E’ du bøl? – Sven Nyhus Quartet

The Røros tradition

Sven Nyhus quartet and Glåmos spellmannslag went together for the first time in a studio on “E du bøl?” and ended up presenting a unique voice in the norwegian folk musical world. The elegant interplay between the quartet and the spellmannslag creates an unparalleled sound, and the record, with its roots firmly planted in the small historic town of Røros, shows through its 19 songs a masterful interpretation of the unique folk musical tradition of Røros.

In the dialect of Røros one usually talks of “games” as a common denomination of the slåtter and dances presented on this record, where the pols dominates. Glåmos spellmannslag is amongst Norway´s oldest in its kind and one of the most prominent representatives for the old pols tradition. Hailing from Røros, they are well familiar with the towns musical tradition, but even the quartet, with several members from other parts of Norway, manages to communicate the tradition in a way that you would think it was their native musical language.

“E du bøl?” roughly translates to “are you lascivious?”, a humoristic question posed to Sven Nyhus father, Peder Nyhus (1905-1994), by Glåmos spellmannslag first female fiddler, Kristine Wivelstad (1902-1990). This playfulness is mirrored in the albums songs, and “E du bøl?” shows both the Røros tradition, Sven Nyhus quartet and Glåmos spellmannslag at their very best.