Kiwifolk.com
Folk and Acoustic Music in New Zealand
Folk and Acoustic Music in New Zealand
I don't think I've ever sat on an uncomfortable chair in Denmark. Everything here is functional, beautifully designed and substantial. There are no red-shed, Chinese products here. Danish furniture is classy, well formed, utilitarian and never ostentatious. A bit like the people.
We arrive at Eskil's farm in short order and are made most welcome with impossible amounts of food and drink, even though it is only an hour or so to the evening meal. Three years ago when we were here, we looked out on fields of dairy cows; now as we gaze on the same view, it is all lake and wild fowls. This is as the result of a government programme to restore the some of the wetlands of Denmark, most of which had been drained away over the years to provide more farmland - just as in New Zealand. Eskil has retired his dairy herd and is engaged in a fully organic farm of beef and grain, and how he keeps that up alongside his busy music schedule is a mystery to us.
The next day we head South for our first gig.
Between the mainland of Jutland and the island of Sjælland (or Zealand) is the small island of Fyn (pronounced "feun") and it is here in the town of Assens at Tobaksgarden we are to play our first concert. As you might have guessed it has something to do with smoking, the Danish national sport. It is, in fact, an old tobacco factory that has been bequeathed to the town as an arts centre. The factory thrives elswhere in the town but these historic buildings have been beautifully adapted for the arts: auditorium, picture theatre, music and arts classrooms, café and shops.
We were treated like the stars we make believe we are - a dressing room with tea and coffee and a crate of beer! Our billet was with a keen folkie and local policeman, Jeppe, who showed us around the town - and through his Police station. The other police in the watch asked us to "play something" so we gave them a round of the E Papa waiata, which was probably more than they bargained for judging by their faces.
The gig was fun and we caught up with some people we had met at Halkaer three years ago. The next day it was back to Eskil's place and the first night of the Halkaer festival. We played the last spot in the evening concert and aquitted ourselves quite well in the face of some blindingly great talent from the other musicians and bands. Halkaer Kro is a New Zealand-sized folk festival set in a little pub and community hall (kro means pub) in the middle of an otherwise sleepy little village.
One of the high treats of the festival (and sharing floorspace at Eskil's) was the Chilean klezmer band, La Mano Ajena who played the most incredible music; klezmer with Hispanic passion and fire, incredible! These five guys and one woman embraced us (literally and figuratively) from the moment we met and we have had crazy times trying to communicate in pidgin Spanish, sometimes translated through Danish to English - high farce and remarkable fun. They are very special people.
At the festival we caught up with our old friend Rod Sinclair from Ribe in the South, and Chris Newman and Maire ni Chathasaigh. If there's one thing that punctuates the Halkaer experience, it is the quality of the food. The festival grew up around an alternative and organic farmers gathering (most of the farms in this area are certified organic) and they are keen to show off the best of their wares. As guests we were treated like royalty, food and drink did not stop coming all weekend.
We are back at Eskil's now with the Chileans and there's more food! I think I'll go and look for one of those superb Danish chairs. It'll need to be a really comfortable one because when I sit down, I don't think I'll be getting up for a while.
The Chaps are Hyram Ballard, John Dodd, Marcus Turner and Mike Moroney (the author of these pages), an acoustic string band featuring original songs and odd material from last century. Find out more about The Chaps here and listen to some of their music on their MySpace site here
