The Nordic Sound with Jameson Foster
What is the Nordic sound? Is there even a Nordic sound to begin with? Why has the music of the North long invited so much popular attention and imagination across the centuries? Join musicologist Jameson Foster as he explores the very question of music and Nordic cultural heritage through interviews with some of the most prominent musicians in the Nordic music scene today across genres, from black metal, to classical and trad folk, and everything in between. Remember: No Nazis in Valhalla.
Episodes
We're taking a break from the live festival interviews this week to have a familiar face back with us once again! In this episode, Jameson sits down with Jonas Lorentzen of Nebala to discuss the band's long-awaited return at this year's Midgardsblot. Jonas and I also let off some steam about AI and its affect on the Nordic music scene.
The Nordic Sound is supported by its patrons over on Patreon...
Welcome back to the Nordic Sound. This is the first of a few live interviews done across both Midgardsblot and Fire in the Mountains, so there is a video component for those listening on podcast if you’d like to watch the scenic places where these chats take place as a nice changeup from zoom.
This first of the festival interview series is with mr. John Stenersen of Wardruna who is currently ramping up to...
Today’s guest is a very dear friend of mine, Mattias Thedens, who is a renowned fiddler in the Norwegian folk scene and most known for his place as the frontman of folk rock band Gangar. In this episode, Mattias and I talk about the new album Dreng and the joys of touring before getting into a deeper conversation about tradition and how to handle criticism as a new artist.
Oslo-based Gangar bring a fres...
In Nordic Sound #64 I sit down with the voices of Songleikr to discuss the making of their new album "Fuglefolk". We also geek out about birds... just a little bit.
The Nordic Sound is supported by its patrons over on Patreon.com/jamesonfoster
Bar
Monica
Ember
George
Bets
Carrie
Gen
Leigh
Mike
Cindy
Clayton
Drake
Eric
Jamie
Julia
Mary
Michae...
After a long hiatus, the Nordic Sound returns with Jósúa Hróðgeir Rood to talk about Nexion's latest album "Sundrung". Not only is Josh a rising vocal star in the extreme metal scene, but as a scholar he is currently writing my PHD dissertation on Ásatrú as a reinvention of Old Norse Heathenism for the Social and Human Sciences department at University of Iceland. Putting two PhD students in related fields together ...
What a year to be a Nordic music geek, eh? This is already my fourth year of doing these year-end lists, and looking back, I do believe this year has left the greatest impression on me. Not only as a listener, but as a musician myself. I look forward to what next year has in store, but for now, it's time to reflect and enjoy on the awesome music Nordic artists have brought us this year.
Thanks for another gre...
Faber and I had such a good time hanging out for Nordic Sound 52 , that we just had to have him back on the channel to talk about Sowulo’s latest album, NIHT. We also talk about our shared challenges of listening to music as musicians (cognitive vs emotional listening), mythology, paganism, and why we seem to always use esoteric languages in this style of music.
The Nordic Sound is supported by ...
Runahild joins the channel once again for Nordic Sound #61 to chat about her upcoming album (and book!) Seid, in which she takes us through a personal and spiritual journey with "seid" - an ancient Nordic shamanic practice of which there is woefully little archaeological or literary record.
Seid is out October 17th!
The Nordic Sound is supported by its patrons over on Patreon.com/jamesonf...
Live from the Pike's Peak Center in Colorado Springs, Einar and Jameson sit down for a retrospective on Wardruna’s “Birna” and the historic Fire in the Mountains festival in Montana this past July.
Jameson Foster is an ethnomusicologist at the University of Colorado Boulder specializing in Nordic music traditions.
Thumbnail photo: Morten Munthe
The Nordic ...
Maja Kjaer joins the Nordic Sound for episode 59 to talk about her debut album "Landing", why Danish music is "like that", fiddling traditions in Denmark, and more.
The Nordic Sound is supported by its patrons over on Patreon.com/jamesonfoster
Bar
Monica
Ember
George
Bets
Carrie
Gen
Leigh
Mike
Cindy
Clayton
Drake
Eric
Jamie
Julia
Ma...
