Consisting of top folk and jazz musicians from the UK and Scandinavia, Owerset (Scots for translate) is the result of a New Voices commission Sarah-Jane wrote for Celtic Connections 2018.
Scottish and Nordic traditions combine with the playfulness of jazz and the sonic explorations of contemporary music.
There’s something for everyone, from full-on ceilidh (Blether), virtuosic electric guitar (Flit), rip-roaring trumpet solos (Fitakaleerie) and finely-woven Swedish harmonies (Owerset I) to evocative airs and open, ECM-esque soundscapes (Owerset II).
Owerset explores Scots and Gaelic words that originate from Old Norse. For example, even the word 'kilt' comes from Old Norse.
Marriage, fairies, sea mist, crying, and even the staple of the hipster male, the beard, are some of the concepts covered, illustrating the linguistic reaches of the Vikings.
A virtuosic, free-thinking and impassioned performer, Sarah-Jane is a tradition bearer of the old Highland style of Scottish fiddling. She moved to Norway in 2010 and has a master’s degree in Norwegian folk music from the prestigious Norwegian Academy of Music. Also a highly respected improviser, her album of free improvisations (VIRR, 2017) was Album of the Year on BBC Radio 3’s Late Junction.
"dazzling folk virtuoso" (The Strad)
“an acrobatic kind of Bach-meets-minimalism violin riffing” (Songlines)
“a howling gale, brilliantly evoked” (The Wire)
Sarah-Jane Summers - fiddle
Bridget Marsden - fiddle
Hayden Powell - trumpet
Leif Ottosson - accordion
Juhani Silvola - electric & acoustic guitars
Morten Kvam - double bass