Lillebjørn Nilsen and Andy Irvine had known each other for about 17 years when they met at the Telemark Festival back in 1994, what they both had dreamt about became a reality. Their collaboration resulted in an exhilarating concert. The live recording is finally released as an album in June 2021.

Two studio albums in three years may not seem to be a breakneck pace for anybody else, but for Lindsey Buckingham it is no less than pure acceleration. Indeed if we include the live album that came out in 2007 between the two, it's like three outings in as many years – warp speed for an artist like Buckingham who has been known to go more than a decade between his own offerings outside of Fleetwood Mac…

Masterful Norweigan storytellers Wardruna reveal yet another masterstroke in their mission to understand and integrate ancient thoughts, tools and methods to produce something relevant to the moderne era.

German-born baritone Benjamin Appl studied with the legendary Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, whose voice his own resembles on the surface. But then he moved to England and has stayed on there. Heimat (Homeland) is not just an exploration of that German concept, but a personal statement and even a bit of an autobiography, with notes from the artist himself (find these if you listen via download or stream) explaining the resonances of each individual song. This kind of personal connection is what classical music in general needs right now, and all the more so in the rather closed tradition of the German Lied.

Frifot's self-titled 1999 album shows why they are among the flagship artists in the Swedish folk revival movement, melding traditional instruments like flutes, mandola, dulcimer, pipes, octave fiddle and fiddle with folk and jazz idioms. The trio, which consists of Per Gudmundson, Ale Moller and Lena Willemark, turns in a less jazz-oriented work than their prior albm Nordan. Instead, Frifot brings the folk aspects of the group's vocals and fiddling to the forefront, particularly on songs like "Abba Fader," "Vindlaren" and "Om Stenen."

Following their acclaimed collaboration in Percy Graingers Folk Music, soprano Claire Booth and pianist Christopher Glynn turn to the Lyric Music of Edvard Grieg, an apt sequel as the elder composer befriended Grainger- who idolized the Norwegians folkloric idiom- immediately on their first encounter in London in 1906. Interspersing intimate vocal miniatures with lyrical solo piano pieces, Claire and Christopher mirror many of the programmes that Grieg and his wife Nina performed on their many recital tours together. Each of the works on Lyric Music tells a story as does the album as a whole ranging in mood from bright, youthful innocence to shades of autumnal twilight. Sung in the original Norwegian, Claires and Christophers performances are as evocative as Norways varied landscape.

Beecham had an exquisite ear for detail, and his Peer Gynt has more fantasy — more subtlety, too — than anyone else's: Ase s Death and Anitra 's Dance are simply magical. So is the Symphonic Dance, and if In Autumn and the variations occasionally seem a litde thin musically, Beecham makes amends with keenness of attack and eloquent phrasing. The orchestra is superb and the transfers (which give us the variations in stereo for the first time), excellent.

Norwegian singer Kari Rueslåtten is known to have one of the finest voices in alternative Nordic folk-pop. Her new album Sørgekåpe is out May 8, and this will be her eighth solo album. For the first time since her debut-solo album Spindelsinn, she sings in Norwegian.

Memorabilia was written in 2016 followed by a premiere at JazzFest in Trondheim. The music is written by jazz bassist and composer Mats Eilertsen and performed by two trios: Mats Eilertsen Trio (Harmen Fraanje, piano: Thomas Strønen, drums and Mats Eilertsen, bass), and the vocal ensemble Trio Mediaeval (the acclaimed trio of Anna Maria Friman, Linn Andrea Fuglseth and Jorunn Lovise Husan), both known for numerous recordings for ECM.

Jordsjø is a prog band from Oslo, Norway inspired by old horror movies, German 70s synth music, Swedish prog, fantasy novels and Norwegian nature. They released three cassettes before releasing their first “proper” album “ Jord ” in March this year. This 2CD release is a collection of all the songs from these three earlier cassette releases: “Jordsjø”, “Jordsjø II” and the split release with Breidablik, “Songs from the Northern Wasteland”. This 2CD set contains plenty of nods to older (especially Scandinavian) prog. There’s an underlying theme of alienation, roots and dreams – with an organic and dynamic sound which gives associations to 70s prog, with traces of electronic music and folk. Plenty of flute, guitars and a vast array of vintage synths – resulting in a warm and vintage sound, while still sounding fresh and interesting.