Music
Press
"This is a typical Swedish dance," announced bare-chested saxophonist Martin Nurmi, pogo-ing his way into another frenetic instrumental.
A line-up of half-naked musicians in plaid trousers and bowler hats jumped along with him; accordionist Johan Dahlkvist did the can-can. A fiddler held his instrument to his face and yelled. A kit drummer with a flattop stood and waved his drumsticks. Pogo-ing isn't typically Swedish, of course. Nothing is, say this eight-piece - whose current CD Svensk Kultur embraces folk music and highlights the dangers of nationalistic thinking.
A hit at festivals including Glastonbury and Fuju Rock in Japan, Räfven make their one world point via a compelling mix of Balkan-style madness and Barnum-like hoopla. The high-spirited Next Time We Take Your Instruments recalled the threat made to a busking Räfven by German police; a fierce tambura lute-intro on Stortrappen dovetailed with trombone and twanging double bass.
Polish mazurkas, Finnish tangos and Russian folk dances met and morphed into the sort of high-octane brass-fuelled party music that sends people silly.
Some in the audience ran around in circles. One man hurtled into a pillar and kept dancing. "Fight for who you are and what you want to be!" yelled Dahlkvist as Nurmi swung a hula-hoop around his neck then hoisted a female trumpeter onto his shoulders. Typical? Not in the slightest.
Räfven
Rich Mix
E1
- London Evening Standard, Jane Cornwell
Fools. It took a while to find the right description for the Gothenburg band Räfven. The only word that comes to mind after tonight's concert is - fools. During the first five minutes they manage to spellbind the audience completely with its music, which to most of the crowd is previously unknown. The blend of Scandinavian and east European folk music, klezmer music and general Balkan madness is expressed with joy, but also with an underlying seriousness.
The fact that it's crowded and hot on stage does not hamper the zest for playing. Despite doing hundreds of gigs each year, Räfven have not grown tired. They send out such joy that everyone is infected. Literally everyone. If you have the chance to see the eight-man band Räfven - at a wedding, in a pub, in a rock club or on a cold November street - take it. /Thomas Björling
- Sundsvalls Tidning, 2008-04-19
The previous bands may have been good, but they all fade as Räfven take over the stage. The gigantic mishmash of people, mustaches and sequin butterflies is enough in itself to make the band interesting - and along with their music it is an unbeatable combination.
Even trying to categorize Räfven's music is impossible. It is a broad mix of Finnish tango, Russian folk music, klezmer music and a lot of other stuff. The show has an almost circus-like feeling to it, with a certain amount of insanity present all the time. You simply have to see it in order to understand it. When the gig is over they haven't just played until their shirts come off - they have also created a rarely seen euphoria in the crowd. The success is indisputable. /Kajsa Nilsson
- Allehanda.se, 2008-04-21
When Räfven play you dance. That is just the way it is. With a charmingly genuine zest for playing they outclass all the other acts at this festival. Balkan pop and klezmer music is delivered at a furious pace by ecstatic musicians who bounce up and down, hula hoop and lure old and young spectators into joining the spontaneous dance train that winds like a happy snake through the crowd.
Räfven's success is a bit like a fairy tale. Last year they made a coup, performing as a mobile orchestra inside the festival area without asking for permission. Since this was highly appreciated, they were invited to play on stage at this year's festival. Everybody seems to love Räfven. I do not usually applaud studentish dance crazes. But these charismatic, musical and completely wonderful boys steal my heart from the very first moment. I want the concert never to end. I want to dance like an seventeen-year-old all night. Räfven gives an encore if the audience promises to move to Gothenburg. Right then it feels like the natural thing to do. When is the next train? Brilliant. /Cecilia Frykberg
- Sundsvalls Tidning, 2008-08-03
Discography
"Live!" (2006)
"Next time we take your instruments!" (2008)
"Welcome to Foxshire" (2009)
"Svensk kultur" (2011)
" Folkhemmet" (2013)
Photos
Bio
In Sweden Räfven is known as the country’s wildest and maybe best live acts. On stage the eight odd ball gypsy punks turns into one single organism, delivering their frenetic and untamed mix of music that sends people silly.
During the last years they have gained crowds from overseas and made great success at the Glastonbury Festival and were voted as ”best act” at Fuji Rock 2009 by Tower Records, the biggest record store in Japan.
Raised in the streets as a busking band, no stage is too small or too big for Räfven. They never lose contact with the crowd, sending out such joy that no one stays unaffected. The party is overwhelming, but there is always an underlying seriousness.
In 2011 they are releasing their fourth album ”Svensk kultur”, which embraces folk music and highlights the dangers of nationalistic thinking. It received massive media recognition during the release tour and made one of the strongest political statements in Swedish music this year.
Links
