#55 - Björn Kaidel (Akleja, Plønk) | Scandinavian Folk Music in Germany

Björn Kaidel (Akleja, Plønk) joins Nordic Sound #55 to talk about how the Scandinavian folk revival of recent decades is leading to renewed interest among German musicians to reclaim a folk music tradition of their own. Diving deeper, Björn and Jameson discuss the importance of medieval folk/rock bands such as In Extremo and Faun in keeping some semblance of folk music alive in Germany, how the folk revival is using archival work and manuscripts to reclaim a lost tradition, and the old connections between all folk musics of Europe and beyond before they became a matter of national identity. 

Of course, we then tie all of this together in talking about Björn’s project Plønk and the reclaiming of the Waldzither as a German folk instrument, and his work with his wife in Akleja that could fool anyone into believing he’s Swedish (the name Björn doesn’t hurt).

Timestamps:
0:00 Overture
1:59 Introductions
5:50 Getting into Scandifolk
11:11 Where’s the German folk music scene?
44:02 Why Folk Music?
51:24 Plønk and the Waldzither
1:08:32 Akleja