Stian Carstensen

Multi-instrumentalist Stian Carstensen and his band Farmer's Market first carried the folk traditions of the Balkan Mountains to listeners across Norway. Although launched initially as a free jazz collective, the ensemble gradually moved under Carstensen’s direction toward Balkan folk sources, fusing longstanding practices with contemporary methods to shape an unmistakably folk-centered style. Carstensen started playing the accordion at age eight and later absorbed heavy metal during his teenage years. He mastered the guitar on his own, yet the accordion stayed his preferred instrument. Teaming with jazz-department peers at the Conservatory of Trondheim, he founded Farmer's Market in late 1991. The original members—bassist Finn Guttormsen, guitarist Nils Olav Johansen, saxophonist Havard Lund, and percussionist/drummer Jarle Vespestad—captured their debut album, Speed-Balkan-Boogie, live at the Molde International Jazz Festival in 1994. After Lund left in 1995, woodwinds player Trifon Trifonov took his place. Carstensen recorded the follow-up album Music From the Hybrids with a trimmed Farmer's Market lineup that included Johansen, Vespestad, and Guttormsen. His third album, Sommerbrisen, appeared in 1998 and featured bassist Arild Andersen together with guitarist Frode Alnaes.