Nordic Fiddlers Bloc are keeping the tradition alive

The trio - Olav Luksengard Mjelva from Norway, Anders Hall from Sweden and Kevin Henderson from the Shetland Isles - have seamlessly merged their individual fiddling styles together, delivering a unique sound that celebrates their musical heritages and injects a fresh energy into the folk scene.

The group is the brainchild of Anders Hall, who felt that combining three unique distinctive fiddle styles together would create something special. After recruiting Olav and Kevin, it became clear that Hall was onto something, and the fiddlers three have been collaborating ever since.

“I met Anders at various festivals and music events and we had a lot of fun socializing and playing music for fun at jam sessions,” Kevin explained on how the band came to be. “Anders and Olav play in another group called Sver so they knew each other’s music from that project and it was through Anders I met Olav. We just had a lot of fun playing music together, and decided we would organise a tour in Norway and it was very well received so we decided we should do more with it. It’s really grown from there.”

But what is the thread that brings it all together?

“Some of the old traditional music from Shetland is closely linked to the old hardanger music from Norway,” Kevin explained. “In Shetland it was very common to find tunes that were very much like the sound of the hardanger fiddle in Norway. Our three styles are very different but we have a lot of fun blending them together and playing each other’s music.”

The group’s second album, ‘Deliverance’ was released earlier this year to critical acclaim and features traditional and self-penned material which fans can expect to hear on their latest tour.

“We took our time with this album and we are very happy with how it has turned out,” Kevin said. “I think this album has seen a definite progression from the first album in terms of the band’s sound and with arrangement ideas for example. There’s also a higher percentage of our own compositions on this album compared to the first but we still have a lot of focus on the traditional music from where we all come from.

“It’s important to not do the same thing to keep things interesting for the listener and the audience member when they come and see us play. We just throw ideas around and see what happens!”

Catch the Nordic Fiddlers Bloc at An Lanntair, Stornoway on October 27. For tickets, visit wwwlanntair.com.