As I’ve made repeat journeys through their discography over the years, I can say with confidence that Symbio is without equal. While their debut album Phoresy was a more austere dialogue between the two instruments with little added accompaniment, the duo has since expanded their sound with the tasteful addition of electronics to “fill the room”, so to speak, beginning with their 2018 sophomore album Rising. This development continued through the award-winning 2022 Endeavour, creating a truly cinematic and immersive sonic experience. With Sonder, curious listeners and devout followers alike are finally given the next installment of the Symbio saga, and with it, pressing questions of just how far these world class musicians can push the boundaries of their instruments and compositions alike.

Pøbel is a band that plays captivating and danceable medieval music performed on a multitude of instruments such as the hurdy-gurdy, vielle, bagpipes, lute, shawm and various medieval drums. Bringing authentic instruments, tunes and costumes on to the stage Pøbel is not only a qualified guess on how a renowned “dance band” might have looked like in the late 1400s – it is also one of most busy and ambitious medieval bands in Denmark today! … ”Pøbel” is an old Scandinavian word for ”mob” or ”crowd” and as the name suggests, the approach to the music is that of the common man i.e. the music that ordinary people could have experienced at the faire or at other festive occasions around medieval Europe.

Painting vivid impressionistic landscapes through their medieval instruments, Nordic folk titans Maija Kauhanen and Johannes Geworkian Hellman join forces on their debut album Migrating.