Hekate – Evigheten Forestår

Heilo

Vocalists Malin Alander, Silje Risdal Liahagen and Synnøve Brøndbo Plassen are all acclaimed solo artists on the Norwegian music scene. Together as Hekate they breathe new life in to the folk dance form slåttetralling, which involves three-part unison singing with a touch of basic percussion to give some drive but the variation of vocal styles and the interplay between the three makes this a real adventure, particularly for those for whom this is an unfamiliar genre.

It is an interesting approach to what is essentially a cappella, with two voices similar in tone keeping a rhythm as the third deeper voice wavers across a delightful melody. There is a wildness to the approach; a feral quality with the repeating stomp of a drum reiterating the ululations which are almost physical. You can almost feel them in the mouth as they are savoured and exhaled.

Selecting well-regarded songs from the last couple of centuries, they have chosen to inject them with some modern character, the twisting rhythms and sighing siren cries low and lonesome. Across the selection, the two unison voices make shapes in the cold night air like catherine wheels, while at other moments they are more cat-like and whispery, a little disconcerting, as if they are just on the edge as they stretch their vocal stylings into almost abstract shapes, coming on like old European scat and then cackling and screaming like witches.

There is definitely an improv element here, as if the mood of each piece decides on its direction but essentially this album is about putting these tracks firmly back on the dancefloor. Not in a Eurobanger techno way, but back in the folk clubs and coffee houses where people are drawn to move to these natural wild tones, their seafaring rhythms and basic, blunt percussion a salve to the complications of the modern world as they evoke a time that you imagined was long gone.

They are clearly enjoying themselves immensely, and there is a generosity and sweet warmth to this collection that transcends language barriers. The insistent repetitive patterns, the dizzying vocal combinations from Gregorian-style chants to earthly drones, and the joy and adventure are elements that would appeal to all. There are similarities to what Mediæval Bæbes were doing for British plain songs and madrigals, but Hekate evoke a wilder, more rugged land and one that is open to all.

-Mr Olivetti-