Nordic Raga

The fiddle traditions of Sweden and southern India are both long established but are as far apart, musically and culturally, as it's possible to get. So Nordic Raga, a collaboration between three Swedes and the London-based Karnatic violinist Jyotsna Srikanth, is an intriguing proposition. The quartet – completed by violinist and Hardanger fiddler Mats Edén, saxophonist Pär Moberg and percussionist Dan Svensson – has developed a fascinating fusion to realise the vision of Nordic Raga. Each track seems to start in one tradition, but end up somewhere else, through small changes in emphasis that shift the axis upon which this music spins. ‘Vildhonung’ develops from a static set of call-and-response phrases into a foot-stamping, fiddle-driving jig. ‘Folk Dreams’ opens with a spoken recitation, bustling tabla-style drumming – Svensson conjures some remarkable sounds with his assorted percussion – and a sumptuous sliding violin solo; but bluesy sax and fiddle solos follow, leading to a climax that represents a true fusion. A track later, Srikanth and Edén improvise together, riffing off each other's ideas. It's a sophisticated approach that must have involved a great deal of refinement and development.