From Scotland to Sweden via Estonia: three world music albums you might have missed...

At the Wrong Gig by Eriska - Muutused/Zminy by Svjata Vatra - Hillevi by Emma Ahlberg Ek 

 

Every so often, a radio station will produce a playlist of the best songs for driving. The likes of Bruce Springsteen or The Eagles usually figure as top drive-time tunes. But I discovered the perfect alternative soundtrack for heading down the highway on the rain-drenched motorways of the UK on my first hearing of Eriska's debut album. At the Wrong Gig sounds unmistakably Scottish and is ideal for keeping you moving – and keeping your spirits up when you're not.  

Eriska are a six-piece folk-rock band based in Glasgow that includes musicians from New England and Argentina as well as from Scotland. Scott Figgins' highland bagpipes, whistles and bellow-blown pipes are to the fore, as is Aileen Sweeney's accordion and Madeleine Stewart's fiddle, all giving Eriska's sound a traditional Scottish backbone. But what makes At the Wrong Gig really rock is Gavin Paterson's spot-on drumming and Dario Palazzo's guitars, while Julián Pombo's bass adds a jazz flavour to the whole affair, particularly on tracks like 'Discharged'.

'Two More Weeks' features a guitar solo that channels the spirit of Carlos Santana, while 'Sparrow' is a rare moment of relaxation. At the Wrong Gig is a high octane, highly enjoyable debut album.

If you prefer Estonian bagpipes to the Scottish variety, you might enjoy Svjata Vatra. Svjata Vatra formed in 2005 when Ukrainian singer and trombonist Ruslan Trochynskyi moved to Estonia and teamed up with local musicians. Muutused/Zminy (whose bilingual title translates as Changes) is the band's sixth studio album, and certainly displays an ever-changing sound, from the drama of 'Kohannija Zminyt Vse' to the boisterous knees-up of 'Marichka Chycheri'. Funky bass lines blend with ocarinas and Estonian bagpipes. There are moments of swaggering musical freneticism that recall Gogol Bordello or a kind of Cossack version of The Pogues.

While the interplay between whistles and flutes, trombone and guitars is very effective, the use of Jew's harp is a little grating in places, and the music-loving world could probably manage without the frantic rendition of 'You Are My Sunshine' (which appears as 'Oj, To Ne Ruzha'.) Guest vocals from Rute Trochynskyi work well, and the duet 'Oj U Poli Dva Dubky' sees Svjata Vatra at their most charmingly accessible, with a lilting pop tune reminiscent of Gotye's 2011 hit 'Somebody That I Used to Know'. There is a strong sense of playfulness in this music. Svjata Vatra's latest album shows how unexpectedly enjoyable and uplifting Estonian/Ukrainian folk-rock can be.

But if all this playful freneticism is too much, perhaps you'd prefer a journey back to the golden age of Swedish cinema. Concept albums are a rare thing in folk music but Hillevi is a fine example: the result of Swedish fiddler Emma Ahlberg Ek's fascination with the life of Hillevi Alexandra Oberg (1897-1979). As Ek explains in the charming booklet accompanying this CD, one area dominated by female musicians in the 1920s was that of cinema musician. Hillevi, widowed with two children, earned her living arranging and performing live music to accompany silent films until the advent of the talkies. Ek pays tribute to the life and times of her predecessor, fellow fiddler and countrywoman, in this wonderfully varied collection of tunes.

Supported by a sympathetic ensemble of accordion, double bass and percussion players, Ek recreates a few of Hillevi's own compositions, but most of the tracks are original tunes charting the ups and downs of Hillevi's life. The album is full of variety and atmosphere. The moody interlude 'Livhanken' has the crackle effects of an old 78 record. 'Hillevis Sorgevisa' and 'Ljuskronan' are reminiscent of The Albion Band's more plaintive moments while, with 'Kirunahambon', it is easy to imagine hordes of Swedish cinemagoers chortling at the antics of Charlie Chaplin. Hillevi is a delightful, highly original album.

Eriska At the Wrong Gig (Eriska) - Svjata Vatra Muutused/Zminy (Nordic Notes /Broken Silence) -  Emma Ahlberg Ek Hillevi (Caprice Records)