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MultePod presents: Destination: Finnskog, Part 1

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Destination: Finnskog, Part 1
A musical visit to the Finnish Woods, which are not in Finland.
You can read more about the Forest Finns on Wikipedia. You can also watch a video of the Norwegian dance from Finnskog and get information about an upcoming Finnskog music/dance workshop in the USA.
If you're new to listening to audio online and downloading files, here's how [...]

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Leif-Billyz: Jämtgubben, polka av Rune "Gnesta-Kalle" Gnestadius

I am so glad that silverbassharpa changed his YouTube settings to allow embedding because it allows me to share this wonderful video with you!

The tune they are playing is "Jämtgubben (Guy from Jämtland) av Rune "Gnesta-Kalle" Gnestadius", which seems like it could be danced as either a polka or snoa. It's interesting that they use [...]

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Crested hen varietals

One of the most commonly known Danish folk dances is "Den toppende høne (The Crested Hen)". In many North America sources, I usually see only one version listed and taught.
But there are multiple versions of this dance and the music. Here we have two examples of the dance and music straight from Denmark. The first [...]

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Seven minutes with Phønix — rising!

Phønix is a folk band from Denmark and I have already featured them on a couple of Multe Music shows.
Their MySpace page has a very good summary of their music:
Phønix is an exciting and engaging band, and with their modern interpretation of Danish folk music they have played numerous concerts at clubs and festivals in [...]

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A Finnish waltz for bass and diatonic accordion

This week, one of the artists featured on the Multe Music show will be the Finnish duo, Lepistö&Lehti.
The duo got their start in the Finnish folk ensemble, Värttinä. (Of course, as I like to joke — what Finnish folk artist didn't?!). Even their web site says:
The duo came from different parts of Finland, joined forces [...]

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Norwegian Dance: Seksmannsril

Seksmannsril — literally, "Six Person Reel" — is one of Norway's most familiar turdans or set dances. Here, a group from Norway gives a very good demonstration of the dance.
Note the following:

The pace of the music is lively. It is, after all, a reel!
Look at the footwork. These people do not use a lot [...]

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Hellbillies: På Ål Stasjon

I can never say enough great things about the Norwegian band, Hellbillies. They are, in many ways, the Norwegian equivalent of The Eagles or the Allman Brothers Band — the latter of which was and remains a great inspiration for them.
They are called "country rock" but their music goes far beyond that and they [...]

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The most requested Nordic tune in Minnesota…

… nursing homes (alderheimer)?
Johan på snippen. Really.
A few years ago, a friend of mine went to a concert given by three prominent accordionists from this region. They were playing both full-size and diatonic accordions and lots of music from all over Europe.
During the program, they mentioned that the Swedish tune "Johan på snippen (John in [...]

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An appreciative Shout Out to these artists and recording companies…

The Multe Music crew would like to thank the following artists / recording companies / distributors for copies of CDs that we've recently received over the last few weeks.

Etnisk Musikklubb (Norway)
Funi (Iceland)
GIGA (Sweden)
Kvarts (Norway)
Ingebjør Sørbøen (Norway)
Nordafjells (Norway)
Osterøy Spellmannslag (Norway)
Svøbsk (Denmark)
Tom Willy Rustad (Norway)
Trent Bruner (Canada / Norway)
as well as others from Hallingdal, Nordfjord and Røros [...]

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Cornerstone laid for Geilo "Culture Church"

This evening, the Geilo community will lay the grunnsteinnedleggelse (foundation stone) for the new "Kulturekyrkje (Cultural Church)", also known as "Kulturkirken".
The church will be located in a lower area of the valley where Geilo is located, near the river and central to all of Geilo.
It is being built in an ecological and environmentally sensitive way. [...]

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Where were the rest of the accordions?

We've now spent most of the day listing to the solo durspel/trekkspill junior and senior competion/qualifying rounds here at Norway's national folk music/dance competition. The category is for solo players of diatonic accordions (mostly one and two rows) and chromatic accordions.
Each competitor must play two tunes, each of a different type. Most choose to play [...]

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Midsummer in Ål

It was a midsummer to remember in Ål as the 2009 NM i Folkemusikk (Norwegian National Championships in Folk Music) began with the first competition and a public dance at the local Folkepark.
Well-known Norwegian recording artist Odd Nordstoga opened the evening with a very clever and well-done speech about the historic nature of this [...]

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It's Sankthans / Juhannes / Midsummer!

The cultures that seem to appreciate light the most are the ones that go without it for large parts of the year. That is why the summer season is so important for the inhabitants of the Nordic nations.
Today, June 23 is Sankthans in Norway — also known as Midsummer / Midsommer / Midtsummer / Juhannes. [...]

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Album Review: Rannveig Djønne – Spelferd Heim

In 2007, I attended Landskappleiken, one of Norway's two major national folk music competitions, for the fifth time. One of the events was the durspel (diatonic accordion) competition.
The second to the last competitor that year was a young woman from the west coast of Norway and her playing brought tears to my eyes. This [...]

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A polka party in the chicken yard

This video is absolutely delightful.
A YouTube user who calls himself "Jan Anders" plays a tune he calls "Kyckling polka (Chicken Polka)" on an Elis Brandt G/C two-row diatonic accordion. And he plays it in the middle of a chicken yard where some fowl friends can be seen moving in and out of camera range.
Another YouTube [...]

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