Danish musicians Andreas Tophøj and Rune Cygan Barslund play new album in Caithness
NEW album Trails And Traces will just be out when traditional Danish musicians Andreas Tophøj and Rune Cygan Barslund reach Lyth Arts Centre for Saturday’s gig.
Fiddler Andreas reveals how passionate they are about having physical copies.
“We are still selling CDs. The digital market has never brought in the money it has cost to do the recordings. Streaming is just, well, it’s utter rubbish to be honest,” he added forthrightly.
“So that is partly why we print CDs, so we can get part of the recording money back.
“It’s also about having the physical copy, somehow it manifests more than if you record something and just release it digitally.
“I suppose me and Rune were brought up in a time when it was considered just nice to have. We also have vinyl, but it will be out later.”
It is close to 10 years since he and accordionist Rune began to play together, winning Danish track of the year.
The duo have a mischievous side and admit stories about their tunes may not be true
Andreas was a discontented classical violin player until he met and was inspired by traditional folk musician Harald Hargard.
“Harald is not the whole reason, but he is the biggest reason I am playing traditional music. I met him at a point in my life where I just was fed up playing and the whole tradition of music, for me, that just exploded. Harald – Hal – he is a cornerstone for me.
“Rune, I met later on.
“Today me and Hal are running a couple of youth bands together as part of a project with southern Denmark and the northern region of Germany called Schleswig-Holstein with 60 kids on either side of the border.”
Rune and Andreas met just before Rune went away to Ireland to study the music there.
Andreas said: “We ended up sharing a year at conservatory. When Rune was graduating, he asked if we could play something for his exam – and we just kept going!”
The duo have a mischievous side and frankly admit that sometimes the stories that go with their tunes may not be true!
Andreas said: “Sometimes there’s a great story with a piece of music and the meaning behind it. But instrumental music is more challenging and some traditional tunes may be just a number in a notebook. So sometimes the story might be a complete lie, and we completely make something up in the moment, in that room.
“I’m not a stand-up comedian, but I actually like to be improvising and being in a dialogue with the audience – more interesting than saying ‘Here’s a polka’ or ‘Here’s a jig’!”
n Andreas & Rune play Lyth Arts Centre on Saturday. Full interview: www.whatson-north.co.uk
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Margaret Chrystall