(Krets)
Anders Hana, Olva Christer Rossebø and Åshild Vetrhus take inspiration from Norway’s rugged Rogaland in these tracks sourced from early-to-mid 20th century recordings

A new Norwegian folk label, Krets, arrives with an arresting debut release – an “anarchistic” set of songs, dances, ballads and psalms from the rugged south-western county of Rogaland.

Malmin, a duo of experimental musician Anders Hana and folk-rock and cajun-pop instrumentalist Olav Christer Rossebø, write in their album’s liner notes of the Rogaland elders whose performance style inspired them, and how “their hunt to resonate with the depth of the human soul spared no means”. Fittingly, these nine tracks largely sound like deliciously diabolical spells. Some are scraped on eight-string harding fiddles, others plucked or picked on mouth-harps, microtonal mandolins and guitars, where extra frets help the musicians play the tones between semitones. All are sourced from early-to-mid 20th-century recordings, and range from feverish dances such as Hallingkule (where repeated cyclical patterns sound ferocious between the bow’s horsehair and the strings’ steel) and the uncanny shimmer of Vinjavalsen (played on the langeleik, a zither with one string for the melody and eight for drones).