GARMARNA Streams New Album 'Förbundet' in Full

More than 25 years in the making, the band continues to invent what music rooted in the Scandinavian tradition is about. 'Förbundet' is a hard-hitting folk a...

Swedish folk rock pioneers GARMARNA are now streaming their upcoming full-length, 'Förbundet,' in its entirety ahead of tomorrow's release!

GARMARNA comments: "We are extremely happy to finally present 'Förbundet!' Excited to bring the whole experience to the world. Proud to level up our game after so many years together. It’s now in your hands so use it well and let us know what you think!"

The visionary folk sounds of Sweden’s GARMARNA marry the past to the present on their captivating new album ‘Förbundet.’ ‘Förbundet’ (Swedish for connected) is an especially apt title as their songs, inspired by traditional Swedish folk music and Scandinavian ballads, are played by acoustic instruments but accented by a flourish of modern electronics (beats, loops and samples). The album, led by Emma Härdelin's spellbinding vocals and aided by the rich production of Christopher Juul (HEILUNG), see the Grammis (Swedish Grammy) winning group operating at the heights of their powers. GARMARNAhas persevered for nigh on four decades now, and ‘Förbundet’ further secures their legacy as one of the worldwide leaders of traditional Scandinavian folk music.

'Förbundet' is due on November 6 and can be pre-ordered HERE.

It is very easy to tout a band's eclecticism in our modern era of musical mash-ups and globe-spanning Zoom collaborations. But Swedish folk-rockers Garmarna have been turning traditional ideas on their head long before it was fashionable. Over the last 30 years, they been stirring in a rich blend of influences that create their unique sonic blend. For their efforts, they have won a Swedish Grammy award, gained the respect and collaboration of esteemed musicians in their homeland, and cultivated an international following.

On their seventh and latest studio album Förbundet, Garmarna continue blurring the traditional and the modern, with the often multi-tracked vocals of Emma Hardelin floating above it all. A ballad from the 1700s, “Ramunder” is imbued with heaviness, like an acoustic metal tune, with Anders Norudde from Hedningarna playing moraharpa (a cousin of the hurdy gurdy) on the song. Thumping drums and frenetic strings drive the moody “Sven i Rosengård,” while the danceable “Lussi Lilla” is more playful. On the flip side, acoustic ballad “Ur Världen Att Gå” and the dreamy vocal track “Din Grav” balance out the more propulsive tracks.

As with past efforts, the new Förbundet serves up traditional material infused with original ideas, with Garmarna looking to medieval and murder ballads and Estonian chorales for inspiration. It is certainly a dark album.

 “There is more to the Swedish culture than this darkness,” notes co-founding member Stefan Brisland-Ferner. ”But the traditional stories have an edge to them that’s something special. There’s a harshness we just can’t resist. A feeling lurking in there that is beautiful, wild, and haunting. This new one is maybe the darkest yet, in that it deals so much with death, longing, sorrow.”

For Stefan, the most personal song on the new album is the tranquil, ethereal ”Vägskäl” which has been described as being about life's crossroads, grief, and losing someone, and also memories that are slowly erased or that can last a lifetime. ”It is the one completely original song on the album and the newest one,” he says. ”Both musically and lyrically, it resonates with a certain place in life I have found myself in.”

Garmarna originally formed as a trio in 1990 featuring guitarist/violinist Gotte Ringqvist, violinist/hurdy gurdy player Stefan Brisland-Ferner, and guitarist/bassist Rickard Westman. After a couple of years of growing their music and audience, they accured drummer Jens Hoglin after being asked to perform at a prominent musical festival in Autsfred, Sweden. Their friend, singer and violinist Emma Hardelin, was in the audience, and she soon joined their ranks. The line-up has remained solid since then.

After releasing their self-titled debut EP in 1993, Garmarna toured Sweden and began developing energetic live shows that in subsequent years have inspired everything from dancing to headbanging. Amid her bandmates, Emma became the calm of the storm onstage, her beautiful vocals an anchor for their energetic music.

”Emma has a very distinct and beautiful voice,” notes Stefan. ”The choices we made early on were traditional ballads that tell a story. The vocal is delivering information and can’t stand in the way of the story, and the instrumentation and arrangements must help to tell the story. The vocal will always be in the center of our music.”

By 1994, Garmarna signed a North American distribution deal with Minneapolis-based Omnium, the label founded by Boiled In Lead bassist Drew Miller who has a passion for eclectic world music and punk-folk tunes. Omnium released Vittrad (1994) and Gods Musicians (1995), and their sister label Northside unleashed Vengeance (1999) and Hildegard Von Bingen (2001). Now 25 years later, Garmarna is on Season of Mist, the international metal label that is starting to explore the dark folk world.

