Nova

For his first solo album in nine years Apneseth, one of Norway’s most thrilling Hardanger fiddle players, chose to record in the extraordinary surroundings of Oslo’s Emanuel Vigeland mausoleum. In a sense that makes this something of a duo album because the lengthy reverberation and the acoustic qualities of this space have a profound effect on any performance. Since he emerged onto the Norwegian folk scene over ten years ago Apneseth has, deservedly, amassed numerous awards, not just in folk music categories, but also for his work with his own trio, with groundbreaking accordionist Frode Haltli, and he’s written for dance, theatre and for orchestras.

Nova, he says, is ‘the most personal album I’ve done,’ the acoustics giving it ‘an almost cosmic character.’ While Norwegian folk traditions are in his soul, there’s also a timeless quality to the music, with Apneseth’s jewel-like clarity revelling in this space as he explores the many voices of his compositions. Take ‘Speglingar’ for example, with its mischievous folk-dance qualities, or the unsettling ‘Palmyra’ reaching out to Middle-Eastern traditions. Each track has its own character yet the album as a whole is a remarkable experience of a very special musician in a very special place.