Best Nordic Records of 2024
This was the year of the fiddle. That much was easy for me to decide – this year’s fiddle albums, from flat fiddle, to hardanger fiddle, to jouhikko, are what really defined the Nordic music scene for me in 2024, what have inspired me to become a better musician myself in ways no other folk music records have, and given me music I know I will be listening to for decades to come.
But still, This list gets harder to make every year. Believe me, I asked, begged, and pleaded with my patrons to let me grow the list again from 10 to 15… there were just so many amazing Nordic records this year, that it felt like it would be not only impossible but reckless to leave out so many and narrow it down to a mere 10 records. There were albums I swear would end up on this list that ended up left off when I actually considered which albums I ended up clinging to me the most rather than which albums in theory made a better top ten spot, and there were hard choices to make with leaving some friends’ records off this list that I still feel guilty about even as I write this. But that is what makes a top 10 list exciting, isn’t it?
And that’s why they wouldn’t let me – because if I really had it my way, this would be a several mile long post of just me gushing over every album that came out this year. That would be easy. But for me to actually get critical, look at the 40 or so albums I had on the table, and make hard decisions about what I truly believe are the best ten Nordic records this year, inevitably leaving records I love and musicians I love out… that’s hard as hell. Especially considering how diverse the genres are that I cover on this channel. If I were just a viking music channel, just a folk channel, just a metal channel, this list would have been a walk in the park. But instead, because I’m a masochist, this is a true cross genre list that will feature everything from Vivaldi, to Viking metal, to electro-pop, all in the hopes of broadening your horizons as a lover of music.
With all this said, the one concession that I made to at least remedy the problem of so much good Nordic music coming out this year, I tried something new this time around, and made a full spotify playlist of all the great Nordic music from 2024. If this top 10 list proves to only be a teaser for the massive amount of Nordic music there was to love this year, then head on over to it, linked in the video description, to get all caught up on what you missed – because trust me, there was a lot. And of course, please feel free to leave your own top 10 down in the comments, or even just your top 1 album, so you can fill in any gaps I assuredly missed with my own. Lastly, stick around to the end after the number 1 spot if you want to hear a couple of my favorite records from this year outside of the Nordic scene, but also my predictions and anticipations for next year’s Nordic releases.
So, without further filibuster, let’s pull off the gloves, grab some new year’s egg nog, and talk about my top 10 Nordic records that came out in 2024
10. Tyr, “Battle Ballads
Battle Ballads is literally everything I want out of a Tyr record, and after the immense hype built from the singles leading up to the album’s release, I remember the day this record came out as feeling like Christmas. The songs are punchy, the mix is heavy, there’s very little dead space, and most of all, the love and passion these guys have for what they do carry throughout the whole album. I know By the Light of the Northern Star and the Lay of Thrym are classics, and of course those albums have been with me throughout my whole Nordic mythology journey since the beginning too, but Battle Ballads is genuinely my favorite Tyr record, if I can start the video with a potentially controversial statement. The album itself is dynamic, with it rarely staying on the same idea for too long or stringing too many similar songs along at the same tempo or intensity, but most impotantly, as I mentioned in my full review, the concept and story behind this album is what really draws me to it. That the stories we tell are what make us human, and what keep the flame in us burning. For a band like Tyr, that’s quite the powerful concept for an album, and it led to what I think is the best record in their whole discography.
9. Hindarfjäll, “Seden”
I feel like every Hindarfjäll album was leading to something like Seden. Not to say those albums don’t stand on their own – they absolutely do – but there’s a “completeness” to Seden that makes it stand apart for me. From a compositional standpoint, this record is complex but intentional, a hard balance to strike, where each note in every song feels like it needs to be there to tell the story. The world Nils sets out to create, that of an ancient forest woven with the magic and rites of the old ways, emphasizing the natural or animist over the, is vivid and immersive throughout the whole albums run time. Using my own words, there’s something deeply druidic about not only the sound of the record, but the world it paints for us, that makes it such a cozy record to listen to. I’ve really enjoyed seeing Hindarfjäll come into its own over the last couple of records, and even moreso love seeing Nils cultivate such a distinct creative voice for himself, and to that end, Seden is a major milestone.
