Klingra

In Old Norse afenginn means ‘intoxication and strength’ and it's the name adopted by the musical collective around Danish composer and musician Kim Rafael Nyberg, one of the leading neo-folk, post-classical performers in Scandinavia. For this entrancing album (whose title means ‘Circle’ in Faroese and which was composed ‘using interlocked cyclical patterns, like the gears in a clock’) he's joined by musicians from across the Nordic countries including the Faroe Islands, Norway and Denmark, with Ólavur Jákupsson singing in Faroese.

With two percussionists, two pianists, a violinist, a trombone player, a pedal steel guitarist and the Danish String Quartet all on board, it may come as something of a surprise that the music should prove quite so delicate and meditative, especially after 2017's distinctly epic and occasionally thunderous double album Opus. But should this sound like there's not quite enough ‘Norse melancholy and cheerful madness’ let alone intoxication, apparently the vinyl version has two different introductions pressed into parallel grooves on the record, offering the listener two alternate listening experiences depending on where the needle drops, as well as ending the B-side on a closed loop that returns musically to the start of the album. What larks!