# What is Nordic music?



## jsnleo (Apr 22, 2021)

Hi guys I have a question about Nordic music (not Nordic folk music). I think I may know the answer already but I don’t wanna embarrass myself... I think it’s kinda my thing and I’ve wrote a few. Could you guys please tell me what it is and recommend some artists? Thanks!


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## LordOfTheStrings (Apr 22, 2021)

:D


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## jsnleo (Apr 22, 2021)

LordOfTheStrings said:


> :D


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## JCarlsen (Apr 22, 2021)

Hi! Very difficult question. What genre are we talking about? As far as I know nordic music is not a genre in and of itself. Give us an example and I'm sure we can come up with some artists 😁


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## Metamorpheus (Apr 23, 2021)

I gather its more like a mood. Depression + loneliness + some sort of flavour of spacious, cold wilderness. Jagged snowy mountains and dark pine woods. A forlorn feeling. Translated into music. Anyway, just my (norwegian) opinion.


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## Per Boysen (Apr 23, 2021)

Metamorpheus said:


> I gather its more like a mood. Depression + loneliness + some sort of flavour of spacious, cold wilderness. Jagged snowy mountains and dark pine woods. A forlorn feeling. Translated into music. Anyway, just my (norwegian) opinion.


Yep, something like that would also be my (Swedish) assumption.


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## mybadmemory (Apr 23, 2021)

Isn’t it usually referred to as Scandi, rather than Nordic? Unless I misunderstand what you’re describing. 

Hard to describe but i would picture it as very minimalistic, melancholic, cold, and emotional in a way that’s a poor opposite of how Hollywood does it.

Im thinking dark Scandinavian tv dramas, slow strings, felted pianos, repetitive patterns, Olafur Arnalds, Spitfire, Faultando, Albion Neo...


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## JCarlsen (Apr 23, 2021)

If the thread so far is what OP is asking about I would suggest maybe Susanne Sundfør and Sivert Høyem. Example :


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## gh0stwrit3r (Apr 23, 2021)

I think about raw, natural, authentic, depressed and kinda dark sounds. You know, the sounds that bearded man like Ólafur Darri Ólafsson fit


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## ism (Apr 23, 2021)

Metamorpheus said:


> I gather its more like a mood. Depression + loneliness + some sort of flavour of spacious, cold wilderness. Jagged snowy mountains and dark pine woods. A forlorn feeling. Translated into music. Anyway, just my (norwegian) opinion.


not to disagree with an Norwegian on such things ... and yet ... Scandinavian choirs have always struck me as strikingly warm and beautiful..


... also, exhibit B:


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## Loïc D (Apr 23, 2021)

This?


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## darkogav (Apr 23, 2021)

I think using a term such as "Nordic music" is promoting a stereotype of a culture based on Western misconceptions of what Nordic people are like and what they like to listen to. It's a bit like implying that "American music" is country and guys with pickups.

RE: music, I guess one has to look at composers such as Sibelius or Johannosson .. some of their work seems to indicate it's closely tied to the landscape and weather.. 



but as the previous poster mentioned.. you also need to look at the heavy metal/death metal music as that is a very distinct cultural export of Nordic music that has a far reach outside of Nordic countries.


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## MartinH. (Apr 23, 2021)

Metamorpheus said:


> Depression + loneliness + some sort of flavour of spacious, cold wilderness. Jagged snowy mountains and dark pine woods. A forlorn feeling.


Say no more! 



The band is from Australia though...


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## Henu (Apr 23, 2021)

Metamorpheus said:


> Anyway, just my (norwegian) opinion.


As a Finn, you just nailed it, Sir.


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## Paul Grymaud (Apr 23, 2021)

Perfect illustration of what Nordic music is


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## GtrString (Apr 23, 2021)

Nordic Music is not just big and epic sounding like the outside environment, it is also warm and intimate like the refuges for that grand nature.. 



And 



And



And


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## fourier (Apr 23, 2021)

Surely you will have to add all the contributions of the Max Martin, Stargate and such to wherever pop music have taken us the last decades  Not quite sure warm and intimate are proper references. 

As a Norwegian, I've not the slightest clue what would define "Nordic" in the sense of sound, but I suppose our main export seems to be either profound sadness, tropical house, black metal or swedish europop?


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## LordOfTheStrings (Apr 23, 2021)

fourier said:


> Surely you will have to add all the contributions of the Max Martin, Stargate and such to wherever pop music have taken us the last decades  Not quite sure warm and intimate are proper references.
> 
> As a Norwegian, I've not the slightest clue what would define "Nordic" in the sense of sound, but I suppose our main export seems to be either profound sadness, tropical house, black metal or swedish europop?



I'm danish and our biggest world wide hit is "Aqua - Barbie Girl"


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## fourier (Apr 23, 2021)

LordOfTheStrings said:


> :D



That's one of my friends dad having a go at making a low-budget tv show that surprisingly became quite successful!


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## Reid Rosefelt (Apr 23, 2021)

The term, as I understand it, is not solely a reference to music that is native to Scandinavian countries, but more specifically to the soundtrack music for dark mystery TV shows like "The Bridge," "The Killing," "Bordertown," and "Trapped" (Iceland). These shows became very popular around the world through streaming services and often were remade numerous times. ("The Bridge" was redone in both the UK and the US). The style, in direction, cinematography, music, and acting, was constantly copied in various knockoff shows. But particularly the cinematography and music.