8. Lindy Fay-Hella and Dei Farne, “Islet”
This album was love at first sight to me. I still remember last year when the album was announced with the artwork, all I knew is that whatever the music was, I needed to hear whatever went with that album cover. And did it absolutely live up to, and even surpass, that hype for me. Lindy’s voice is just divine, that’s not a surprise to anyone, but the instrumentals and electronics that Dei Farne add create this incredible canvas that gives Lindy’s voice the space she deserves to work her magic. Even more is this album feels like a natural progression from the last two albums from this group, in that it strikes a hard balance between the natural avant-garde tendencies which define their discography with a more laid back and cozy ambience. The whole record is melancholia at its finest with beautiful lyrics that lend to much introspection upon the seaborn raft this album creates. As I said in my review last year, the eternal dance between the sea and cosmos could not want for a more beautiful ode than Islet. It is a truly spellbinding and enchanting album.
7. Floating Sofa Quartet and Guro Kvifte Nesheim, “Kystnaert”
The Floating Sofa Quartet has long been a favorite contemporary scandifolk group of mine, and Kystnaert, especially with the help and collaboration of hardanger fiddler Guro Kvifte Nesheim, stands apart from the rest this year. With the guiding concept being that of the shared coastal tradition across the North Sea, featuring folk tunes carried from port to port, this record strikes that perfect balance of honoring a tradition without being constricted by it, showing an immense amount of confidence and skill on the musicians’ part. With the tunes ranging from upbeat dance tunes that just put the biggest smile on your face to slower lyrical ones that make you want to raise a glass, there really is something for everyone on this record, with an energy threaded throughout each tune that is just plain infectious. Above all, I do just really admire the energy of the album, perfectly capturing a rowdy evening down at the docks. This was a highly anticipated record for me this year, and it more than earned its place on this list when all is said and done. Bonus points for a bass solo from Malte!
6. Aevestaden and Kanaan, “Langt, Langt Vekk”
I initially promised myself there would be no repeat customers this year from last year’s list, but I’m making an exception with the collaboration between Aevestaden and Kanaan for Langt, langt vekk. This record grew on me quite a bit on repeat listens, with each repeated play like peeling back a layer to find something new to appreciate and enjoy until ultimately this album has become a permanent fixture in my album rotations this year. And back in November I almost died driving through a blizzard with this playing on the stereo, so there’s that added sentimental value.
But, in all seriousness, this magic that happens here on this record between the melancholy contemporary folk of Aevestaden and the stoner rock energy of Kanaan is a match that defies all logic. somehow creating a perfect blend of atmospheric folk and zeppelin worship, with the stunningly beautiful ambience of Levina’s crooning on Farvel somehow fitting on the same album as Kenneth’s wailing on Habbo rog Signe or the psychedelic jaw harp jam on Fiskaren. This album is probably the best example of a musical box of chocolates from this year’s Nordic music scene – just click on any track and you’re in for a treat. But my favorite is a toss up between Farvel and Habbor og Signe.
5. Kati Rán, “Sála”
A skaldic ode to the daughters of the sea and the divine feminine power of the seeress, Kati Rán’s highly anticipated Sála was given to the world after ten years in the making, leaving one of the strongest impressions on me that a “dark folk” or “pagan folk” album has in quite some time. There’s an uncompromising ambition to this album, and a commitment to the work of art as a masterpiece that holds this gargantuan record together with a golden thread. With a very daunting runtime for the average listener, and a lot of slow movement, this album captures the essence of the long ritual of eddic poetry reminiscent of the Voluspá, which rewards the patient and attentive listeners like myself who like to see albums from beginning to end. (Not the least because some of the best songs on the album are tucked in the last 20 minutes of this 80 minute record.)
What I mean by this, is if you intentionally make the time for this album, let the words, sounds, and notes of this record wash over you the same way the reciting of an ancient poem would around the fire, you will be rewarded with an emotional, enchanting, and inspiring performance given by not just Kati but her massive list of collaborators that emphasize the communal aspects of creating a performance of this scope. Kati Rán’s Sála stands as a magnum opus of the dark folk scene, which is poetic in itself considering her quiet role since the genre’s earliest rumblings. Even if the next album takes another 10 years, I would accept it, seeing what happens when an artist like her is given the time she needs to breathe.
