Kongero - Kom (2019)

The title track of Kom (Come), Kongero’s fourth album, is a siren song—traditional, to be sure, but meant to beguile listeners in real time: “Come, come…/You young, enticed, dazzled, wounded…/You cannot escape/Hear the bells of temptation.” The motives of the four women who offer the a cappella chant are benevolent—thankfully, because their magic actually works. To say that Kongero occupies the top of the folk-vocal pyramid in Sweden, where a cappella singing is deeply rooted and broadly popular, is both true and an understatement. Not only are they in a class by themselves, they created their own genre: “Swedish folk’appella.” Uniting traditional songs and their own 21st-century compositions and arrangements, applying tight harmonies to both lyric-based and lilting songs (with captivating vocables that transcend verbal communication), they give new meaning to the concept of human-voice-as-ultimate-musical-instrument. In the dance melody Gökpolska (Cuckoo Bird Polska), you can let the sound—yam-ta-dididi-dam—carry you to your own blissful understanding (video 1). The enchanting Förste maj (First of May) is an ode to spring that advises, “Banish tears and clouded minds/Banish yammer of all kinds” (video 2). Two traditional herding songs—one Swedish, one Finnish—meet seamlessly in Kling klang (Tinkle Tinkle, video 3); and TV-vals (TV Waltz) got its name when one group member saw a fiddle tune played on television, after which the women substituted vocal syllables for strings (video 4). Another key track: Din tanke i min (Your Thought in Mine) is a tender love song by Prince Wilhelm Bernadotte, a Swedish royal renowned as a writer and poet. The word kongero means “spider,” chosen, perhaps, because the ensemble weaves an intricate web of harmonies. Or is it spells? Not to worry—in the near certain probability of surrender to this extraordinary music, your life is safe. But they will take your breath away. (Dimma Sweden)

Kongero – the voices:
Lotta Andersson, Emma Björling, Anna Larsson, Anna Wikenius

Tracklist:
01. Kongero - Maijas (3:14)
02. Kongero - Din tanke i min (2:56)
03. Kongero - Kom (2:36)
04. Kongero - TV-vals (3:53)
05. Kongero - Ge mig tid (3:25)
06. Kongero - Kling klang (3:23)
07. Kongero - Förste maj (2:30)
08. Kongero - Fjärran han dröjer (2:39)
09. Kongero - Laula (2:57)
10. Kongero - Gökpolska (2:29)
11. Kongero - Limu Lima / Lova Leini (3:03)
12. Kongero - Paradis (3:09)
13. Kongero - Äntligen! (2:30)