Groupa

If you want to search for the roots of the modern Swedish sound, one of the places to look is Groupa.

"Groupa and Filarfolket were the leading bands during the ‘80s," explained longtime keyboard player Rickard Åstrom. "We started a new movement in Swedish folk, and every band since has a relationship to that, I think. We continue to go for new goals. We don't sound the way we did 10 years ago. We keep looking for new ways of playing Swedish folk music, to bring the energy of the tradition into today without own personalities."

For such a long career, however, outside Sweden they've been porrly represented on disc. In the U.S., for example, Åstrom observed, "there's one compilation, 15 Years, and in 2000 we released a new record, Lavalek."

Over the years the band has seen some of the greatest names in Swedish music, including singer Lena Willemark and multi-instrumentalist Ale Möller, who would go on to illustrious careers both solo and as part of Fritfot, taking Swedish folk into yet another direction.

"Now we've crossed new borders, and we're freer, to play the way the music is today."

"Ale's affected music throughout Scandinavia, except maybe Norway, which is still very conservative. He's this remarkable combination of free-form and folk music."

But Groupa themselves have become an interesting combination of sounds. Many bands who've spent more than two decades together become ossified; instead, they've spread their wings.

"We've gone from more acoustic with reeds- bass clarinet and saxophone, recorder, a lute, and trumpet - to more electronic," noted Åstrom. "Not fully electronic. I play keyboards, and on records we process acoustic sounds. And the way we create music has changed. When I joined 10 years ago, everything was fixed, the arrangements very clear. Now we've crossed new borders, and we're freer, to play the way the music is today. That changes from show to show, and we're trying not to force the music into a certain shape, but let it develop. We're playing the same songs, and we're writing new songs in the Swedish tradition; it's still very rooted."

And for the future, Åstrom said, "I hope we'll continue another 21 years! We try to be open and let the music go where it goes. We'll continue touring in Europe, and we're making a new record soon. We've added a new singer, and that gives new challenges. We don't want to be a singer with a backing band - she has to be an equal member. We never want to play the same show over again. We'd rather take risks. We want to follow the music and be faithful to that."

Groupa

"Now we've crossed new borders, and we're freer, to play the way the music is today."

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