Boot

• Ola Bäckström - Viola d'amore, bouzouki, 12-string guitar
• Hållbus Totte Mattsson - Baroque lute, mandora, lute, hummel
• Björn Tollin - tambourine, bass drum, percussion

Hållbus Totte Mattsson, and Björn Tollin from the Nordic supergroup Hedningarna and Ola Bäckström of Swåp, uncork the limitless vitality and passion of Swedish folk music and dance. The idea is to play dance music from Sweden, in all its variety, and to play it for dancers. These are not museum pieces; the tunes are mostly traditional, but the rhythms are strong and reflect a broad world-view. Björn, Ola och (and) Totte = BOOT, pronounced "Boot" it also means "remedy" in Swedish.

Boot live with Virvla
The driving viola, lute and hand percussion of the trio Boot provides the propulsive spirit for dancers Lotta Johansson, Bert Persson and Ami Pettersson of the Virvla folk dance troupe. The musicians share the stage with the dancers in a performance that features the captivating interplay of whirling garments, graceful limbs and passionate music. Dresses sweep the floor, coats spin and snap, and the audience experiences the music through the dancers. Virvla (Swedish for "whirling") has been stunning Swedish audiences with its elegant simplicity in performances over the last two years. The Swedish press has hailed it as "pioneering" and "a fantastic experience."

Ola Bäckström
Ola is one of the two Swedish fiddlers in Swåp, along with two brits; they explore the territory between Celtic and Nordic music. He was a member of Den Fule (now inactive), and has played with Päkkos Gustaf and Simon Simonsson's Kvartett. Ola hails from the Dalarna region in Sweden, seen as the strongest area for traditional music and has been playing fiddle since the 70s. Swåp have a new recording, [sic], in Spring 2000. Instruments include fiddle, Viola d'amore, bouzouki, and 12-string guitar.

Hållbus Totte Mattsson
Totte is known from folk-rockers Hedningarna ("The Heathens") and was also an original member of Groupa with Mats Edén. Totte appeared on Groupa's debut release Av Bara Farten on Amigo in 1982, you will notice that "Wild Honey" is a Groupa tune, written by Mats Edén. Instruments include the Baroque lute, mandora, lute, hummel, classical guitar, Mora-oud, accordion, Swedish dulcimer, hurdy-gurdy and vocals.

Björn Tollin
Björn met Totte and Anders Stake to form Hedningarna in 1987. Both Totte and Björn live in Falun, in the Dalarna region of Sweden, home of the Falun Folk Festival and the center of the Swedish folk music scene. Instruments include tambourine, bass drum, percussion, drone string-drum, bass mandora, foxtail saw, programming, sampling and vocals.

Discography

1999: Virvla Silence (Sweden) SRSCD 4747, NorthSide NSD 6039
see also Hedningarna and Swåp