GARMARNA

This mini album has some really fine archaic ethnic music on it. The sounds are dominated by violins and acoustic guitars, and the presence of amplified instruments and electronic treatments are revealed more clearly by the instrumentation list than the music itself. The songs are basically improvisational runs restricted by pre-defined rhythmic and melodic themes, so this music should appeal to the listeners of jazzy and psychedelic music in addition to the adorers of traditional folk music. The melodic diversity, human presence borne from the singer and acoustic instruments fill the songs with human emotion, and after playing this to my friends I would claim it being both accessible and intriguing for those searching heavier musical content from the atavist droning's. I believe the musicians were possibly students of the field, or some other impulse immersed them to focus so purely to the ancient traits of their musical cultural heritage. Originally the songs were relating to practical actions of calling back herd from the pastures, or allowing peasants to dance and hear similarly tales with life teachings or conceptions of past events. Some of the used ancient Scandinavian scales resemble quite much Arabic harmonies, and though the roots of the music are in Swedish folk music, and observed through the viewpoints of European classical music and modern Western popular music, there is a peculiar exotic feeling of the East sensed here. These polskas could be seen as North-Western ragas, supporting the universalism of man's efforts in creation of music and the collective unconscious.

After long search I found the extended CD of the EP, allowing the broad vision to this album I really have grown to adore. The later releases of the group moved towards more contemporary grounds by fusing the traditional songs with modern electronic music. I personally liked these warmer acoustic sounds on this first release, and it has truly deep and powerful emotional potential in it. Though their later releases have some nice songs in them too, this is still the singular album I would really recommend from this band to anybody charmed by pagan folk music.