“We have certainly crossed a few boundaries,” acknowledges Stefan. ”We did so quite early and found our own world from which to expand further. Maybe this was luck. Or maybe we are good at finding the right balance between the elements. Again, this their something we ever strived for.” He adds that at one point, they found a certain tone in our music that resonated with the tones of their other tastes.

”The lyrical specter of the classical world,” he elaborates. ”The terror of industrial and black metal. Country music, indie pop, rock’n’roll. At the time, artists like Beck and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion had a great impact on our thinking. Björk, Skinny Puppy, Bowie, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, and lots of other artists from different genres were big heroes for us as well.”

What linked the band members together was their passion for traditional Swedish fiddler’s music and folk singing. ”We don’t think of music as genres but rather like emotions, colours, elements,” explains Stefan. Despite their sonic deviations, they have always felt they have a specific sound, and an American magazine in '99 compared Garmarna's music to a nicely marinated stew, a comparison they favored.

Cooking up this musical melange was not a conscious choice in the beginning. Their collective eclecticism naturally led the way for their folk fusion. ”Using samplers particularly was something that felt just aesthetically right,” says Stefan. ”We could use layers of drones and re-pitch stuff, use both old and new sounds that fitted the songs.”

Throughout their career, the band has taken many interesting journeys, including music inspired by the medieval work of Hildegard von Bingen and a New Year's Eve '99 performance in which Emma performed songs by Benny Andersson of ABBA. They have played at medieval, folk, and rock festivals. While the group did take a 15-year break from recording – family and work commitments, a little creative burn out after years of the tour/album/tour cycle, plus the illegal downloading woes of the early '00s factoring into this studio hiatus – they maintained their chops and passion by continuing to tour.

When asked about how fans have responded to their different influences and diverse output over the years, Stefan cannot definitively say because their followers are seemingly fluid in their tastes as well.

”Sometimes we’ve thought the audience will hate the new stuff, all jungle beats or house or pop or whatever,” he says. ”The audience is a mix of metal heads, folk enthusiasts, hipsters, and just casual music lovers of all ages. Along the way, they have seemed to like what we do! We know that a lot of people wished the return album 6 would have been a bit more traditional, but then a lot of people also praised it for being 'so much Garmarna' in the sense that it took an unexpected turn somewhere new.”

Their loyal acolytes should be pleased with Förbundet, and they will likely draw in new converts as well. You're next.

Photo: Garm

Genre: Folk rock

Line-up:
Emma Härdelin: Vocals, violin
Stefan Brisland-Ferner: Violin, viola, hurdy gurdy, tagelharpa, electronics, backing vocals
Jens Höglin: Drums, electronics
Rickard Westman: Guitar, bass
Gotte Ringqvist: Guitar, violin, tagelharpa, backing vocals

Recording studio: DNA Studios Stockholm, Studio NEVO Sundsvall, Studio Cobra, Stockholm

Producer: Stefan Brisland-Ferner

Executive producer: Christopher Juul

Engineer: Stefan Brisland-Ferner (DNA Studios), Henrik Heinrich (Studio NEVO), Christian Gabel (Studio Cobra)

Mixing and mastering: Christopher Juul, Lava Studios

Recording line-up:
Emma Härdelin: Vocals, violin
Stefan Brisland-Ferner: Violin, Viola, Hurdy gurdy, Keyboards, Nordic bowed lyre, Kantele, Moraharpa, Mouth harp, Electronics, Electric guitar, Mandolin, Backing vocals
Gotte Ringqvist: Acoustic guitar, Hardanger fiddle, backing vocals
Rickard Westman: Electric guitar, Electric bass
Jens Höglin: Drums, Percussion, Electronics

Guest musicians:
Maria Franz (HEILUNG): Vocals on "Två Systrar
Anders Norudde: Moraharpa on "Ramunder"
Ulf Gruvberg: Vocals on "Lussi Lilla"

Bio: Bryan Reesman

Links: https://linktr.ee/garmarna_official

Pre-orders: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/garmarna-forbundet

For more on GARMARNA, visit the band's official FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, YOUTUBE, and BANDCAMP.

Swedish Folk Pioneers GARMARNA Premiere New Song, "Dagen Flyr"

GARMARNA's new single 'Dagen Flyr' is a tale from the Swedish speaking parts of Estonia about old age, a goodbye to life and a welcome of sorts to the inevit...

Swedish folk rock pioneers GARMARNA have partnered with Folk N Rock to premiere "Dagen Flyr," the third and final new single from their upcoming full-length, 'Förbundet.' 

