Gi Mi Pols!

Having each been raised in distinct traditions within the Røros region of central Norway, Ole Jorgen Tamnes in the Brekken and Olav Mjelva in the Glåmos tradition, this pair of youthful Norwegian fiddlers found themselves inspired to make what they describe as ‘a good old-fashioned, unvarnished duo album’ after ‘15 hours of non-stop fiddling in a camping bus.’ Putting aside any double entendres that last phrase might conjure up, this collection of no less than 27 tunes is a startling indication of the sheer variety and remarkably rich heritage of fiddle music from such a relatively tiny region, with an estimated population these days of less than 12,000. Gleaned not only from a substantial shared collection of memories and old recordings but also, apparently, from ‘a shoebox full of cassettes found in the attic at Tamneset’, it includes solo fiddling, the old harmony form known as groft og grant (in which a harmony line is played one octave below the melody line), and the somewhat newer harmony form which consists of a second voice. Opening with the first pols (polska) Ole Jorgen and his grandfather Jorgen played together – called, not unreasonably, ‘Forste Polsen’ (First Pols) – and with help here and there on zither and singing from Olav Nyhus, the album may sound unvarnished and, initially, bewilderingly diverse. But this instructive collection has clearly been put together with impressive love and care for traditions known and discovered.