Afenginn - Nordic melancholy and cheerful madness!
Afenginn's musical universe spans as widely as the antlers of a full-grown elk. The mongrel band was formed in 2002 by a flock of young musicians with a love of Slavic Eastern Europe, odd Balkan meters, the speed of klezmer, insane polkas, rock'n'roll feel and classical composition. It is “Bastard Etno” music that travels from the smallest pianissimo to wild and roaring parts.
Afenginn has built up a reputation of virtuosity and excellent live shows the past years. Performing with different artists such as Frank London from the Klezmatics and a complete symphony orchestra, Afenginn is ambitious to seek new serious adventures. Finnish mandolinist Kim Nyberg composes almost all of their music. The group is inquisitive, playful and imaginative and takes an anarchic approach to traditional musical structures. Their compositions range from lyrical, picturesque and programme music-like pieces – of which the "Elk Suite" is a fine example – to jagged up-tempo numbers in odd time signatures, always with the special rhythmic and melodic finesse which characterises Afenginn. Their own term for the band’s musical style is "Bastard Ethno".
Afenginn's extremely informal and devil-may-care attitude to the music, with joi de vivre and high-octane energy taking pride of place, went down well with audiences. The release of ‘Retrograd’ won them the CD of the Year prize at the 2005 Danish World Awards, and the band was also nominated for ‘Akrobakkus’ in the following year. With ‘Reptilica Polaris’, a concept album featuring male choir, brass ensemble and lyrics, Afenginn was rewarded ‘Contemporary Artist of the Year 2009’ at the Danish Folk Awards. New album - Bastard Etno - was released in January 2010.
Afenginn has received rave reviews in both the Danish and foreign press, and in 2006 they were chosen to be one of eight ensembles to represent Danish music abroad in the project ‘Danish Roots’. In 2007 Afenginn participated in the DaNy Arts working with NY trumpet player Frank London (The Klezmatics). Recently Afenginn was chosen to be a part of The Young Elite’ project 2009-2011 initiated by the Danish Arts Council.
Afenginn has performed at festivals, clubs, Radio and Television shows in Scandinavia, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Estonia, USA (SXSW) and Asia playing more than 300 concerts in the past years.
Line-up:
Kim Nyberg (mandolin)
Rasmus Krøyer (clarinet)
Niels Skovmand (violin)
Aske Jacoby (bass)
Rune Kofoed (drums)
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