Womad

Fribo

Enthralling Nu-Nordic folk summit

An Edinburgh kitchen table is perhaps an unlikely place for an international summit, but it's where the historical links between Britain and the Nordic were re-forged five years ago with the formation of Fribo. In 2003, the Norwegian singer Anne Sofie Linge Valdal, Highlands fiddler Sarah-Jane Summers and English guitarist Ewan MacPherson found themselves playing together in an old kitchen in Scotland's premier city. They liked what they heard and decided they were a group. Calling themselves Fribo and joined by Signy Jacobsdottir, the sensitive but exuberant blending of their related-but-different folk heritages has generated rave reviews for their recent debut album and ecstatic audiences for shows in both Britain and Norway. Exploring old musical links, exchanging traditions and expressing them anew, their zestful, vibrant, multi-national North Sea sound has even helped to spawn a new genre described by some as 'Nu-Nordic'. Daft name, really - but when Fribo sound as good as they do, it doesn't really matter what you call it.

Biog by Nigel Williamson