Ljom - Ljom // Trollskjegg og Trillebår

Is there something called contemporary folk music? If so, Ljom, the band from the remote
Snåsa mountains, is the perfect representative of this genre. Writing most of the lyrics and
music themselves, the music they play is not literally “traditional”, but folk music is clearly
embedded in everything they do, and the lyrics on this third album from the band are about
nature and nostalgia.

Ljom (in Norwegian meaning “distant echo, folk memory”) is Kjersti Kveli (vocals), Sivert
Skavlan (clarinet, cello), Anne Marte Eggen (bass), Nils Andersson (guitar) and Per W. Ohls
(accordion, organ).

First and foremost the new record is a dazzling fireworks of musical joy and powerful
expression where the lyrics are a contributing factor. Kjersti Kveli’s narrative voice describes
many memories and looks back into childhood and the adolescent years in this new
production with the picturesque name “Trollskjegg og trillbår” [Tree beard and barrow].
Nature is the important core of each of the narratives about discovering oneself and the
world, as well as encountering all the weird and wonderful things found in the mountains,
forests, marshes and even playgrounds.

In the nostalgic return to days gone by, we adults rediscover ourselves over and over,
picking berries, driving through the countryside, sensing frustration of all sorts all the way
until we find ourselves in our elderly years, and where the songs of the young can comfort us
and take us back to timeless mornings and evenings. This time the band has used a
fascinating mix of childhood memories and fantasies as the source for their lyrics, thus
breaking new ground in their musical adventure. A few older lyrics are added to the mix,
reaching out from and connecting to the previous two albums the band has released.
“Trollskjegg og Trillbår” will be released by KKV on 26 April 2024, and from that date will also
be available on streaming services.

 
The record also marks the tenth anniversary of their first record, “Seterkauk” (Mountain Dairy
Herding Calls), released in 2014.