STUNDOM - Må Jeg Holde Din Hånd (May I Hold Your Hand)
GO’ Danish Folk Music GO2021CD
Hailing from Denmark, what a talented trio Stundom is! Think Penguin Café, meets folk, meets Classic FM. Then, just for good measure, throw into the mix a soupçon of Palm Court music and there you have it in a nutshell. Essentially this is an instrumental work with a subtle choral element that, when the music dictates, enhances the lyricism. All three performers have contributed compositions but, such is the style and skill of the artists and the assured, confident core sound of Stundom, each track melds and flows effortlessly into the next. Emma Kragh-Elmøc on piano and strings provides a light but assertive touch that is a joy to listen to. Julian Svejgaard contributes piano and moog bass. Villads Hoffmann plays cittern, mandolin and ‘music box’. The relatively sparse, but hugely noteworthy, vocal element to the work is provided by all three members of the band.
In their bio, Stundom states that the root of their music comes from the Nordic dance music of their ancestors, a great anchor from which the band have developed their own, highly individual, enigmatic style. It is fairly common for a reviewer to select a particular track that stands out head and shoulders above the rest. However, in this case, to my mind there is no one defining track, they are all simply superb!
Matching Prospero’s beguiling, magical artifice, this work is an outstanding achievement of original material that emotionally plays upon the mind and ear. Må Jeg Holde Din Hånd is one of those rare CDs that simply grows and grows on you the more you listen, and the more you listen, the more complex and deeper the music becomes.
A eeper in every sense of the word.
www.stundommusic.com
John Oke Bartlett
This review appeared in Issue 142 of The Living Tradition magazine