New, dynamic album from Ljom

Is there something called contemporary folk music? If so, Ljom, the band from the remote Snåsa mountains, is the perfect representative of this genre. Writing most of the lyrics and music themselves, the music they play is not literally “traditional”, but folk music is clearly embedded in everything they do, and the lyrics on this third album from the band are about nature and nostalgia.

Ljom (in Norwegian meaning “distant echo, folk memory”) is Kjersti Kveli (vocals), Sivert Skavlan (clarinet, cello), Anne Marte Eggen (bass), Nils Andersson (guitar) and Per W. Ohls (accordion, organ).

First and foremost the new record is a dazzling fireworks of musical joy and powerful expression where the lyrics are a contributing factor. Kjersti Kveli’s narrative voice describes many memories and looks back into childhood and the adolescent years in this new production with the picturesque name “Trollskjegg og trillbår” [Tree beard and barrow]. Nature is the important core of each of the narratives about discovering oneself and the world, as well as encountering all the weird and wonderful things found in the mountains, forests, marshes and even playgrounds.

In the nostalgic return to days gone by, we adults rediscover ourselves over and over, picking berries, driving through the countryside, sensing frustration of all sorts all the way until we find ourselves in our elderly years, and where the songs of the young can comfort us and take us back to timeless mornings and evenings. This time the band has used a fascinating mix of childhood memories and fantasies as the source for their lyrics, thus breaking new ground in their musical adventure. A few older lyrics are added to the mix, reaching out from and connecting to the previous two albums the band has released.

“Trollskjegg og Trillbår” will be released by KKV on 26 April 2024, and from that date will also be available on streaming services.

The record also marks the tenth anniversary of their first record, “Seterkauk” (Mountain Dairy Herding Calls), released in 2014.

Tracklist:

1. Åter igjen 2:47

2. No ska vi bad 1.50

3. Trollskjegg og trillbår 3:08

4. Moltdrolet 4:03

5. Myren och jag 3:17

6. Rolls-Pols 2:48

7. Skogfiol 2:54

8. Syng for meg du lille 4:05

9. Skyggetausa 3:32

10. 2500 feskvatn 3:31

11. Kårliv 4:23