4. Ragnhild Hemsing, “The Norwegian Seasons”
Never in a million years would I think I’d be talking about Vivaldi on the Nordic Sound, let alone featuring his most famous composition on a year end list like this, but Ranghild Hemsing’s Norwegian Seasons was one of the most memorable records this year not just for me, but for so many others who have been blown away by how Hemsing has managed to do the impossible and bring a completely new, fresh, authentic take to something as played out as Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. As if the approach to playing it on the Hardanger Fiddle wasn’t original enough, each of the concertos are interspersed with compositions based on folk tunes, creating a cohesive and immersive record that effortlessly dances between the Baroque and Folk worlds without sacrificing the soul of either one. There’s a narrative of stagnation and safety in the classical world, where the same hits are played with little variation for fear of not selling tickets or recordings, so it was already bold enough for Hemsing to tackle a project this audacious as to take a beloved piece of the Classical music canon and reimagine it through a Norwegian folk musician’s world… but to execute it with such mastery is something entirely different, which Hemsing has indisputably accomplished here. I have nothing but admiration for Hemsing in daring to do something this different in a music tradition averse to change, but doing it to perfection, if I may say so.
3. Lassi Logrén, “Jouhikko”
I already knew this record was going to place somewhere near the top when it came out and I had different folks from all over the world sending it to me saying “you have to listen to this right now” – but especially after learning more about the record from Lassi in our interview last month, and hearing his philosophy and ideology around creating intimate and intentional relationships with the music we listen to, using single instrument albums with little frills to emulate the ancient practice of gathering and listening to a single musician enchant us and weave stories through their music… it gave the album a different dimension hearing that the exact reasons I listen to these kinds of albums are the same reasons Lassi made the album this way. There’s a reason my last two records have been solo instrumentals – this is a drum I’ve been beating for a very long time as an ethnomusicologist who sees something at risk of being lost when we lose the ability to give music our attention in its simplest, most intimate of forms.
But to talk about the ideology only wouldn’t do the Lassi’s masterful musicianship justice when talking about Jouhikko as an album. I have never heard the Jouhikko played with such command, nor did I ever think I would hear this instrument played in such a delicate and emotional voice. Using such a simple three stringed instrument, only changing the tuning of the middle drone string, but evoking such a rich, vivid soundworld ranging from the nostalgic melancholy of Sunsets at Eikaberg, the snarling attitude of Benevolence, or th upbeate smile-inducing Polkamania… Lassi shows a complete command over his instrument that few musicians can aspire to. And in this way, Jouhikko is not only a complete masterpiece on its own, but an inspiring testament to musicians everywhere for what to strive for when dedicating yourself totally to your art.
2. Thomas von Wachenfeldt, “Den Vanfrejdade”
At the first stroke of his bow, you hear total mastery over the fiddle in Thomas von Wachenfeldt’s playing. The control, the dynamic range, the precision, but also the emotion that carries through each and every passage of this record is a wonder to behold. This record, living up to its namesake, is a masterpiece of Nordic fiddling, standing as a testament to the power a single fiddler can hold over those who listen. As if this album wouldn’t deserve all of this praise if it was just the music, the fact that this is also a complete retelling of the legend of the fiddler Hultkläppen, complete with research and transcriptions, all done by Wachenfeldt, is just insane. The mastery over the fiddle, coupled with the sheer dedication to the other side of a fiddler’s role as a storyteller, a bearer of tradition, and a keeper of lore, makes Thomas von Wachenfeldt’s Den Vanfrejdade an utterly inspiring total work of art. You truly can feel the weight of Hultkläppen’s legacy reverberate through each and every track on the album. A massive undertaking executed to perfection – this is the kind of folk record that comes around once in a blue moon, and the Nordic folk world is all the better for it.
Danish String Quartet, “Keel Road”
The Danish String Quartet have been with me since the very beginning of my Nordic music journey, and only recently was I able to finally see them perform in the flesh in Boulder – an experience which has still stuck with me to this day. The reason I bring this up is because it was actually in that dusty 19th century lodge house at the foot of the Colorado front range that I first heard some of the tunes on this album, notably Regins Smi∂ur and Kjollhalling. The pure magic that is evoked when this quartet draws their bows is something I could never do justice through words alone, but luckily, that magic carries through loud and clear throughout Keel Road – the most anticipated album of the year for me after years of waiting since 2017’s Last Leaf.
While Wood Works will always remain in my heart as the ultimate Danish String Quartet album, Keel Road finds the perfect middle ground between the traditional folk roots of the quartet and the more avant garde side that reminds you that they are, of course, a 21st century string quartet. Moreover, the increased presence of Irish and general North Atlantic tunes puts a fresh style in the album, with the celtic tunes actually being some of my favorite on the record. Above all, I love hearing just how comfortable and free the quartet is to be themselves as they’ve become, indisputably, a world class string quartet appreciated and admired the world over. They take chances, they try new things, but they also keep the old things, but no matter what they do, you always know they’re being true to themselves, and that’s a beautiful thing indeed.