Naaljos Ljom

*2026 stock* This new collection of tunes represents the next step in the direction paved out on their first album. With more severe singular tonalities mined from the archives the duo have been looking further into the nuances and details, exposing tissue samples of the modes, forms and progressions of Norwegian folk music, and thus gaining greater control over the format. 

Naaljos Ljom 2 opens with a statement from Norwegian composer and music-theorist Eivind Groven, taken from a radio program from 1966 entitled "In-tune or out-of-tune in our folk music - lecture by Eivind Groven with musical examples.” The statement aptly explains the album's point of departure: "Today, we shall listen to music that cannot be expressed on a regular organ or piano. This is folk music which contain pitches and intervals that are outside the regular tuning system."

As elaborated upon in a text on the inner sleeve of the LP we get to hear adaptations of traditional tunes from various Norwegian villages. Naaljos' versions are inspired by a mix of archive recordings of performers such as Andres K. Rysstad, Torleiv H. Bjørgum, Ivar Fuglestad and Gunnar Austegard and the practice of active players such as Sigurd Brokke, Daniel Sandén-Warg, Anders E. Røine, Thov Wetterhus and Kenneth Lien. We also hear a “Halling” (dance style) inspired by master fiddler Trygve K. Vågen.

The duo honors the aforementioned Eivind Groven on two tracks of the record and both "Tolvtalvisa" and "To visetoner etter Eivind Groven og Ola Brenno" are based on the melodic material from unique 1930s recordings by Groven and Brenno. Adding to their signature sound of synthesizers and folk instruments the album features more fiddle playing than before, with guest fiddler Rasmus Kjorstad contributing on one track and Naaljos’s Anders Hana playing the fiddle himself on 2 tunes. 

Next to their usual electric bounciness, some of the tracks go in the direction of sound collage, inspired by the archive recordings the duo uses to learn the original tunes and tunings, and in this way they bring us closer to the source material. The music is put in a context - the real world, past and present. Naaljos Ljom have played at an impressive list of festivals for "cutting edge" music: Rewire Festival in The Hague, Unsound Festival in Krakow, Fri Resonans in Trondheim, Elevate Festival in Graz, Sonic Protest in Paris, UH party in Budapest, Motvindfestivalen in Oslo, Tuvas Blodklubb at Riksscena, Wonderful World in Stavanger, Fanø Free Folk Festival, and Folkemusikkveka in Ål.