Beginner's Guide to Scandinavia

1 of 1

A great collection for those me-time nights - tell your friends you've got a Norse Inside

A pastor's smorgasbord as opposed to a curate's egg this one. Three CDs and 39 artists - some you'll wonder how you ever lived without; others may only get the one listen.

To Irish ears, the best known act is probably the much-missed Esbjörn Svensson Trio (Benny from ABBA's Orkester are also here), but their gorgeous From Gagarin's Point of View has leftfield equals in the after-hours atmospherics of Bazar Blå and Henrik Andersen's sitar boogie.

There's genre bending and earthiness aplenty for world music fans and those more accustomed to the pure drop on the Folk & Roots disc, while the Pop & Contemporary album offers some serious torchsongs and a sore head anthem called Alkohol.

Sadly, there's no room for metal and punk, but given the amount of talent that's come from up north - Entombed, Ghost, Kvelertak, Refused, to name but a few - that's another three-CD set entirely. Hint, hint...

Harry Guerin

Tracklisting: CD1 Pop & Contemporary: Kari Bremnes: Egentlig en Danser (Nor) - Lars Demian: Alkohol (Swe) - KOOP feat. Hilde Louise Asbjørnsen: Strange Love (Swe/Nor) - Bo Kaspers Orkester: Innan Allt Försvinner (Swe) - Vuokko Hovatta : Aletta (Fin) - Sóley: Theater Island (Ice) - Cornelis Vreeswijk: Samba för Pomperipossa (Swe) - House of Trees: Working Man's Song (Swe/UK) - Pascal Pinon: En þú varst ævintýr (Ice) - Ane Brun: To Let Myself Go (Nor) - Niko Valkeapää: Birrat Birra (Nor/Fin) - Valravn: Seersken (Den/Faro) - Kimmo Pohjonen - Kaluaja (Fin)

CD2 Folk & Roots: Eivør Pálsdóttir: Mín Móðir (Live) (Faro) - Kiila: Auringonlunta (Fin) - Sanna Kurki Suonio: Tuulen Nostatus (Fin) - Hedningarna: Räven (Swe/Fin) - Värttinä: Päivän Nousu Nostajani (Fin) - Markku Lepistö: Myrskylintu (Fin) - Maria Kalaniemi: I Fjol (Fin) - Sigrid Moldestad: Gåta (Nor) - Morild: Der Stode Tre Skalke (Den) - Anna Pálína & Draupner: Húfan Dýra (Ice) - Phønix: Mallebrok (Den) - BOOT - Samu (Swe) - Annbjørg Lien: Korstog (Nor)

CD3 Jazz, Experimental & Atmospheres: Bazar Blå: Stilla (Swe) - Karl Seglem: Mårblå (Nor) - Unni Løvlid: Bak Vaker Verda (Nor) - Lars Danielsson with Bugge Wesseltoft & Nils Petter Molvaer: Judas Bolero (excerpt) (Swe/Nor) - Terje Isungset: Fading Sun (Nor) - Islaja: Aallot Ja Äänet (Fin) - Agnar Már Magnússon: Heimkoma (Ice) - Benny Andersson's Orkester - Sång från Andra Våningen (Swe) - Gjermund Larsen Trio: Vals til Hans (Nor) - e.s.t. (Esbjörn Svensson Trio): From Gagarin's Point of View (Swe) - Henrik Andersen: High Five (Den) - Wimme: Gierran (Fin) - Mari Boine with Inna Zhelannaya & Sergey Starostin: Dás Áiggun Cuozzut (Nor/Rus)