A Swedish Folk Musician in London

I am a clarinettist and melodeon player based in Southeast London. Swedish and Scandinavian music has been my main interest for many years, and I have a large repertoire of dance and ceremonial music and herding tunes.

An important aspect of my musicianship has been to research and learn music from my home province Hälsingland, in Northern Sweden. Especially, I spent many years interviewing and talking to older singers and musicians in the area. Most influential for my own music making have been and still is the blacksmith and singer Arvid Westberg (b.1918 - d.2013), and fiddlers Vänster-Olle Olsson (b.1924 - d.2015) and Bertil Westling (b. 1927). I also spent many hours trawling through archives, recordings, manuscripts, and drank countless cups of coffee in various kitchens talking to people about their and others music. I have written about some of this work in another blog (in Swedish), Hälsingelåtar for which I received the Hudiksvall local council’s culture award in 2011. I have also produced a tune book with a selection of pieces from Hälsingland (contact me to buy a copy). 

I was awarded the title Riksspelman, 'National Folk Musician', in 2005. In addition to my focus on music in Hälsingland, I particularly enjoy playing tunes from Älvdalen and Särna in Dalarna, and Värmland towards the border to Norway.

 Although I had played the clarinet in the local music service since I was 10 years old, it was not until my late teens that I came into contact with traditional music. Influenced by a friend I went to Malung Folkhögskola (2001) to do a year-long course in folk singing with Maria Röjås and Anders Larsson, which in turn became a door into the Swedish folk scene and led me on to study traditional music and music education at the Malmö Academy of Music in Southern Sweden (2003-2009). At the academy I studied clarinet with Dan Gisen Malmqvist, one-row melodeon with Mats Eden, and took further lessons with fiddler Tuva Härdelin. 

During a break in my studies (2006-2007) I moved back to Hälsingland to spend more time playing with Olle, Bertil and Arvid. I also played with Bollnäsbygdens Spelmanslag and worked as an archive assistant in a local folk music archive.

 When I finished my studies at the Academy of Music in 2009 I had been involved in an exchange project with the Hanoi Academy of music in Vietnam for several years and developed a more serious interest in ethnomusicology. Influenced by Vietnamese music expert Barley Norton, I moved to London to do an ethnomusicology master with him at Goldsmiths, University of London. At the moment I am finishing a PhD thesis on music and sentiment in Vietnamese traditional opera, at another University of London college, Royal Holloway.

 Parallel to my research in Vietnam, I have continued to teach and perform both Swedish and increasingly English traditional music. In London I have worked with the English Folk Dance and Song Society, the Centre for Young Musicians, and the Trad Academy. I am a musician for the Blackheath Morris Men, and also perform as a solo musician on clarinet and melodeon, and when possible with my Swedish band, Syndens Kapell (see video), or in other constellations.

I am always on the look out for gigs or teaching opportunities, so feel free to contact me if you are in need of some Swedish or Scandinavian music!