Väsen-Duo, Mikael Marin and Olov Johansson have, after 37 years of interaction and touring, refined their sound and their stage presence to the extent that today they are unique. With their playful and perfect interplay, they seem to defy the laws of physics in what appears to be a telepathic communication. The music is intense and full of humour. They create their very own musical language which in its appeal is as modern as it is ancient and they now tour and record exclusively as a duo. They started playing together as teenagers around 1980 when they would regularly visit Curt and Ivar Tallroth and Eric Sahlström, older musicians who lived nearby in the Uppland region, where they would play and learn traditional music from them. In this way they became a link in the living tradition that Swedish folk music has enjoyed through the centuries. Olov Johansson plays nykelharpa, a bowed, 16-string instrument related to both the hurdy-gurdy and the fiddle and unique to Sweden. In 1990, Olov became world champion of both the modern chromatic and older historical nyckelharpas at the first-ever Nyckelharpa World Championships at Österbybruk, Sweden. He is an inspiration for numerous young performers who have taken up the instrument in the last decade. As always, Mikael Marin’s five-string viola adds richness to every tune. The word väsen has several meanings – spirit, essence, noise. This talented Swedish duo conveys the essence of Swedish traditional music with a joyful noise that is designed to raise your spirits.
