Klas Österman and Josefin Blomberg together form a Swedish duo from Rimbo and Ljusterö, which are municipalities to the northeast of Stockholm.
Their single ‘Det eviga intets land (Vid myren)’, which translates as ‘The Land of Eternal Nothingness (By the Bog)’ sounds like it might be set in Ireland but I say that only because I did not previously know they had marshy bogs in Sweden. Indeed, an entire national park not far from their towns is one big marsh. Nordic Music Central has taught me so much, Grasshopper…
The song is their musical setting of Gustaf Fröding’s poem ‘Vid myren’, sung in Swedish.
Gustaf Fröding was a Swedish poet and writer of the 19th and 20th centuries from Alster, Värmland, between Örebro and the Norwegian border and on the banks of Sweden’s largest lake, Vänem.
His poetry combines formal virtuosity with sympathy for the ordinary, the neglected and the down-trodden, sometimes written in his own regional dialect. It is highly musical and lends itself to musical setting; many of his poems have been set previously to music and recorded by Swedish singers such as Olle Adolphson, Monica Zetterlund, the Värmland group Sven-Ingvars and the Swedish band Mando Diao.
Fröding wrote openly about his personal problems with alcohol and women and had to face a trial for obscenity.
Sounds like an interesting character.
You know, amidst the maelstrom of requests (35 this week alone) we get to feature rock, pop, folk, metal, psych, rap and just about every other genre you can think of, this sort of thing, written by and later transposed to music by real people rather than manufactured, auto tuned celebrities, fascinates me.
And I recall we have featured Swedish artists in the past that are capable of translating poetry into song – and that is no easy task – such as Le Lac Long 814, Daniel Östersjö, and Resmiranda.
It is something the Swedes are particularly good at. Known as ‘tonsatta dikter’ it is a rich and deeply rooted tradition in Swedish music. This practice spans generations, moving effortlessly from classic folk-troubadours to modern rock and indie musicians.
The story behind this song is that on one cold autumn evening, they were leafing through Fröding’s poetry collection and were drawn to his poem ‘Vid myren’.
It touches upon death, yet also offers something comforting. They knew he wished for his poetry to be sung and so acted accordingly, setting the poem to music and bringing it to life as a duet.
Lyrically I can’t comment. My knowledge of Swedish is at the Swedish Chef level in The Muppet Show. Musically, well let’s just say that I never expected a piece of solemn poetry to sound like it could better the likes of Shakira, Ariana Grande and Dolly on, who have been top of the Swedish charts these last weeks.
With its haunting violin underpinning much jollier piano and guitar In fact I’ve heard less convincing Swedish Eurovision entries.
It’s a bit like holding a wake at the graveside. I reckon Gustaf Fröding would appreciate that.
Can’t say fairer than that.
Find them on:
Facebook:
Klas: https://www.facebook.com/klas.osterman
Josefin: https://www.facebook.com/josefinblomberg
Instagram:
Klas: https://www.instagram.com/klasostermanmusic/
