Garmarna

Garmarna is a Swedish folk rock band. Their songs are mainly old Scandinavian ballads.

Garmarna
Background information
OriginSundsvall, Sweden
GenresWorld music
Folk
Folk rock
Folktronica
Neofolk
Nordic Roots Revival
Years active1990–present
Labels
Associated actsTriakel
Websitehttps://fearmusic.se
MembersStefan Brisland-Ferner
Emma Härdelin
Jens Höglin
Gotte Ringqvist
Rickard Westman

Biography

Garmarna was founded in 1990. Stefan Brisland-Ferner, Gotte Ringqvist and Rickard Westman were inspired by old Swedish music, which they had heard in a theatre. They began searching for old tunes and instruments. After two years of playing together, Jens Höglin joined the band on drums.

In 1992 the band recorded their first EP. They thought that female vocals would provide a contrast to the dark mood of their music and invited Emma Härdelin, a long-time friend of the band, as the guest vocalist on the EP. She officially joined the band in 1993. The debut EP sold well in Sweden, and helped the band tour in Scandinavia.

On the album Vittrad, the band decided to add samples and sequencers to the mix. In 1994, Omnium released Vittrad in the United States, with English translations of the old songs.

Garmarna started a long German tour and released the album Guds spelemän in 1996. The album sold well in Sweden and was reviewed favourably internationally.

In 1998 Garmarna did a series of concerts in churches in the North of Sweden presenting their interpretation of the medieval works of Hildegard of Bingen, together with actress Felicia Konrad.

In 1999 the band released their third album Vedergällningen. The album's production leaned towards rock and trip hop, the atmosphere of the music being more obscure than in previous albums.

Following Vedergällningen, the band returned to the studio to complete the full-length Hildegard von Bingen album, which was released in 2001.[1] The tracks in this album are based on the compositions of 12th century German abbess Hildegard of Bingen, and the lyrics are in Latin and produced by House producer eric s.

In 2003, their first EP was released as a full album with six bonus tracks.

Garmarna with Johannes Geworkian Hellman in Uppsala, 2016

In 2016, the band released their sixth album called 6.

In 2018, Garmarna initiated a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for a new album, Förbundet, to be released on November 6, 2020.[2] The album was released on Season of Mist containing mostly interpretations of traditional Swedish folk songs and two original tracks by Garmarna. Guest musicians on this album include Maria Franz from Heilung and Anders Norudde from Hedningarna.[3]

Band members

Discography

Albums
Year Title Peak chart positions
SWE[4]
1993Garmarna (EP) —
1994Vittrad (Weathered) —
1996Guds spelemän (The Fiddlers of God) 39
1999Vedergällningen (The Retribution) 40
2001Hildegard von Bingen (album) —
2003Garmarna (re-release of the 1993 EP with 6 bonus tracks) —
20166 —
2020Förbundet (The Union) —

Singles
  • "Herr Holger" (Sir Holger) (1996)
  • "En gång ska han gråta" (One Day He Shall Cry) (1997)
  • "Euchari" (1999)
  • "Gamen" (The Vulture) (1999)
  • "Över gränsen" (2015) (Over the Border)
  • "Kashmir" (2019)
  • "Ramunder" (2020)

Other
  • "Rastlös" (Restless) in compilation We're Only in It for the Money (1999)
  • Nordic Woman (2012)

The single "Gamen" was featured in the 2003 video game Project Gotham Racing 2.

See also

References
  1. "Garmarna". NorthSide. Archived from the original on 28 August 2011.
  2. "Garmana 10 songs 2019". Kickstarter. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  3. Förbundet (Media notes). Garmarna. Season of Mist. p. 14.CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. "2 st träffar hittades för sökkriterie: Garmarna". Sverigetopplistan (in Swedish). Retrieved 16 November 2020.
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