TRÅ DANSEN is in a way a «return to the starting point» for Hans Fredrik Jacobsen. Throughout his 30-year career as a musician, he has passed on and worked with both folk- and medieval music from distant centuries and other´s personal lyrics. TRÅ DANSEN mixes personal experiences and historical people with music that has i´s roots in Hans Fredrik´s hometown Risør and the surrounding region. Just like a sailor, he returns to his hometown after many years of traveling around the world as a musician.

Sings his own songs

Jacobsen´s new record is a folksong-album, which places great emphasis on spreading the lyrics. But it is also something more, with its great variation in the use of instruments, musical styles and touches of pure instrumental music. This is probably due to the fact that Hans Fredrik is first and foremost an instrumentalist, who nevertheless has always written songs, using both other´s and his own texts. In TRÅ DANSEN, for the first time, his own lyrics are in the focus and it is the first time he sings his own songs on record.

Familiar, domestic and exotic

An exciting musical spice is added throughout the songs. Both by the singer himself, but also with the powerful musical team. You can find elements of both Norwegian traditional music and what is called world-music, a mixture of the familiar, the domestic and the exotic. This is also emphasized by the use of instruments such as Norwegian harp, Iranian santur, the Hardanger fiddle, Irish flute, Caribbean steel drum, elsitar, accordion, slide guitar, harmonium and harmonica. But the frame keeping this together is Hans Fredrik´s compositions and texts. The songs and melodies have been created over a period of 20 years. Some are entirely new, but all of them have gone through major or minor alterations under the recording process.

Collaboration and Publishing

TRÅ DANSEN is Hans Fredrik´s 3rd solo album. The frist two were "JòL" (Via music 1998) and "Vind" (Heilo 2004). In addition, he has released "Langt nord i skogen" (KKV 1987) together with Tone Hulbækmo, "Himalaya Blues" (Heilo 2004) together with Knut Reiersrud and the Nepalese group Varja, "Selfløyta" (Heio 1997) with Steinar Ofsdal and Hallgrim Berg, and 3 CD´s together with the medieval group Kalenda Maya: "Renaissance and medieval music" ( Simax 1985 ) , "Norse ballads" ( KKV 1989 ) og "Pilegrimsreiser" ( KKV 1997). Hans Fredrik has participatedon around 100 albums as a studio musician, and he has collaborated with Erik Bye, Secret Garden, Sissel Kyrkjebø, Annbjørg Lien and poets including Halldis Moren Vesaas, Ove Røsbak og Ola Jonsmoen, to mention a few.