GARMARNA comments, “This song goes way back. We’ve played it live for nearly twenty years or so, and to finally release it feels less like a reveal and more as if we are putting something right. Being a choral from the Swedish speaking parts of Estonia, the lyrics concern old age, a goodbye to life and a welcome of sorts to the inevitable death. Obviously, we didn’t really treat it as something as sombre. Rather, Stefan came up with a very catchy violin-tune and once we paired the vocal part with the instrumental, everything else pretty much played out by itself. Arranging a Garmarna tune can often be a painful and stretched out process but not in this instance. Bass riff, drums, some acoustic guitars – done and dusted!”

The visionary folk sounds of Sweden’s GARMARNA marry the past to the present on their captivating new album ‘Förbundet.’ ‘Förbundet’ (Swedish for connected) is an especially apt title as their songs, inspired by traditional Swedish folk music and Scandinavian ballads, are played by acoustic instruments but accented by a flourish of modern electronics (beats, loops and samples). The album, led by Emma Härdelin's spellbinding vocals and aided by the rich production of Christopher Juul (HEILUNG), see the Grammis (Swedish Grammy) winning group operating at the heights of their powers. GARMARNAhas persevered for nigh on four decades now, and ‘Förbundet’ further secures their legacy as one of the worldwide leaders of traditional Scandinavian folk music.

'Förbundet' is due on November 6 and can be pre-ordered HERE. 

It is very easy to tout a band's eclecticism in our modern era of musical mash-ups and globe-spanning Zoom collaborations. But Swedish folk-rockers Garmarna have been turning traditional ideas on their head long before it was fashionable. Over the last 30 years, they been stirring in a rich blend of influences that create their unique sonic blend. For their efforts, they have won a Swedish Grammy award, gained the respect and collaboration of esteemed musicians in their homeland, and cultivated an international following.

On their seventh and latest studio album Förbundet, Garmarna continue blurring the traditional and the modern, with the often multi-tracked vocals of Emma Hardelin floating above it all. A ballad from the 1700s, “Ramunder” is imbued with heaviness, like an acoustic metal tune, with Anders Norudde from Hedningarna playing moraharpa (a cousin of the hurdy gurdy) on the song. Thumping drums and frenetic strings drive the moody “Sven i Rosengård,” while the danceable “Lussi Lilla” is more playful. On the flip side, acoustic ballad “Ur Världen Att Gå” and the dreamy vocal track “Din Grav” balance out the more propulsive tracks.

As with past efforts, the new Förbundet serves up traditional material infused with original ideas, with Garmarna looking to medieval and murder ballads and Estonian chorales for inspiration. It is certainly a dark album.

 “There is more to the Swedish culture than this darkness,” notes co-founding member Stefan Brisland-Ferner. ”But the traditional stories have an edge to them that’s something special. There’s a harshness we just can’t resist. A feeling lurking in there that is beautiful, wild, and haunting. This new one is maybe the darkest yet, in that it deals so much with death, longing, sorrow.”

For Stefan, the most personal song on the new album is the tranquil, ethereal ”Vägskäl” which has been described as being about life's crossroads, grief, and losing someone, and also memories that are slowly erased or that can last a lifetime. ”It is the one completely original song on the album and the newest one,” he says. ”Both musically and lyrically, it resonates with a certain place in life I have found myself in.”

Garmarna originally formed as a trio in 1990 featuring guitarist/violinist Gotte Ringqvist, violinist/hurdy gurdy player Stefan Brisland-Ferner, and guitarist/bassist Rickard Westman. After a couple of years of growing their music and audience, they accured drummer Jens Hoglin after being asked to perform at a prominent musical festival in Autsfred, Sweden. Their friend, singer and violinist Emma Hardelin, was in the audience, and she soon joined their ranks. The line-up has remained solid since then.

After releasing their self-titled debut EP in 1993, Garmarna toured Sweden and began developing energetic live shows that in subsequent years have inspired everything from dancing to headbanging. Amid her bandmates, Emma became the calm of the storm onstage, her beautiful vocals an anchor for their energetic music.

”Emma has a very distinct and beautiful voice,” notes Stefan. ”The choices we made early on were traditional ballads that tell a story. The vocal is delivering information and can’t stand in the way of the story, and the instrumentation and arrangements must help to tell the story. The vocal will always be in the center of our music.”

By 1994, Garmarna signed a North American distribution deal with Minneapolis-based Omnium, the label founded by Boiled In Lead bassist Drew Miller who has a passion for eclectic world music and punk-folk tunes. Omnium released Vittrad (1994) and Gods Musicians (1995), and their sister label Northside unleashed Vengeance (1999) and Hildegard Von Bingen (2001). Now 25 years later, Garmarna is on Season of Mist, the international metal label that is starting to explore the dark folk world.

