Garmarna

Garmarna rose to prominence among the leading acts of the Scandinavian folk revival during the 1990s by blending contemporary elements with longstanding Swedish folk traditions. Their first full-length recording, Vittrad in 1994, earned a Swedish Grammy nomination, whereas the follow-up, Guds Speleman from 1996, captured the “Album of the Year” prize at those same awards. After its American release, the record climbed prominently on the CMJ New Music chart. Late in 1996, Guds Speleman reached fifth place on a Top 25 ranking assembled by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Societe-Radio Canada. Their subsequent album, Vedergällningen (Vengeance), arrived in March 1999 and peaked at number eight on the European world music chart.

The ensemble formed in 1990, prompted by Olov Johansson’s incidental music for a stage production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Beginning as a trio of Gotte Ringqvist, Stefan Brisland-Ferner, and Rickard Westman, they rapidly cultivated a loyal regional audience. A radio interview after their appearance at the Umea Folkmusik Festival produced an invitation to a major festival in Autsfred, Sweden. That festival set proved decisive: drummer Jens Hoglin, recruited for the occasion, has remained a member ever since. In the crowd were Emma Hardelin, who soon joined as lead vocalist, and Mats Hammerman, president of the Massproduktion label, who offered the group a contract on the spot. Following the 1993 release of an EP, Garmarna toured extensively throughout Sweden. The next year, Drew Miller—bassist of the Minneapolis-based Boiled in Lead and founder of the independent Omnium label—heard their music and was impressed enough to sign them for North American distribution. Vittrad, originally issued in Sweden in April 1994, later appeared in the United States as Crumbling Away. The band undertook its first North American tour in March 1995. In autumn 1996, Garmarna received the Iron Gustav Award, the festival jury’s prize, for their performance at the Malzhaus Festival in Germany. They subsequently performed a song by Mats Wester and Py Bäckman at the Eurovision Song Contest. While touring in 1998, the group presented a program of pieces drawn from the medieval writings of Hildegard von Bingen. On New Year’s Eve 1999, Emma Hardelin sang selections by Benny Andersson of ABBA during a concert broadcast worldwide. Vengeance appeared the same year, and a self-titled album followed two years later.