Search - Groupa :: Lavalek

One of the pioneering instrumental groups of Sweden, Groupa return with a recording that includes a singer for the first time since Lena Willemark guested with them in the early '80s. The inclusion of Sofia Karlsson is an obvious one for Groupa. They have forged a unique mix of strong rhythms and intense melodies in all of their work, and Karlsson is a powerful singer who can hold her own against a band of skilled and aggressive players. Also new to the band is percussionist Terje Isungset, who adds a new dimension to the sound of Groupa, an edgier, groove-oriented feeling that is perfect for the ensemble's spacious sound. Jonas Simonson's flutes and reeds, Mats Edén's fiddle and melodeon, and Rickard Åström's keyboards give continuity without restraint to a sound that has revolutionized Swedish "folk." Groupa have been labeled jazz, avant-garde, folk, and ambient in their career, but all those tags blur to irrelevancy. The band is unique unto itself. --Louis Gibson