“We have certainly crossed a few boundaries,” acknowledges Stefan. ”We did so quite early and found our own world from which to expand further. Maybe this was luck. Or maybe we are good at finding the right balance between the elements. Again, this their something we ever strived for.” He adds that at one point, they found a certain tone in our music that resonated with the tones of their other tastes.

”The lyrical specter of the classical world,” he elaborates. ”The terror of industrial and black metal. Country music, indie pop, rock’n’roll. At the time, artists like Beck and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion had a great impact on our thinking. Björk, Skinny Puppy, Bowie, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, and lots of other artists from different genres were big heroes for us as well.”

What linked the band members together was their passion for traditional Swedish fiddler’s music and folk singing. ”We don’t think of music as genres but rather like emotions, colours, elements,” explains Stefan. Despite their sonic deviations, they have always felt they have a specific sound, and an American magazine in '99 compared Garmarna's music to a nicely marinated stew, a comparison they favored.

Cooking up this musical melange was not a conscious choice in the beginning. Their collective eclecticism naturally led the way for their folk fusion. ”Using samplers particularly was something that felt just aesthetically right,” says Stefan. ”We could use layers of drones and re-pitch stuff, use both old and new sounds that fitted the songs.”

Throughout their career, the band has taken many interesting journeys, including music inspired by the medieval work of Hildegard von Bingen and a New Year's Eve '99 performance in which Emma performed songs by Benny Andersson of ABBA. They have played at medieval, folk, and rock festivals. While the group did take a 15-year break from recording – family and work commitments, a little creative burn out after years of the tour/album/tour cycle, plus the illegal downloading woes of the early '00s factoring into this studio hiatus – they maintained their chops and passion by continuing to tour.

When asked about how fans have responded to their different influences and diverse output over the years, Stefan cannot definitively say because their followers are seemingly fluid in their tastes as well.

”Sometimes we’ve thought the audience will hate the new stuff, all jungle beats or house or pop or whatever,” he says. ”The audience is a mix of metal heads, folk enthusiasts, hipsters, and just casual music lovers of all ages. Along the way, they have seemed to like what we do! We know that a lot of people wished the return album 6 would have been a bit more traditional, but then a lot of people also praised it for being 'so much Garmarna' in the sense that it took an unexpected turn somewhere new.”

Their loyal acolytes should be pleased with Förbundet, and they will likely draw in new converts as well. You're next.

Photo: Garm

Genre: Folk rock 

Line-up:
Emma Härdelin: Vocals, violin
Stefan Brisland-Ferner: Violin, viola, hurdy gurdy, tagelharpa, electronics, backing vocals
Jens Höglin: Drums, electronics
Rickard Westman: Guitar, bass
Gotte Ringqvist: Guitar, violin, tagelharpa, backing vocals

Recording studio: DNA Studios Stockholm, Studio NEVO Sundsvall, Studio Cobra, Stockholm

Producer: Stefan Brisland-Ferner

Executive producer: Christopher Juul

Engineer: Stefan Brisland-Ferner (DNA Studios), Henrik Heinrich (Studio NEVO), Christian Gabel (Studio Cobra)

Mixing and mastering: Christopher Juul, Lava Studios

Recording line-up: 
Emma Härdelin: Vocals, violin
Stefan Brisland-Ferner: Violin, Viola, Hurdy gurdy, Keyboards, Nordic bowed lyre, Kantele, Moraharpa, Mouth harp, Electronics, Electric guitar, Mandolin, Backing vocals
Gotte Ringqvist: Acoustic guitar, Hardanger fiddle, backing vocals
Rickard Westman: Electric guitar, Electric bass
Jens Höglin: Drums, Percussion, Electronics

Guest musicians:
Maria Franz (HEILUNG): Vocals on "Två Systrar
Anders Norudde: Moraharpa on "Ramunder"
Ulf Gruvberg: Vocals on "Lussi Lilla"

Bio: Bryan Reesman

Links: https://linktr.ee/garmarna_official

Pre-orders: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/garmarna-forbundet

For more on GARMARNA, visit the band's official FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, YOUTUBE, and BANDCAMP.

Swedish Folk Pioneers GARMARNA Premieres New Single "Två Systrar"

Musically the boundaries of traditional folk, "Två Systrar" tells a classic tale of betrayal and revenge. Listen to the second breathtaking single from the u...

Swedish folk rock pioneers GARMARNA are now premiering "Två Systrar," the second new song from their upcoming record 'Förbundet.' The track features guest vocals from Maria Franz (HEILUNG).

GARMARNA comments: 

"'Två Systrar'
"This one goes deep.