Along with picking dreary locations, the easiest way for producers to capture the feel of these shows was to hire the original composers, who became more well known. There also became a lot of work for composers to emulate the sound.

And then Nordic Noir became a thing for virtual instrument companies. Nordic noir was something that could get you work. But for amateurs like me, it was simply beautiful.

The ironic thing is if you actually watch some of these series you will hear more diverse music. This is definitely true of "Trapped." They don't just have "nordic noir" music.


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## ism (Apr 23, 2021)

I met an actor in a pub once, who had been hired as an extra for an ad, filmed in Ireland, for an "Irish" Beer, brewed in Boston.

When the lead was fired, the (American) director turned to him and said "can you do an Irish accent"

"Well", he replied "I'm Irish",

"Well that's got fuck all to do with it" said the director.

What he wanted was what people in the US though an Irish accent sounded like (*).

So I wonder if when we non-scandinavians talk about "What is Nordic Music" (especially "nordic-noir"), amidst all the current vogue of scandal crime drama, there isn't a similar effect?




(*) which, incidentally, was for this particular director, more like the "Where's me luck charms" breakfast cereal leprechaun than how any actual Irish person would ever actually speak.


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## Reid Rosefelt (Apr 23, 2021)

It's been my experience that when soundtrack music gets copied by somebody and then somebody copies that composer's music and then somebody else copies that person's music, the actual source gets forgotten.

I worked for seven years with the documentary director Errol Morris. When he made "The Thin Blue Line," reenactments were unheard of for documentaries. In fact, most documentary filmmakers of the day, for whom cinema verite was a religion, hated it. Since then, Morris-style reenactments have become commonplace on countless crime shows as well as prestige docs. And almost every time directors rip him off, they get composers to create something that sounds like the Philip Glass score to his movies. Or they copy some other movie that had a soundtrack inspired by another movie that was inspired by Glass.


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## robcs (Apr 23, 2021)

TigerTheFrog said:


> It's been my experience that when soundtrack music gets copied by somebody and then somebody copies that composer's music and then somebody else copies that person's music, the actual source gets forgotten.
> 
> I worked for seven years with the documentary director Errol Morris. When he made "The Thin Blue Line," reenactments were unheard of for documentaries. In fact, most documentary filmmakers of the day, for whom cinema verite was a religion, hated it. Since then, Morris-style reenactments have become commonplace on countless crime shows as well as prestige docs. And almost every time directors rip him off, they get composers to create something that sounds like the Philip Glass score to his movies. Or they copy some other movie that had a soundtrack inspired by another movie that was inspired by Glass.


Ah yes, The Thin Blue Line. one of my favourite police documentaries ever. Who can forget this epic scene


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## Hans Adamson (Apr 23, 2021)

Grieg, Alfvén, Stenhammar, Lars-Erik Larsson, Sibelius comes to mind.


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## robcs (Apr 23, 2021)

Context is everything. It’s been said before in this thread, but in a media-scoring context, I interpret ‘Nordic’ (or ‘Scandi’ or whatever) to mean the rather sparse, desolate music that accompanies shows like The Bridge, even though as a general term it would/should cover everything from ABBA to Grieg. So, a rather hollow-sounding reverb, lots of solo instruments - especially piano and violin - discord, etc.


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## jsnleo (Apr 24, 2021)

Lol thanks guys. I know it's too general, as I don't know what it should be called.

Well I didn't wanna describe it because I have no idea if it's what I think it is, but I'll give it a try anyway.

To my understanding I'd say it's quite small and intimate, sometimes ambient, solo or maybe chamber strings, but nothing symphonic. Mood, mood, mood! And almost no melody.

Some of you really read my mind, and I think this is a really good one to describe it:







Someone please tell me what this genre is called. Thanks!


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## mybadmemory (Apr 24, 2021)

Not sure if it’s considered a genre or rather just a style of writing minimal and modern orchestral, chamber, instrumental, or ambient music.

But Scandi, Scandi Noir, Nordic and Nordic Noir are all phrases that pop up from time to time. As a reference to music from television series.


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## darkogav (Apr 24, 2021)

jsnleo said:


> Someone please tell me what this genre is called. Thanks!


That's just called mass media's colored and tinted presentation of a geographic region and culture. The links between the terms "nordic" being linked to "cold" and "sparse" and "dark" and linking it to music is just nonsense. You could put a picture of the Arctic north to Wagner's operas and could get the same effect ..even though it has nothing do with nordic peoples.


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## el-bo (Apr 24, 2021)

If what you are watching is subtitled and filmed in a snowy, dreary or rainy fishing village, where chunky-knit sweater-wearing detectives are investigating the latest local mörda, the answer will be in the accompanying soundtrack


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## givemenoughrope (Apr 24, 2021)




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## KEM (Jun 18, 2021)

There’s some real Nordic music for ya


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## Double Helix (Jun 18, 2021)

With the solstice right around the corner, I thought I'd post the feel good hit of the summer--it's the actual (not sampled) BBCSO


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