Live from Midgardsblot, MÍO returns to the Nordic Sound for a second time for an interview about their signing with ByNorse, their new album "Hva Nå", and how they use creatures of folklore to tell their stories about modern issues through their lyrics.
The Nordic Sound is supported by its patrons over on Patreon.com/jamesonfoster
Bar
Monica
Ember
George
Bets
Carrie
Ge...
In this installment of the Nordic Sound live from Midgardsblot, Jameson the Garden Gnome is joined by Mathias Dahlsveen of Norwegian folk metal band Vanvidd for a chat about the band's history and how they approach their own style of folk metal in their latest album Avlivsritualer. Featuring special guest, Borrepus
I highly recommend checking out Vanvidd's discography if you haven't already.
Avlivsritu...
Johannes Geworkian Hellman is one of the foremost names in the Nordic folk music sphere today, impressing audiences the world over with his acrobatic and innovative approach to an often underestimated instrument - the Hurdy-Gurdy.
Johannes sits down with Jameson for Nordic Sound 56 to reflect on his Hurdy-Gurdy journey and his own identity as a musician, the story of his acclaimed gurdy/accordion duo Symbio w...
Björn Kaidel (Akleja, Plønk) joins Nordic Sound #55 to talk about how the Scandinavian folk revival of recent decades is leading to renewed interest among German musicians to reclaim a folk music tradition of their own. Diving deeper, Björn and Jameson discuss the importance of medieval folk/rock bands such as In Extremo and Faun in keeping some semblance of folk music alive in Germany, how the folk revival is using...
Please join me in welcoming the inimitable Mia Guldhammer to Nordic Sound #54. Performing with acts such as Virelai, Mallebrok, and now Guldganger, Mia has long made a name for herself as a passionate keeper and performer of the Scandinavian ballad tradition at Medieval markets and reenactments, as well as a celebrated vocalist in the Danish folk music scene. Mia takes us through her experience in both, diving deep ...
Most known through her bands Diket and Ævestaden, Levina Storåkern joins Nordic Sound #53 to talk about her recently released solo endeavor “Månadsvill”. Captivated on the first listen, Jameson sits down with this rising star to talk about her songwriting process and the inspirations that went into the record, as well as learning more about her journey as a folk musician. Along the way, we also get into ...
Painting vivid impressionistic landscapes through their ancient instruments, Nordic folk titans Maija Kauhanen and Johannes Geworkian Hellman join forces on their debut album Migrating. Each of these musicians are heavy hitters, or even icons, if I could be so bold on their respective instruments, Maija on kantele and Johannes on hurdy-gurdy, so I have been fairly curious in the lead up to this record to see h...
Faber Horbach of Sowulo joins the Nordic Sound for episode 52 to talk about Sowulo’s origins, the recent tour, and walk us through the band’s development from Alvenrad to Wurdiz. We also get into a pretty good discussion about artistic integrity when bridging music, mythology, and history. Thanks for hanging out, Faber!
0:00 Intro
1:08 Europoean Tour, Echoes and Mervailles, Opening for Heilung<...
Rooted in ancient Finnish lore, Noiduin emerges with their first full-length album Lovi, an homage to an otherworldly state or space, a rift between worlds, and a place of crossing where the veil between the living and the dead thins. With a sound palette dominated by tagelharpa, percussion, kantele, and raw ethereal voices, Lovi brings songs both new and revisited to their already impressive repertoire.
Anders Norudde is one of the minds behind the legendary Hedningarna - a band whose influence is still felt throughout the world of Nordic folk music today. With their reputation for bringing a more raw, primal, and percussive energy to traditional folk music, Hedningarna was one of a handful of bands out of Sweden in the 90s who pushed the boundaries of what folk music can be.
With Hedningarna's lasting influ...
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of NFL Media hosts including Jourdan Rodrigue, Colleen Wolfe, and Nick Shook provide all the NFL news, previews, recaps and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.