Dreamscapes

After 25 years of travelling the world, fiddle juggernaut Frigg rolls like a well-oiled machine – albeit with a few surprises. Now a six-piece, Frigg have welcomed members of a legendary clan of Kaustinen fiddlers dating back to the 1800s: Esko Järvelä of JPP and his sister Alina Kivivuori, along with her husband, sometime jazz musician Juho Kivivuori, on bass and guitar. All three contribute strong compositions, with Alina’s warm, wistful ‘Allikko’, wrapped up in Juho’s baroque acoustic guitar solo, suggesting an ancient courtly dance. The third fiddler, Tero Hyväluoma, composed almost half of the tunes, including barnburners such as ‘Troll’s Twilight’, a foot-stomping hoedown that brings to mind Grieg’s ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King’. Most startling is mandolinist Petri Prauda’s ‘Game of Frigg’: it’s stirring, grandiose and cinematic. Backed by subtle percussion and (gasp) programmed drums, this could find fans beyond devotees of Nordic string bands.