The music of
Fru Skagerrak (“Lady Skagerrak” in English) takes you on a breathtaking journey through Scandinavia; from lowlands to mountains, from slow airs to lively polkas, in major and in minor, and everything in between. The ensemble showcases the talents of three master musicians from three different countries in the region:
- Maja Kjær Jacobsen (Denmark): fiddle, vocals. Also known from Maskineri and Maja Kjær Jacobsen Kvartett.
- Elise Wessel Hildrum (Norway): fiddle, recorder, vocals. Also a member of Gudbrandsdølenes Spelemannslag (NO).
- Anna Lindblad (Sweden): fiddle, five-stringed fiddle. Also known from LYY (S), Folk All-in Band (SE).
In 2011, these three globetrotting fiddlers met for the first time at Denmark’s Tønder Festival in a roaring session that had engulfed the backstage bar. Through the mayhem of tunes, you could feel a certain Scandinavian groove and, in that moment, the connection between musical souls was made. Fru Skagerrak finally saw the light of day in August 2014. The trio brings together diverse traditions from each of their homelands, which surround the Skagerrak strait. Through a repertoire of traditional tunes, new compositions and songs in their respective languages, band members express their kinship and love of a shared heritage. The result is an explosion of the sounds that exist in Scandinavian music today.
Fru Skagerrak’s self-titled debut album was unwrapped in May 2016, and their second album,
Ankerdram, has just been released. The liner notes explain: “Regardless of where you drop anchor, a traveler wants to feel at home.” And so, to this end, the title means “
anchor dram: to serve a little dram after safely dropping anchor and let the calm set in wherever you are.”
