I was eight years old and my father and I sat together with the fiddle. He plucked the G-string. That´s how it all began.
My father was a fiddler – he played folk music, dance music and some classical music. He introduced me to the music and from him I got the elements in fiddle playing. Later on I went to the municipal music school in Grängesberg. Our teachers gave us the opportunity to play together and it could even happen that one could join the third violins at a concert in the famous concert hall called Cassels.
In 1980 the folk music hit me. I took part in a folk music course in Sveg. The course leader was Lennart Sohlman, who became my best example and source of inspiration. Now the tunes streamed over me! I wanted to play day and night and most of all polska tunes from Härjedalen and Medelpad. Also Bosse attended the course. The last day we played a polska tune from Älvros in Härjedalen together. I kept that tune in my ears when I went home.
About fifteen years later we met again, an evening at Skeppis. I remember that we played a polska tune from Medelpad which we called Spelborgen. Soon Ulf took part in this playing on the clarinet and the group UddaJämt was born.
I love playing in UddaJämt and most of all when people are dancing. Sometimes on a Sunday afternoon Bosse can call and say: ”This one came to me yesterday.” That means that he has made a new tune. Then he plays it to me in the phone and hopes that we will play it on the dance-floor in the same evening.
What an intensity and intimacy in the music! Just to stand close to each other and let the instruments talk. Perhaps we play Min levnads afton. Or Regnstocken. They both begin on the lowest tone. Where it all began.
Best wishes
