Written by Hej Everyone, It’s Carly, I hope you’re having a good morning/afternoon/night
A few months ago, I made a post called Top 5 Nordic folk bands. I decided to make a part 2 because there are more Nordic folk bands that I want to promote.
So, let’s get into it
5# – Triakel
Country: Sweden
Years Active: 2000 – present
Triakel is a Swedish folk band that was formed on New Year’s Eve, 2000. The band features Emma Härdelin from Garmarna and Kjell Erik-Eriksson from Hoven Droven.
A unique thing about Triakel is its song choices. Their 1st album, Songs from 63 Degrees North, features songs in Jämtlandic Swedish, a Swedish Dialect spoken in the province of Jämtland.
Their 3rd album, Thyra, focused on songs by Thyra Karlsson, a Swedish folk singer in the 1900s. Their most recent album Händelser I Nord (Events in the North) focused on real-life events in Modern Swedish History.
4# – Ranarim
Countries: Sweden, Denmark
Years Active: 1992-2010
Ranarim was a band that was formed in 1992 as a project by 4 college students. What made Ranarim unique is that it has a pop influence. This was what Sofia Sanden, the lead singer, mentioned.
The band’s most popular album, Morgonstjärna (Morning Star), is a great introduction to Swedish folk music. The band was popular until their fall in 2010.
Today, Ulrika Bodén, the band’s other singer, now works with another Swedish folk band called Ahlberg, Ek & Roswall (which also featured Niklas Roswall, another Ranarim member) in which they made 3 albums together, and Sofia Sanden works as a solo artist. Nobody knows what happened to the band’s instrumentalist Jens Engelbrecht.
3# – Jaerv
Country: Sweden
Years active: 2009 – present
(I keep finding Swedish bands; I am pretty sorry, lol)
Jaerv is an All-Male Swedish folk band that was founded in 2009. The band mostly plays instrumental songs only but occasionally has songs in English.
This band is one of the few Swedish folk bands that have performed outside of Scandinavia, as they have done concerts in Japan and The United States.
Not only that, but they have done a lot of free concerts at schools and churches and even ran a charity event to raise money for Scandinavian-American Heritage Centers in 2016 by performing in multiple heritage centers in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
2# – SKÁLD
Country: Iceland (they’re actually French, but they make songs in Icelandic
Years Active: 2018 – present
SKÁLD is the most popular band on this list. They are known for their songs inspired by Icelandic sagas and Norse mythology.
In fact, SKÁLD was my 1st introduction to Nordic folk music, so their music is really nostalgic to me, and I had a phase where I loved Skáld a lot.
The band has 4 albums as of 2024: Viking Chant (2018), Viking Memories (2020), Winter Songs (2021), and Huldufólk (2023).
In the first 3 albums, the band was just a trio, with Justine Galmiche being the lead singer.
However, in 2022, Justine left the band for unknown physical health reasons, and the band got a new lineup. Their new lead singer is Lily Jung.
And last but not least, the Number 1# band is….
1# – Värttinä
Years Active: 1992 – 2012
Country: Finland
I know you guys are gonna yell at me because they’re Karelian, but West Karelia is in Finland, so….
Värttina was an all-girl band that formed in 1992. The band was really successful in the 90s and 2000s.
If you watched Arthur, the “binky song” in some episodes was actually the instrumental version of one of their songs, so because of that, they got recognition for their music.
In 2008, the band helped out to make songs for the Lord of the Rings musical, and they did end up appearing in it.
Well, that’s all. Comment your favorite band.
–Carly
