Ville Veier – Erlend Viken Trio

With hardanger fiddle, electric guitar, and double bass, the Erlend VikenTrio presents folk music with a distinctive soundscape; rooted in Norwegian tradition, and drawing inspiration from improvisational music, rock, and desert blues. The trio has performed concerts throughout much of Europe and has garnered many fans across genre boundaries through their energetic live performances. Their previous album, Fete slåtta(nominated for the Spellemann Award (Norwegian Grammy) in 2023), consisted solely of traditional tunes. This album project inspired Erlend and gave him new ideas on how to compose music for the trio, resulting in the album Ville Veier, which includes seven new compositions and two traditional tunes.

The compositions on Ville Veier are more of an ensemble effort than on the previous albums. Erlend has usually focused on fully composed melodies, making them as detailed as possible. But in a band where improvisation is a significant part of the expression, it can be counterproductive to chart out the entire melodic course.

Sondre Meisfjord contributed with one track, Roadsterbassgangarhalling, and the song Bøgata Blues is a co-composition between the trio and producer Olav Torget. The track Road from Glasgow emerged after the trio played at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow. As the festival name suggests, there’s a lot of Celtic music at this festival, much of it fast-paced. Erlend realized that the trio didn’t have any properly fast tunes to showcase, and when he returned home from Glasgow, he began writing this piece. Mingus Lullaby is a lullaby for the puppy Mingus, who attended several trio rehearsals.

“It was very charming to have a little puppy running around during rehearsals, but also a bit annoying when it started chewing on everything it found, like Marius’s guitar cable. But as soon as we started playing, Mingus found peace and lay down to sleep, and this particular tune had a calming effect on him,” Erlend shares.

One of the challenges that most engages Erlend is finding space for contemporary expressions, contributing to making them a natural part of a living folk music tradition. This trio does not seek a traditional soundscape. The musicians’ wide range of genres, playfulness, and curiosity make the music embark on new journeys each time. This exploration creates the unique band sound, where the trio continues to investigate the meeting between fixed melodic material and free spaces within the music. Producer Olav Torget, with extensive experience across various genres, has been instrumental in arranging and shaping the music. He also contributes as a musician on several tracks, playing the African instrument konting (n’goni).

The album also features rising folk music star Synnøve Brøndbo Plassen on vocals.

“Synnøve joined us in the studio one day and participated on two tracks. It’s very exciting and inspiring to work with Synnøve. In addition to having a strong grounding in traditional music, she’s curious and open to exploring new directions.” – Erlend Viken

Erlend further shares about the album:

“Ville Veier is a continuation of our musical explorations together as a trio. Those who have listened to previous albums will recognize the soundscape, but hopefully, they will also hear new nuances in the material, arrangements, and instrumentation.”