Seldom before can three fiddlers have sounded so well matched as The Nordic Fiddlers Bloc and seldom before can three fiddles have sounded so much like four and at times five instruments without using electronic trickery.
Just by the voicings, discipline and arrangements they bring to tunes from their native Norway, Sweden and Shetland, Olav Luksengård Mjelva, Anders Hall and Kevin Henderson project the depth and breadth of sound and precision of a string quartet.– Rob Adams, The Herald
From the moment Kevin Henderson, Olav Luksengård Mjelva and Anders Hall of The Nordic Fiddlers Bloc first played together in 2009 they felt a particular chemistry in the sound they created.
Some seven hundred gigs later, playing across Scandinavia, mainland Europe, the U.S. and the UK, that chemistry continues to draw the trio together.
Hundreds of tunes have been tried and laid aside in The Nordic Fiddlers Bloc’s quest for the music which on two albums, their self-titled debut from 2011 and Deliverance, from 2016, has charmed listeners in the same way that their live performances beguile and satisfy.
The jamming sessions that led to the threesome coalescing into a group showed them that they could not only create a unique sound, they also had a richness, helped by their use of standard fiddles, octave fiddle, viola and Hardanger fiddle, that has led to them being likened to a string quartet rather than just a trio.
Recognition, including a Norwegian Folk Award and a place in Songlines magazine’s Top of the World selection for their first album, has come their way and as fellow musicians including Dutch jazz violinist Tim Kliphuis invite them to participate in events such as his Rotterdam Fiddle Weekend, the trio have opened their ears to future possibilities in the jazz and classical spheres.
St Olavs Norwegian Church,
Rotherhithe SE16
Thursday 9th May
Doors 6:30pm, Live Music 7:00pm
Tickets £16 Advance £18 on the night
