ANDREAS TOPH?J & RUNE BARSLUND - Trails And Traces
Go Danish Folk Music GO0320
Andreas and Rune lay claim to being among the leading traditional players in Denmark, and I can see why. They specialise in fiddle and accordion but use many other instruments, and are joined on some numbers here by Timo Alakotila from Finland on piano to great effect.
There is fine musicianship on show. For a collection of tunes with such a traditional sound and feel, I was surprised to find that most of the tunes were composed by Andreas and Rune. Some of these tunes are a little lacking in vigour to my ear. That said, there are also some real lively tunes here. Rune describes his composition, The Haywire Compass, as “…a confused tune that consisted of phrases pointing in many directions”. Well, you’ll get no argument from me on that, but it’s a great tune nonetheless. There is one vocal track here (the traditional Rosen which seems to come from the Faroe Islands) featuring Sine Lahm Lauritsen on vocal and that, for me, felt a little out of place in this collection, despite Sine’s quality voice. If pressed for a favourite I would go for the haunting final track, Vilda Polska - an original tune in celebration of a 20-year friendship. Listen once and it will stay with you for a while.
You can listen to samples and buy the CD from their website. I look forward to seeing them live when circumstances allow them to tour again.
www.andreasrune.dk
Philip Thomas
This review appeared in Issue 135 of The Living Tradition magazine