Rim

This album is a collaboration between four musicians from Norway and Sweden; they have chosen traditional tunes and some of their own compositions for their debut release. Nyckelharpa, accordion, fiddle, Hardanger fiddle and viola are all played with a real sensitivity. The opening tracks suggest they’re a band who are fun live and are great ambassadors for folk traditions. But with the first of Hilde Fjerdingøy's compositions, ‘Barentsburg’, suddenly the album opens up into something that you were not expecting: it is a gentle piece with a classical chamber feel.

I get the impression that Rim love discovering what their own strengths are, and what to do with them. ‘Polska Efter Isak Isaksson’, a traditional dance tune, is one of the best tracks on the album, and its energy is tastefully shared among the instruments. The producer is Maria Kalaniemi, queen of Finnish accordionists, and that alone ought to tell you that this is a band to keep an eye on as they grow into their musical identities.