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FolkWorld Issue 39 07/2009; Article by Morten Alfred Høirup (Translation by Rod Sinclair)
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Fritterne to Phønix
20 Years on the Folk Music Scene
In the early 90s, at the huge Kaustinen Folk Festival in Finland, I met the young Danish band, Fritterne. They were admittedly not part of the official program, but had decided to make the long journey to Kaustinen to hear new music, and to draw attention to them selves and to Danish folk music.
So that sunny July afternoon, there they were, playing traditional Danish fiddle music in a packed little café on the festival site. At that time, many people in many countries – not least in the other Scandinavian countries – had the impression that Danish folk music was all about folk dancers in historical costume dancing to music played exclusively by elderly amateurs reading from sheet music.
Anja Præst Mikkelsen (clarinet),
Jesper Falch (percussion), PHØNIX @ FolkWorld:
FW#8,
#16,
#24,
#31,
#35
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In 2010 Fritterne – now better known as Phønix (Phoenix) – turn 20, but the discipline and enthusiasm that carried them to Finland back then are still with them. Phønix have been through many phases since that sunny day in the café at Kaustinen. They had a period playing purely traditional Danish music, then they concentrated on their own compositions, they have played school concerts en masse, and they have been doing important work on the old Danish ballads.
Danish Songs and Ballads for Young and Old
In 2001 Karen Mose, a young Danish singer, joined the band, and the focus was turned definitively on the traditional Danish songs and ballads. That was also the year Phønix began to play school concerts and other concerts for children. Karen Mose explains:
“Phønix began playing concerts for Danish children in 2001 and we have subsequently played loads of children’s concerts abroad, too. We have toured for the Swedish Rikskonserter, for Jeunesses Musicales in Belgium, in Austria, and as far afield as Toronto, Canada. Children’s concerts suit our band perfectly, since we can make the most of our time on tour. Daytime concerts for kids in school, and regular concerts in the evenings. It is always interesting to see that our music can establish communication with children who do not understand a word of the songs.”
In 2002 comes Phønix’ fourth album, Pigen & Drengen, (The Girl & The Boy), their first with their new singer, and the album is nominated in five categories at Danish Music Awards - Folk. Karen Mose wins the Danish Music Award for Danish Folk Singer of the Year. Phønix tour Canada, USA and elsewhere, then, back home, they go straight into a series of concerts for kids and grown-ups in Denmark and Europe, concentrate on new recordings, and on promoting Danish folk music in general: this is one of the country’s hardest-working and strongest musical constellations.
The songs and ballads are still to the fore here in 2009, in original and tasteful arrangements backed on accordion, clarinet, bass clarinet and percussion. Karen Mose continues:
“The ballads we find in old folios and manuscripts, from old recordings, and I have a wide repertoire from my parents (Lang Linken, red.). I was brought up on folk music.
The Danish ballads are often very long – around 70 stanzas – so we edit and shorten them, keeping the good story but in a more compact version. The ballad tunes are often simply constructed, which leaves room for our arrangements. We compose variations and new pieces to fit in with songs, and in this way we make the old, traditional songs our very own.”
PHØNIX and Concerts Abroad
During the past 8 or 10 years, Phønix have been attracting audiences not only in Denmark but also in other countries. In USA and Canada, and throughout Europe, Phønix have worked hard to present Danish music to new audiences. In Germany, in particular, there is a growing audience who seem very interested in developments on the Danish and Scandinavian folk scenes. Germany has the advantages, seen from a Danish folk band’s viewpoint, that it is relatively near by, that the German economy resembles the Danish, and that the country offers a well-organised range of festivals and music venues. Moreover, the German folk music scene maintains good communications covering the whole country: folk music magazines like Folker, internet magazines like Folkworld.eu, and diverse radio programs, not to mention specialist festivals like Rudolstadt Folk & Tanz and folkBALTICA in Flensburg. Put the question to Phønix singer Karen Mose, and she relates that the band, like a good many other Danish bands, have only good to say about playing abroad:
“When we play abroad we notice the huge interest audiences have for our special instrumentation but also for the history behind our music. Much of Phønix’ repertoire is very old, and represents a rich history. It is really a buzz to realize that our music is exotic and exciting out there, and we are opening people’s ears to something they have never heard before. In Germany, especially, audiences are very open to our music – it’s a great pleasure for us. There is a tradition for going to concerts in Germany, and our shows are really well attended, even in places we have never been before.”
PHØNIX and the Future
Many years have passed since I met the Danish folk quintet that later became Phønix, at Kaustinen Folk Festival in Finland. Phønix has developed into one of Denmark’s best folk bands of today, and they have done valuable work in bringing parts of the enormous national collection of broadsides, songs and medieval ballads into a modern context. With the passage of time and the tireless efforts they have put into their career so far, Phønix have seen both successes and failures, but have retained their joy in the music and their keenness to keep developing. Karen Mose tells of Phønix’ future plans:
Morten Alfred Høirup (*1961) is a Danish musician, composer and music journalist. He has been playing the guitar and singing in the Danish duo Haugaard & Høirup, and is currently working freelance for Danish Roots. www.mortenalfred.dk, www.danishroots.eu |
You can learn much more about Phønix on this website and on the band’s own website. The members of Phønix can take much of the credit for the setting up of the Folk Music line at The Carl Nielsen Academy of Music in Odense, which has been turning out folk music graduates for 10 years now – but that is another story, which must wait for another occasion.
Photo Credits:
(1)-(2) PHØNIX (from website);
(3) Morten Alfred Høirup (by The Mollis).
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© The Mollis - Editors of FolkWorld; Published 07/2009
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