Groupa
Imeland
17.99

Keyboard and pianist Rickard Åström, accordionist/violinist Mats Edén, wind and reed man Jonas Simonson and former Filarfolket percussionist Tina Johansson form the year 2000 edition of this important and long-lived ensemble. While the music has undeniable and rich Swedish folk roots, they wildly mix African, Arabic and South American idioms in their work, meet jazz head to head, and are unrelenting in their using these sounds to further expand their own folk roots.

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1996 review in Dirty Linen "In a review last year of another Swedish group, I pronounced Groupa deceased. Ouch! I recently received e-mail from keyboardist Rickard Åström announcing that the band was alive and well and had a new album out. Not only are they alive, but they have become even more innovative and fun than ever. Along with Åström, the quartet on Imeland consists of extraordinary accordionist/violinist Mats Edén, wind and reed man Jonas Simonson and former Filarfoklet percussionist Tina Johansson (who has since left the Groupa group to be replaced by Norwegian drummer Helge Norbakken). For a band who was seminal in the revitalization of acoustic music on Scandinavia in the last decade one would have high expectations, and they are not only met but exceeded. They are unrepentant in their mixing of African, Arabic and South American idioms in their work, and unrelenting in their using these sounds to further expand their own folk roots. The band has become more self-assured, punchier and energetic. The songs range from deep traditional waltzes and hallings to wildly loose improvisational adventures. The Swedes have always been at the forefront of the new European folk movement and Groupa is still carrying the standard." - CF

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