, to make a bigger impression live than they do on record. The contrast between [ni:d]'s performance in Minneapolis and their debut CD is even sharper than what is typical, though. I can't quite put my finger on what, but something just seemed to be missing from the recording.

Overall grade: B-

reviewed by Scott