I know that many people here are “into” Celtic Music, but did you know how much the Scandinavians have contributed? Are you aware of the modern arrangements of Traditional Scandinavian Music? Here is a list of some very good artists. Do you know any of them?
Groupa…Loituma…Hedningarna…Swap…Hege Rimstad…Troka…Vasen…Den Fule…Boot…JPP…Wimme…Varttina
Hedningarna: VOTTIKAALINA This originally is a traditional song from eastern Finland/Karelia Russia, which has also been covered by Värttinä.
Many music critics consider Vasen the best acoustic band in the world, expecially for their live performances.
I don’t know if it’s true but for sure their music is stunning.
And the sound of the nickelharpa is one of the most fascinating I’ve ever heard.
I suggest their “Essence” album or “Spirit”, a best of.
For all nordic music lovers a must see is the site tvfolk.net but unfortunately it’s down at the moment…
Väsen live from Japan 
Also:
Bordun, great band with a very talented piper 
http://uk.youtube.com/results?search_query=bordun&search_type=&aq=f
Valravn
Garizim, new young band from Stockholm
http://uk.youtube.com/results?search_query=garizim&search_type=&aq=f
Hoven Droven
http://uk.youtube.com/results?search_query=bordun&search_type=&aq=f
… and plenty more …
Ever since picking up a Nordic Roots CD compilation years ago (with a sticker on it that said $2.95..CHEAPER THAN FOOD!) I’ve had a love for the music.
Some of the bands are inconsistent in my opinion though. You hear a great track that sounds very traditional, and then the next track from that artist is more of a well…Enya feel, if you know what I mean.
Still, it’s part of my heritage and I truly enjoy it.
Thanks for all the replies! Nice to know there are some Scandahoovians here 
SUVETAR!!! (Goddess of Spring) #1
Scheky: I dig! I made my own MP3 playlists of favorites and burned them to CD. I take 2 out of every 3 tunes, the rest are too “culture specific” and I don’t understand them or they are poorly arranged.
note: Northside Studios (where most of this music is distributed), is here in Minneapolis. If you want to contact them…
Dag westling with Quilty/eitre plays fantastic music with a slight twist.
Dag himself plays superb 5 string banjo, whistle, guitar, and beautiful vocals and they are well worth a listen. Enjoy…http://www.quiltymusic.com/index.asp?lang=en&content=
But they are a scandinavian band playing irish music, which was not the topic here. Maybe you’ve just had a little too much
whisky
Vasen was lovely, and a whistle would, I think, fit in nicely in spots.
Philo
cool stuff!
you’re right there Henke, but it was too much of the malt beer
i’m on holiday in England. And the Sidmouth folk week was fantastic.
Sorry for being off topic, but Quilty/Eitre are still worth a listen
+1
I have many great recordings from NorthSide, but unfortunately they are @ copyright, or else I’d put a number of them here.
In the US, NorthSide has been, and currently is, the place to go for recordings from Scandinavia.
However, it seems the latest trend is toward subscription downloads, iTunes, etc.
Then again, apparently NorthSide has an iTunes program, too.
love scandinavian music, many the wellknown bands are already mentioned…
from the myspace pages of the below listed band via their friends links you can do a tour into the world of scandinavian or similar influenced bands
Instinkt
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=105678426
Valravn
http://www.myspace.com/valravn
Kasir
www.myspace.com/kasirmusic
Brigitte
Okay, maybe I should contribute with something useful. Here’s a cool band.
Skrömta - http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=123284836
I haven’t listened to the music on their myspace, but I’ve sort of known them for years. They are very effective on stage, especially in smaller, crowded pubs. And they do enjoy a drop or two of the
whisky
Seeing as this thread apparently has little to do with whistles and whistling, I’m mildly surprised that this thread hasn’t yet been moved, perhaps to the Poststructural Pub, or something like that.
After all, perhaps others could enjoy it, too.
first there was one forum
it became the whistle forum
all others came after
remnants of it’s past remain
As a footnote, I mentioned that Vottikaalina is a traditional Karelian song, but perhaps there could be something more to add. For instance, and roughly translated, vottikaalina means “dedicated cabbage head”* and the song has to do with a woman’s protest against her otherwise dedicated relationship to her husband, and his family.
*cabbage, as in the vegetable.
BTW, whoever put it on YouTube misspelled the title.
Excellent website here: http://spillefolk.dk/
Go to “English” in the menu at the top of the page and select “Fiddle Tunes” from the drop down menu. The link takes you to a search page.
One particularly useful filter is for mp3s. There are quite a number on the site and many seem to have been recorded at dances, so it gives you a proper feel for the music.
Geoff