"We’ve been playing around with this classic tale of betrayal and revenge before but it was always put on hold. Not this time. The poetry is breathtaking, it doesn’t get much starker than this.

"Musically, for us, this is one of the most satisfying songs we’ve done. With Garmarna, there is always a riddle. An escape room. We’re trapped until we solve the puzzle. Here, it started with an original idea of ours blended with a traditional melody and in an hour we transformed a whole bunch of ideas into a melody that just flows.

"Stefan was playing around with the amazing Elektron Octatrack, preparing a soundpack of Nordic sounds (keep your eyes open for that). So a Mouth harp, treated in a million ways, created a set of harmonies we could play on the keyboard. The strange harmonies seemed to be the key so we followed.

"There has been some moments where creating music is expanding ones soul and mind in ways words cannot describe and personally, the creation of 'Två Systrar' is one of the most powerful examples of this.

"We’re so proud to present 'Två Systrar.'
"Enjoy!"

The visionary folk sounds of Sweden’s GARMARNA marry the past to the present on their captivating new album ‘Förbundet.’ ‘Förbundet’ (Swedish for connected) is an especially apt title as their songs, inspired by traditional Swedish folk music and Scandinavian ballads, are played by acoustic instruments but accented by a flourish of modern electronics (beats, loops and samples). The album, led by Emma Härdelin's spellbinding vocals and aided by the rich production of Christopher Juul (HEILUNG), see the Grammis (Swedish Grammy) winning group operating at the heights of their powers. GARMARNAhas persevered for nigh on four decades now, and ‘Förbundet’ further secures their legacy as one of the worldwide leaders of traditional Scandinavian folk music.

Pre-sales for 'Förbundet' are now live in the Season of Mist shop HERE.

It is very easy to tout a band's eclecticism in our modern era of musical mash-ups and globe-spanning Zoom collaborations. But Swedish folk-rockers Garmarna have been turning traditional ideas on their head long before it was fashionable. Over the last 30 years, they been stirring in a rich blend of influences that create their unique sonic blend. For their efforts, they have won a Swedish Grammy award, gained the respect and collaboration of esteemed musicians in their homeland, and cultivated an international following.

On their seventh and latest studio album Förbundet, Garmarna continue blurring the traditional and the modern, with the often multi-tracked vocals of Emma Hardelin floating above it all. A ballad from the 1700s, “Ramunder” is imbued with heaviness, like an acoustic metal tune, with Anders Norudde from Hedningarna playing moraharpa (a cousin of the hurdy gurdy) on the song. Thumping drums and frenetic strings drive the moody “Sven i Rosengård,” while the danceable “Lussi Lilla” is more playful. On the flip side, acoustic ballad “Ur Världen Att Gå” and the dreamy vocal track “Din Grav” balance out the more propulsive tracks.

As with past efforts, the new Förbundet serves up traditional material infused with original ideas, with Garmarna looking to medieval and murder ballads and Estonian chorales for inspiration. It is certainly a dark album.

 “There is more to the Swedish culture than this darkness,” notes co-founding member Stefan Brisland-Ferner. ”But the traditional stories have an edge to them that’s something special. There’s a harshness we just can’t resist. A feeling lurking in there that is beautiful, wild, and haunting. This new one is maybe the darkest yet, in that it deals so much with death, longing, sorrow.”

For Stefan, the most personal song on the new album is the tranquil, ethereal ”Vägskäl” which has been described as being about life's crossroads, grief, and losing someone, and also memories that are slowly erased or that can last a lifetime. ”It is the one completely original song on the album and the newest one,” he says. ”Both musically and lyrically, it resonates with a certain place in life I have found myself in.”

Garmarna originally formed as a trio in 1990 featuring guitarist/violinist Gotte Ringqvist, violinist/hurdy gurdy player Stefan Brisland-Ferner, and guitarist/bassist Rickard Westman. After a couple of years of growing their music and audience, they accured drummer Jens Hoglin after being asked to perform at a prominent musical festival in Autsfred, Sweden. Their friend, singer and violinist Emma Hardelin, was in the audience, and she soon joined their ranks. The line-up has remained solid since then.

After releasing their self-titled debut EP in 1993, Garmarna toured Sweden and began developing energetic live shows that in subsequent years have inspired everything from dancing to headbanging. Amid her bandmates, Emma became the calm of the storm onstage, her beautiful vocals an anchor for their energetic music.

”Emma has a very distinct and beautiful voice,” notes Stefan. ”The choices we made early on were traditional ballads that tell a story. The vocal is delivering information and can’t stand in the way of the story, and the instrumentation and arrangements must help to tell the story. The vocal will always be in the center of our music.”

