The excellent Swedish folk duo Pettersson & Fredriksson are giving away their album "Sotali" as a pay-what-you-want deal: http://petfred.bandcamp.com/album/sotali
At the very least you should check out the album stream because it really is quite good!
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:
01. Johan Heltne - Krieg ist krieg und schnaps ist schnaps
02. TALK 1
03. Tiger Tape - She is fiction
04. Terrible Feelings - Blank heads
05. Pistol Disco - Organ and drum
06. TALK 2
07. Ludwig Bell - Kärlek slutar alltid med bråk
08. Bonghit - Maratondröm
09. Murmansk - Silver heel
10. TALK 3
11. Robyn - Criminal intent
12. Pettersson & Fredriksson - Langas
13. Lapko - A new bohemia
14. TALK 4
15. The Megaphonic Thrift - Candy sin
16. Park Hotell - Trouble kid
17. Champagne Riot - Heart stab
18. TALK 5
19. Britta Persson - Meet a bear
Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU (except this week -- there's no repeat tonight). That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.
Beautifully simple; simply beautiful. Everything a folk duo should be, though not all can claim such eloquence. Pettersson & Fredriksson are the pairing of nyckelharpist Daniel Pettersson and mandola player Daniel Fredriksson of Umeå, Sweden where they have played together since high school and "Sotali" is their 3rd album and my first introduction to the group. I don't spend much (any) time chasing down new folk music on my own despite my interest, so I'm always grateful when something this good drops in my lap and of course, am more than happy to share alike. I've spent a good deal of time listening to hardanger fiddle music this past year or so, but I must say that the buzzing of the nyckelharpa is more pleasing to my ears, 2nd only to the hurdy gurdy, to which is more closely related. The resonating effect of the sympathetic strings aptly fills the soundspace, likewise the double-strings of the mandola, so that the two are more than enough instrumentation on their own. Listen to "Brand", the first song on the album, and pay attention to the way they maintain space, consistently shifting and stepping aside to let small parts shine through. The track builds significantly as it progresses too, but they always hold back just enough so that it never gets overwhelming. Like I said, it all sounds so simple, so easy, but it is anything but. Listen to the rest of the album (or order a copy for yourself) at BandCamp: http://petfred.bandcamp.com/
Pettersson & Fredriksson - Brand