Music Without Borders – Ferd – Music Without Borders

With 52 musicians from 18 different countries and a basis in the traditional music of Setesdal, Norway, Ferd has evolved into something unique — and not just from a Norwegian musical perspective, the result is to the highest degree global. The listener is presented a window into a three-year artistic research project that has resulted in an incomparable record.

Musical encounters

How would performers from other cultures respond musically to traditional Norwegian music from Setesdal, and how would Norwegian artists respond to the musical response from the outside world? The initiators Kirsten Bråten Berg, Sigurd Brokke, Gunnar Stubseid and Hallvard T. Bjørgum wanted to figure out how different instruments from different countries and parts of the world would affect the original material, and what tonal and rhythmical challenges and opportunities this encounter would produce in the search of a new soundscape?

Interactive recording

The process was based on video- and sound recordings of Norwegian folk musicians that had been forwarded to every corner of the world, to pick up musical response. Through an interactive process with portable studios and new digital technology, the musicians have been able to work together on the material though physically distanced. In addition, the collaboration has been continued through personal meetings, seminars and workshops.

From the university to record release

Every tune on the record has evolved into a unique piece of music, in many of the cases far away from the original material. What initially could seem like a stiff research project at the university has become a fabulous and innovative pioneering work that’s unparalleled.