Frode Nyvold and friends
The musicians on the recording were originally brought together by singer Frode Nyvold and his is the first voice we hear, in a short song called “Var det meg eller var det deg.” Nyvold is accompanied on this track by Leiv Solberg and Hans Fredrik Jacobsen on guitars, along with fiddle-player Ånon Egeland. After one vocal verse the guitarists get to play the tune, followed by Tone Hulbaekmo singing the next verse, before Egeland goes once round on the fiddle to bring things to a close.
The people on the recording, though known to each other, had not all grown up listening to traditional music but everybody was well aware of what was going on in other musical genres, whether it be pop, jazz or blues, This probably informed their open approach when deciding to record the sort of songs and dance tunes found here. At a time when recordings of Norwegian folk music tended to be pretty much dominated by fiddle-players they were among a number of young players bringing a fresh look to the material, not by excluding fiddle (the line-up on Trioliadam includes two fiddlers, Egeland and Øystein Rød) but bringing other instruments along to the party. A few years before, Ånon Egeland and Per Midstigen had made an award winning album, I Heitaste slåtten, mainly featuring fiddle and diatonic accordion. On “Skomageren med sin begede snud” the two are heard together again, with Rød also playing fiddle and Kari Valen on harpeleik, a kind of zither.
The mixed instrumentation, with almost every track having a different permutation of players, makes for a refreshing and varied listen. On “Tora Nydelig” Nyfold's vocal is accompanied this time by Jacobsen and Tellef Kvifte, both playing recorders. Kvifte was in those days playing with Slinkombas, a group also making something of an impact and, like Egeland and Midstigen, having success with their debut album, with the support of Hallvard Kvåle and his pioneering Heilo record label.
In addition to the musicians already mentioned, the album also features Sverre Jensen playing hurdy-gurdy on one track, accompanying Frode Nyvold's rendition of “Jeg hadde meg en venn.” Not an instrument usually associated with Norwegian traditional music, it's an indication of how these musicians were looking outward in rethinking how this material might be presented. Trioliadam contains a fine collection of songs and tunes, standing up well to the test of time, even if the recording did only survive on an eighth inch cassette tape.
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There's something satisfying about learning of a recording made decades earlier being
rediscovered when it had been presumed lost. You find yourself on the side of liking it before
you've even heard it, so it's gratifying when it doesn't disappoint. Trioliadam was recorded in
1981 on a farm in the east of Norway over a period of three days, but was never released,
possibly because at some point the original tape disappeared. Fortunately a rough cassette mix
survived and, with some improvements having been made to the sound quality, the album has
finally seen the light of day.
