Folk music is still at the core of Unni’s project, this time combining the Japanese gagaku tradition and the distinctive musical personality of the individual...

Folk music is still at the core of Unni’s project, this time combining the Japanese gagaku tradition and the distinctive musical personality of the individual performers, bringing together contemporary and traditional music from Japan and Norway. The musicians have taken existing compositions such as Lars Petter Hagen’s “Hymn,” overlaying it with the folk melody “Kvilesteinen.” Texts by Jon Fosse and Olav H Hauge are set to old tunes, and the musicians have collectively created new music, new forms of expression. Hikari furu Oto, a piece by the renowned gagaku composer Hideki togi has been fused with words by Olina Nygard from Honindal and a folk tune from Sykylven. Unni has worked on this project since 2014, finding inspiration in Norwegian exponents of japonism such as Frida Hansen and Nikolai Astrup. Unni draws on familiar, traditional folk songs including “Den svalande vind,” “Jeg lagde meg sa silde” and others, playing with our perception of how familiar things change according to context.