Handed On by Dreamers' Circus
It has been more than fifteen years since a chance meeting at a jam session at a small folk festival in Copenhagen brought Nikolaj Busk (piano and accordion), Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen (violin), and Ale Carr (cittern) together. Since then, they have developed into leading international ambassadors for Nordic roots-based music. The band regularly tours and performs for audiences across Europe, North America, and Japan.
The enforced downtime during the COVID pandemic encouraged the band to compose a collection of tunes, which they compiled into book form and published under the title Handed On. As the band states: “We went back to go forward.” They returned to their roots, drawing inspiration from the traditional Nordic music that has guided and driven them since the beginning. A total of 58 tunes were published in both book and digital formats (see www.handedon.com).
Taking some of the best tunes from this collection, Dreamers’ Circus immersed themselves in Farvemøllen Studios in Copenhagen with producer Kristian Leth, seeking to capture live the spirit and energy that originally inspired them to play traditional music. Handed On reflects and celebrates the importance of oral transmission, community, shared heritage, and the vibrant, living contemporary tradition of Nordic music.
Listen, and you will hear the love and spirit in every note of this music.
Tracklist
| 1. | Uhrbrand's Cabin | 2:33 |
| 2. | The Great Sea | 4:05 |
| 3. | Tretur | 5:20 |
| 4. | The Old Goat | 2:28 |
| 5. | Owls in the Bog | 4:31 |
| 6. | Malva | 3:20 |
| 7. | The Girl in the Shadow | 3:15 |
| 8. | Make High the Gate / The Billy Goat | 4:09 |
| 9. | Catastrophe | 2:53 |
| 10. | The Promenade | 3:26 |
| 11. | Iron Halls | 3:17 |
| 12. | Regnars Styk' | 2:10 |
| 13. | The Daydreamer | 4:14 |
Credits
Recorded at Farvemøllen, Copenhagen, 2022-2023
Producer: Kristian Leth
Engineers: Mads Mølgaard Helbæk, Christian Afel Refer
Mixed by: Thomas Alstrup
Mastering: Björn Engelmann
Art Direction: Daniela Hasse
Management: Tom Sherlock
Also thanks to Julian Falck, Erling Olsen, Tempi, Roskilde Kommune, Danish Arts Foundation, Vertical Records.
Very special thanks to our fellow musicians, friends and families, in particular those who, in various ways, have handed on music to us.
Dreamers’ Circus: Ale Carr, Nikolaj Busk, Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen
Featured instruments: Violin, Cittern, Piano, Accordion, Guitar, Synthesizers, Tagelharpa, Harmonium, Percussion, Vocals.
Track 4: Kristian Leth, Percussion
Track 6: Mads Mølgaard Helbæk and Kristian Leth, Vocals
Album release date:
14 February 2025
License
All rights reserved.
A new driving force in Nordic world Contemporary and endlessly innovative in their approach, they draw inspiration from the deep traditions of folk music in the region and reshape them into something bright, shiny and new. DreamersʼCircus are: Nikolaj Busk (DK) on piano and accordion, Ale Carr (SWE) on Nordic cittern and Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen (DK), also of the Danish String Quartet, on violin.