By 1994, Garmarna signed a North American distribution deal with Minneapolis-based Omnium, the label founded by Boiled In Lead bassist Drew Miller who has a passion for eclectic world music and punk-folk tunes. Omnium released Vittrad (1994) and Gods Musicians (1995), and their sister label Northside unleashed Vengeance (1999) and Hildegard Von Bingen (2001). Now 25 years later, Garmarna is on Season of Mist, the international metal label that is starting to explore the dark folk world.

“We have certainly crossed a few boundaries,” acknowledges Stefan. ”We did so quite early and found our own world from which to expand further. Maybe this was luck. Or maybe we are good at finding the right balance between the elements. Again, this their something we ever strived for.” He adds that at one point, they found a certain tone in our music that resonated with the tones of their other tastes.

”The lyrical specter of the classical world,” he elaborates. ”The terror of industrial and black metal. Country music, indie pop, rock’n’roll. At the time, artists like Beck and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion had a great impact on our thinking. Björk, Skinny Puppy, Bowie, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, and lots of other artists from different genres were big heroes for us as well.”

What linked the band members together was their passion for traditional Swedish fiddler’s music and folk singing. ”We don’t think of music as genres but rather like emotions, colours, elements,” explains Stefan. Despite their sonic deviations, they have always felt they have a specific sound, and an American magazine in '99 compared Garmarna's music to a nicely marinated stew, a comparison they favored.

Cooking up this musical melange was not a conscious choice in the beginning. Their collective eclecticism naturally led the way for their folk fusion. ”Using samplers particularly was something that felt just aesthetically right,” says Stefan. ”We could use layers of drones and re-pitch stuff, use both old and new sounds that fitted the songs.”

Throughout their career, the band has taken many interesting journeys, including music inspired by the medieval work of Hildegard von Bingen and a New Year's Eve '99 performance in which Emma performed songs by Benny Andersson of ABBA. They have played at medieval, folk, and rock festivals. While the group did take a 15-year break from recording – family and work commitments, a little creative burn out after years of the tour/album/tour cycle, plus the illegal downloading woes of the early '00s factoring into this studio hiatus – they maintained their chops and passion by continuing to tour.

When asked about how fans have responded to their different influences and diverse output over the years, Stefan cannot definitively say because their followers are seemingly fluid in their tastes as well.

”Sometimes we’ve thought the audience will hate the new stuff, all jungle beats or house or pop or whatever,” he says. ”The audience is a mix of metal heads, folk enthusiasts, hipsters, and just casual music lovers of all ages. Along the way, they have seemed to like what we do! We know that a lot of people wished the return album 6 would have been a bit more traditional, but then a lot of people also praised it for being 'so much Garmarna' in the sense that it took an unexpected turn somewhere new.”

Their loyal acolytes should be pleased with Förbundet, and they will likely draw in new converts as well. You're next.

Photo: Garm

Genre: Folk rock 

Line-up:
Emma Härdelin: Vocals, violin
Stefan Brisland-Ferner: Violin, viola, hurdy gurdy, tagelharpa, electronics, backing vocals
Jens Höglin: Drums, electronics
Rickard Westman: Guitar, bass
Gotte Ringqvist: Guitar, violin, tagelharpa, backing vocals

Recording studio: DNA Studios Stockholm, Studio NEVO Sundsvall, Studio Cobra, Stockholm

Producer: Stefan Brisland-Ferner

Executive producer: Christopher Juul

Engineer: Stefan Brisland-Ferner (DNA Studios), Henrik Heinrich (Studio NEVO), Christian Gabel (Studio Cobra)

Mixing and mastering: Christopher Juul, Lava Studios

Recording line-up: 
Emma Härdelin: Vocals, violin
Stefan Brisland-Ferner: Violin, Viola, Hurdy gurdy, Keyboards, Nordic bowed lyre, Kantele, Moraharpa, Mouth harp, Electronics, Electric guitar, Mandolin, Backing vocals
Gotte Ringqvist: Acoustic guitar, Hardanger fiddle, backing vocals
Rickard Westman: Electric guitar, Electric bass
Jens Höglin: Drums, Percussion, Electronics

Guest musicians:
Maria Franz (HEILUNG): Vocals on "Två Systrar
Anders Norudde: Moraharpa on "Ramunder"
Ulf Gruvberg: Vocals on "Lussi Lilla"

Bio: Bryan Reesman

Links: https://linktr.ee/garmarna_official

Pre-orders: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/garmarna-forbundet

For more on GARMARNA, visit the band's official FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, YOUTUBE, and BANDCAMP.

GARMARNA Unveils New Album Details, Premieres First Single

Pushing the boundaries of traditional folk, "Ramunder" is the first single from the upcoming record 'Förbundet' by Swedish folk rock pioneers GARMARNA. More ...

