Mike Marshall & Darol Anger with Väsen
Track List
- Loke's Troubles (Mike Marshall)
- Skidskolåten (The Skate Tune) (Olov Johansson)
- Couscous (Mike Marshall)
- Timo's Jig (Roger Tallroth)
- Pennknivsmördaren (Penknife Killer) (trad. after H.L. Erlandsson)
- Egypt (Mike Marshall)
- Yew Piney Mt. (Trad.)
- Forslund (Roger Tallroth)
- Misch Masch (Mikael Marin)
- Os Pintinhos (Trad.)
Two architects of new acoustic music in America, Darol Anger and Mike Marshall, join forces with Sweden's most influential instrumental ensemble, Väsen. Together, these five musicians create a new landscape of traditional sounds that forges the gap between the fiddle and dance tunes of Appalachia and the nickelharpa and polskas of Sweden. You will discover just how small our Atlantic Ocean really is when you hear The Duo and Väsen weave together centuries old traditional forms from separate continents into such a natural fabric.
Väsen and the Duo have actually been fans of each other for many years before meeting at the Lotus World Music Festival in Bloomington, Indiana in September, 2004 (thank you, Lee Williams). Mike and Darol had already learned a few Väsen tunes from their earlier cds and were just dreaming of one day playing with these guys. So when they were thrown together on stage (at their own request of course) it was obvious to all from the first few notes that something very special was being born here; a connection based on their love for traditional music and this quest for the answer to where it might be heading.
This collaboration reinforces the idea that many musicians are beginning to feel throughout the world today; that there is a global movement towards a new kind of "folk" music potential. This, of course, has been a desire and a dream of all musicians throughout history. In fact, most of the "traditional/folk" forms that we think of today, and love, were in fact a blending of separate musical tradtions. However you define bluegrass or jazz or Cuban or Brazilian music, you are speaking of a moment in time when two or three (or more) musical forms were thrown together and ended up creating something "greater than the sum of" for all to dig: something new that we now reflect on as iconic - "traditional."
With the Duo and Väsen, you have a similar mind set about the potential for creative musicians from separate worlds to work together with joy, understanding and open hearts. The creative and respectful birth of something with roots that reach way back in time to the fathers of their music, while at the same time, pushing ahead towards something new. Something honest and true for musicians of today that reflects what folks "right here, right now" are up to, inspired by, listening to and creating together.