Ranarim

ABBA might have been huge international pop stars in the ‘70s, but one thing they never did was play folk music. So what are Sweden's Ranarim doing, giving a shout out to their countrymen on their debut album of traditional Swedish folk, Till The Light Of Day (Northside)?

"It's not meant seriously," laughed singer Ulrika Boden. It's just that we're two males and two females, one blonde, one brunette. And I listened to ABBA when I was a little girl, so I think it's great."

Boden and Sofia Sanden form the vocal half of Ranarim, with Jens Engelbrecht on guitar and mandola and Niklas Roswall on nychelharpa, a Swedish keyed fiddle. Together they put a playful, energetic twist on traditional music, as on "Stolt Ingrid (Proud Ingrid)," where the voices and instruments blend to make make a very full sound.

"We just happen to love the music and the acoustic sound of the old instruments. It's not a movement against computers."

But they've been working on their formula for three and a half years, since Boden, Sanden, and Roswall met at Stockholm's Royal Academy of Music, where they were studying traditional music. Part of their education, Boden explained, was "to form small groups in school and tour. We knew we wanted to use guitar, and Niklas knew Jens, so that was it. It's continued after school."

Although Ranarim (the name translates as ‘Beautiful blanket of Dew) seem to be part of a young, acoustic Zeitgeist sweeping through European music (England's Eliza Carthy is another prime example), they're not doing this because they hate samplers and beats.

"We're not trying to find our roots," insisted Boden, who, along with Sanden, has sung with the very electric Hoven Droven, and is a member of Rosenberg 7. "We just happen to love the music and the acoustic sound of the old instruments. It's not a movement against computers. In fact, Jens is in a band calling Bark, that mixes traditional music with dance beats. We listen to pop and rock music, so perhaps we get some influences from that."

Along with the ancient ballads, whose gory tales and presented with youthful glee, there's also a strong dose of humor, as on "Infor - Ljusbadar - Hin A Hatta," which includes a bizarre rhyme made up of 22 goat names. That, Boden explained, was an accident, because "we needed something to finish the piece, so when we found some goat names in a book and used them."

This article first appeared on Sonicnet.com

Ranarim

"We just happen to love the music and the acoustic sound of the old instruments. It's not a movement against computers."

Related Articles in the 'Nordic Artists' Category...