Kraja, singing live on the streets and in the stairwells of Sicily.

Musical discovery often happens when you least expect it. I was at the P3 Guld afterparty making smalltalk with Säkert!'s violinist Frida Johansson and she mentioned that she mostly works in folk music. I have no idea what kind of reaction she expected from me, but of course I was very interested and happy to receive a copy of her other group Kraja's latest CD "Brusand Hav". Can't say that I know much about Scandinavian a cappella folk tradition outside of my limited experience with the excellent Trio Mediaeval, but I do know that I like Kraja a lot and was even more impressed to learn that almost every track on their new record is an original composition, quite an audacious tact! As for the wide-ranging lyrical sources they explore, I can't comment in detail because I am lacking proper liner notes, but if my Googling is correct, this particular tune is based on a poem by Verner von Heidenstam -- not that I follow the words too much, I'm far more enamored with their superb four-part harmonies. Definitely not the sort of new music I expected to stumble across on my most recent trip to Sweden, but definitely a discovery that is more than welcome. Tack Frida!