Swedish folk rock pioneers GARMARNA will be releasing their highly-anticipated seventh studio album, 'Förbundet,' on November 6 via Season of Mist, making it the band's debut to the label. The band has premiered the first new single, "Ramunder,"

The visionary folk sounds of Sweden’s GARMARNA marry the past to the present on their captivating new album ‘Förbundet.’ ‘Förbundet’ (Swedish for connected) is an especially apt title as their songs, inspired by traditional Swedish folk music and Scandinavian ballads, are played by acoustic instruments but accented by a flourish of modern electronics (beats, loops and samples). The album, led by Emma Härdelin's spellbinding vocals and aided by the rich production of Christopher Juul (HEILUNG), see the Grammis (Swedish Grammy) winning group operating at the heights of their powers. GARMARNAhas persevered for nigh on four decades now, and ‘Förbundet’ further secures their legacy as one of the worldwide leaders of traditional Scandinavian folk music.

Pre-sales for 'Förbundet' are now live in the Season of Mist shop HERE. 

GARMARNA comments: “We have always gravitated towards gruesome and horrid tales. And in that regard 'Ramunder' easily takes the crown. The song tells the tale of a fierce warrior that ravages his enemies for (it seems) the sheer joy of it. This is of course reflected in the music with it’s relentless savage stomp, distorted basses and barb wired mora harps. The track contains a guest appearance by Anders Norudde from the groundbreaking Swedish folk band Hedningarna, that was an early inspiration during our formative years. We´re very happy to present this knuckle sandwich of a song as a first teaser of our forthcoming album Förbundet, to be released on November 6.”

Video credits:
Artwork by Axel Torvenius

Film / Photography by Severus Tenenbaum

Video by Aimed and Framed

The cover artwork of 'Förbundet' was created by Axel Torvenius and can be viewed below, together with the tracklist.

It is very easy to tout a band's eclecticism in our modern era of musical mash-ups and globe-spanning Zoom collaborations. But Swedish folk-rockers Garmarna have been turning traditional ideas on their head long before it was fashionable. Over the last 30 years, they been stirring in a rich blend of influences that create their unique sonic blend. For their efforts, they have won a Swedish Grammy award, gained the respect and collaboration of esteemed musicians in their homeland, and cultivated an international following.

On their seventh and latest studio album Förbundet, Garmarna continue blurring the traditional and the modern, with the often multi-tracked vocals of Emma Hardelin floating above it all. A ballad from the 1700s, “Ramunder” is imbued with heaviness, like an acoustic metal tune, with Anders Norudde from Hedningarna playing moraharpa (a cousin of the hurdy gurdy) on the song. Thumping drums and frenetic strings drive the moody “Sven i Rosengård,” while the danceable “Lussi Lilla” is more playful. On the flip side, acoustic ballad “Ur Världen Att Gå” and the dreamy vocal track “Din Grav” balance out the more propulsive tracks.

As with past efforts, the new Förbundet serves up traditional material infused with original ideas, with Garmarna looking to medieval and murder ballads and Estonian chorales for inspiration. It is certainly a dark album.

 “There is more to the Swedish culture than this darkness,” notes co-founding member Stefan Brisland-Ferner. ”But the traditional stories have an edge to them that’s something special. There’s a harshness we just can’t resist. A feeling lurking in there that is beautiful, wild, and haunting. This new one is maybe the darkest yet, in that it deals so much with death, longing, sorrow.”

For Stefan, the most personal song on the new album is the tranquil, ethereal ”Vägskäl” which has been described as being about life's crossroads, grief, and losing someone, and also memories that are slowly erased or that can last a lifetime. ”It is the one completely original song on the album and the newest one,” he says. ”Both musically and lyrically, it resonates with a certain place in life I have found myself in.”

Garmarna originally formed as a trio in 1990 featuring guitarist/violinist Gotte Ringqvist, violinist/hurdy gurdy player Stefan Brisland-Ferner, and guitarist/bassist Rickard Westman. After a couple of years of growing their music and audience, they accured drummer Jens Hoglin after being asked to perform at a prominent musical festival in Autsfred, Sweden. Their friend, singer and violinist Emma Hardelin, was in the audience, and she soon joined their ranks. The line-up has remained solid since then.

After releasing their self-titled debut EP in 1993, Garmarna toured Sweden and began developing energetic live shows that in subsequent years have inspired everything from dancing to headbanging. Amid her bandmates, Emma became the calm of the storm onstage, her beautiful vocals an anchor for their energetic music.

