The shop is disabled. Please visit https://rootsymusic.bandcamp.com/ instead.

Album
Svante Sjöblom & Twang
Svante Sjöblom & Twang
(Rootsy Music)

Price: 149 SEK

The relationship between the two neighbors Sweden and Denmark has been kind of frosty in the past few years. One brilliant exception is the meeting between Swedish master guitarist Svante Sjöblom and the Danish trio Twang. That was love at first sight and an immediate musical understanding.

”Svante Sjöblom & Twang” is a quiet but intense musical explosion. A meeting of four musicians with open minds and the same attitude. Good music is good music no matter what you decide to label it. A good song is a good song, regardless of who wrote it or sang it. They draw inspiration from a century of American popular music; ragtime, blues, old timey mountain music, gospel and bluegrass. But with no intention to recreate and preserve. It’s music created here and now, rooted in a deep tradition.

Of the nine songs on the album , three are original songs written by Svante Sjöblom. The remaining six are well chosen and somewhat surprising covers. To find a song by folk legend Ola Bell Reed (”I’ve Endured”) or hippiefolk-master John Hartford ( ”In Tall Buildings”) might be logical. But to hear Lovin´Spoonful’s ”Jug Band Music” or ”Choices”, a song found on a late George Jones album, is perhaps more unexpected. And when you realize how easily Svante Sjöblom & Twang make these songs their own, it kind of make sense that they do the same with Justin Bieber’s ”Love Yourself”.

Despite his young age, Svante Sjöblom is a veteran on the Scandinavian blues and folk scene. The past ten years this brilliant singer and guitar player has toured all over Scandinavia and played clubs and most of the major blues festivals. He's also received prestigious awards like the Fjellis Award, the Junior Blues Prize at Åmål Blues Festival and the John Jackson Scholarship.

Danish trio Twang has been touring and recording since 2014. Their music has lots of improvisation, three-part harmonies and acoustic twang and compositions inspired by American popular and folk music.