I feel almost silly, having to write another “oh this album makes me so happy!” review only a few days after I went joyfully bananas over Ampouailh’s latest release. But here we go…
Let’s begin by noting that Woodlands and Bäckafall are two separate entities that created this album as a unit.
Woodlands Duo: Kristina Leesik, fiddle and vocals & Justyna Krzyżanowska, harp and vocals
Bäckafalls: Fredy Samuel Lundh, nyckelharpa and vocals & Hampus Grönberg, guitar
Kristina is also a central force in Tern, whose amazing debut album Flyways I wrote about here earlier. Bäckafalls have also released their own music before the current collaboration.
So the main geographical setting is Sweden, with Justyna bringing the Polish spirit into the mix. But the music here covers not only Sweden but also Scotland, Ireland, Brittany and Poland – it’s a veritable “folk musicians of Northern Europe, unite!” battle cry (maybe some tunes from 🇫🇮 next time, too? 😉)
Then the band sound: if Ampouailh sound beautiful on their new album, so do Woodlands Bäckafalls on theirs. It amazes me once again how a few acoustic instruments can sound so full and rich when in the hands of the right people – who also have a knack for arranging the tunes.
I especially love the simultaneous presence of the harp and the nyckelharpa; the colour they together create is unique, and they work in perfect harmony with the fiddle and the guitar. (While I’m at it, I have to confess that, as a Finn, I envy the Swedes a bit for the nyckelharpa whose sound I have always found kind of magical and irresistible.)
The track listing on Traditional Colours is a mix of originals and trad tunes; it’s a great selection of varied material, perfectly sequenced for the album. Although I have to admit I frowned when I saw two very old Celtic war horses on the track listing: Wild Rover and Wild Mountain Thyme. “Really? Why?”, I found myself muttering.
But I put my doubts aside, pressed play and literally within seconds I was… happy. Can’t put that any other way.
As the opening, Sommarpolska (Summer Polska) is as right as can be: bright, airy, inviting to dance and sounding absolutely fantastic, very Swedish and uncluttered and clear. We then get a very different and creative version of Wild Rover which, in turn, is followed by Bonnet Reels, a set of Gaelic reels, played with a lighter touch than what most Scots would play them – very nice!
And so it continues, crisscrossing around the north of Europe and the British Isles, a Poland is there with an ancient song, Chmiel, as trance-inducingly deep as a folk song can get.
And the treatment they give to Wild Mountain Thyme is so good and unexpected, I won’t even talk about it. When you meddle with an iconic tune, you better have something new to say, and these guys do.
As I said, Traditional Colours makes me happy. Excellent playing, clever arrangements, an overall feeling of good vibes. Music I, and I guess we all, need in these times.
Tack så mycket, det var härligt! ❤️
FolkNotes 