”Emma has a very distinct and beautiful voice,” notes Stefan. ”The choices we made early on were traditional ballads that tell a story. The vocal is delivering information and can’t stand in the way of the story, and the instrumentation and arrangements must help to tell the story. The vocal will always be in the center of our music.”

By 1994, Garmarna signed a North American distribution deal with Minneapolis-based Omnium, the label founded by Boiled In Lead bassist Drew Miller who has a passion for eclectic world music and punk-folk tunes. Omnium released Vittrad (1994) and Gods Musicians (1995), and their sister label Northside unleashed Vengeance (1999) and Hildegard Von Bingen (2001). Now 25 years later, Garmarna is on Season of Mist, the international metal label that is starting to explore the dark folk world.

“We have certainly crossed a few boundaries,” acknowledges Stefan. ”We did so quite early and found our own world from which to expand further. Maybe this was luck. Or maybe we are good at finding the right balance between the elements. Again, this their something we ever strived for.” He adds that at one point, they found a certain tone in our music that resonated with the tones of their other tastes.

”The lyrical specter of the classical world,” he elaborates. ”The terror of industrial and black metal. Country music, indie pop, rock’n’roll. At the time, artists like Beck and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion had a great impact on our thinking. Björk, Skinny Puppy, Bowie, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, and lots of other artists from different genres were big heroes for us as well.”

What linked the band members together was their passion for traditional Swedish fiddler’s music and folk singing. ”We don’t think of music as genres but rather like emotions, colours, elements,” explains Stefan. Despite their sonic deviations, they have always felt they have a specific sound, and an American magazine in '99 compared Garmarna's music to a nicely marinated stew, a comparison they favored.

Cooking up this musical melange was not a conscious choice in the beginning. Their collective eclecticism naturally led the way for their folk fusion. ”Using samplers particularly was something that felt just aesthetically right,” says Stefan. ”We could use layers of drones and re-pitch stuff, use both old and new sounds that fitted the songs.”

Throughout their career, the band has taken many interesting journeys, including music inspired by the medieval work of Hildegard von Bingen and a New Year's Eve '99 performance in which Emma performed songs by Benny Andersson of ABBA. They have played at medieval, folk, and rock festivals. While the group did take a 15-year break from recording – family and work commitments, a little creative burn out after years of the tour/album/tour cycle, plus the illegal downloading woes of the early '00s factoring into this studio hiatus – they maintained their chops and passion by continuing to tour.

When asked about how fans have responded to their different influences and diverse output over the years, Stefan cannot definitively say because their followers are seemingly fluid in their tastes as well.

”Sometimes we’ve thought the audience will hate the new stuff, all jungle beats or house or pop or whatever,” he says. ”The audience is a mix of metal heads, folk enthusiasts, hipsters, and just casual music lovers of all ages. Along the way, they have seemed to like what we do! We know that a lot of people wished the return album 6 would have been a bit more traditional, but then a lot of people also praised it for being 'so much Garmarna' in the sense that it took an unexpected turn somewhere new.”

Their loyal acolytes should be pleased with Förbundet, and they will likely draw in new converts as well. You're next.

Photo: Garm

Genre: Folk rock 

Line-up:
Emma Härdelin: Vocals, violin
Stefan Brisland-Ferner: Violin, viola, hurdy gurdy, tagelharpa, electronics, backing vocals
Jens Höglin: Drums, electronics
Rickard Westman: Guitar, bass
Gotte Ringqvist: Guitar, violin, tagelharpa, backing vocals

Recording studio: DNA Studios Stockholm, Studio NEVO Sundsvall, Studio Cobra, Stockholm

Producer: Stefan Brisland-Ferner

Executive producer: Christopher Juul

Engineer: Stefan Brisland-Ferner (DNA Studios), Henrik Heinrich (Studio NEVO), Christian Gabel (Studio Cobra)

Mixing and mastering: Christopher Juul, Lava Studios

Recording line-up: 
Emma Härdelin: Vocals, violin
Stefan Brisland-Ferner: Violin, Viola, Hurdy gurdy, Keyboards, Nordic bowed lyre, Kantele, Moraharpa, Mouth harp, Electronics, Electric guitar, Mandolin, Backing vocals
Gotte Ringqvist: Acoustic guitar, Hardanger fiddle, backing vocals
Rickard Westman: Electric guitar, Electric bass
Jens Höglin: Drums, Percussion, Electronics

Guest musicians:
Maria Franz (HEILUNG): Vocals on "Två Systrar
Anders Norudde: Moraharpa on "Ramunder"
Ulf Gruvberg: Vocals on "Lussi Lilla"

Bio: Bryan Reesman

Pre-orders: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/garmarna-forbundet

For more on GARMARNA, visit the band's official FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, YOUTUBE, and BANDCAMP.