De Fries and D. Beck

One of the best CDs of 2003 didn't appear until close to the end of the year. Balance, by the Danish duo of de Fries & D. Beck is a delightful, invigorating tour through Danish traditional music. With Tove de Fries (also of the band Baltinget) on fiddle and Malene Beck on piano (she also plays bass in Instinkt), the album is more than a tribute; instead it makes the music - as it should be - into something living and joyful.

That's hardly surprising, since to the pair of them, it is quite alive. De Fries learned tunes from her father (as well as his friend, Niels Johnsen), who learned them from his father. Beck learned from Jutland fiddler Viggo Balle Gade. And both spend time on the island of Fanø, where traditional music, personified by Peter Uhrbrand, is part of life.

That they love playing together was quite evident from their appearance at the Tønder Festival, where they took to the stage, beers in hand, cigarettes in mouths, and gave a stunning performance where their communication was almost telepathic, belying the fact that they've only been playing together for two years.

"We started playing together and found out that we didn´t need to talk about the music, it came naturally."

"Malene and I have been seeing each other for about the last 10 years at festivals and dances," recalled de Fries. "And when we started seeing each other on a daily basis at the [Carl Nielsen] music academy (Malene as teacher and me as student), we found out that we had a lot in common, growing up with traditional dancing and playing. Then we started playing together and found out that we didn´t need to talk about the music, it came naturally. We had the same approach to the music, it being from Thy, Fanø, Westjutland or whatever. We both had pictures of old traditional players to link to the music." Or, as Beck, pointed out, "we realized that we had something special in common, - and by that I mean the love and understanding of the "old-style" swing in the Danish dance music." One reason the duo works so well, de Fries offered, is that Beck has "the biggest ears. I just play some tunes and know Malene will accompany me, even though she doesn´t know the tunes I might play, she can hear on my playing, what style it is."

De Fries didn't take up the fiddle until she was a teenager, but from an early age traditional music was a part of her life, "but since before I could walk my father took me along to dances. And I have been looking at my father and Niels Johnsen and dancing to the music always. Many nights, when they had been playing for dances, they continued playing when we got home. My room was just above the living room where they were playing, and I put my pillow on the floor and fell asleep listening to the music. For me, it is a combination of the sound and the expression of the old fiddlers I remember, and try to communicate. I have always felt, that I needed to copy and understand the music and people playing it, before I could put something of my self into it."

Beck, on the other hand, isn't sure how much the playing of Gade influenced her, but "I know that the years in my childhood when he was around often, and I went to a lot of dances where he played, - have made me feel something really special about his music and timing for the dancers. My mother plays the accordion and my sister plays the fiddle, - they were both really close to him, too, - so he was just a part of everything. There were a whole bunch of old players while I grew up, most of them are dead in the meantime - but I remember travelling all around the country to good ballrooms with my family, and later on alone or with friends. Playing a lot of other music and styles I can be "formed" more by the other players, and follow their intentions - but when it comes to Viggo's music from Thy, I just know how it should be played, and I find it hard to change that feeling. And I can hear his fiddle for my inner ear every time I play the tunes. - A funny thing is that Viggo actually lived in Canada for four years, from 1948 to 1952, working as a blacksmith and playing music. I've been lucky enough the last couple of years to play for dances with an accordion player from the same area, Karl Skaarup, - who's been out playing since he was four, and newly had his 75 years anniversary as a player…. That's something… And fortunately, Tove has the same feeling as me, because she's been having the same kind of experiences since her childhood."

"In Denmark most people don't even know that Danish traditional music exists."

That they feel the music on a cellular level is obvious; it's in their blood. But it's in their heads, too. De Fries studied folk music at the Carl Nielsen Academy; Beck teaches piano there. The music seems to help define who they are.

"It moves me because it's so obvious that this music contains so much power and no matter what happens around it in the world, it stands strong and powerful as always," explained Beck. "Tove and I once found out that it felt more like the music is passing by and just "uses" us on its way. I find the same thing in Irish traditional music and in music from Cape Breton too, of course. All places where the music has its roots in dance music, the most important and brilliant task is to let it play itself, - you don't need to think too much and create arrangements and all that. Just play with presence and humbleness and energy - then it's coming to life. I love that. And then the tunes from Fanø stand out for themselves, as a totally unique thing I've never heard anywhere else."

Balance's three tracks from Fanø have a different, unique sound. The island, off Denmark's west coast, remains a stronghold of traditional music. Fiddler Peter Uhrbrand (who won a Danish Folk Music Award as Instrumentalist of the Year) has come to exemplify that tradition, and it was from him that de Fries learned the tunes, although "again it is a mixture of seeing and hearing Peter play, and seeing, hearing, dancing and partying with the people from Fanoe that makes me understand and beeing able to play the music. Peter has been the greatest teacher I have ever experienced, because he can make you understand that playing music is not about scales and playing fast or whatever (not that I ever did that), but about loving the music you play."

The pair have managed to balance their various musical responsibilities quite well. Beck noted that "we don't have a lot of jobs with the duo so yet it hasn't been a problem with Baltinget and Instinkt. We're both doing a lot of other work and playing too. I find that when working as a musician these days you will have to have a couple of different "bones" to get enough to do." Besides, de Fries added, "Malene and I are not in the kind of bands that practise all the time."

As a duo they have done some touring, including a trip last year to Canada's Cape Breton, which led to their disc.

"We listened to a recording Paul MacDonald did just for fun, in the fall where we had a house session before we went back to Denmark, and all the nice people from St. Ann's Bay were there," recalled Beck. "And we really liked the atmosphere and sound from the house. So - even it seems really weird we decided that it would be easier and better (not cheaper!) for us to stay in that house for a full week, and get the music going. It's also the whole atmosphere on that island, - music is just peeping out from everywhere all the time. It's all over, - in the nature, and all the people living there just love it. In Denmark most people don't even know that Danish traditional music exists. Therefore it's very inspiring to visit Cape Breton. We could have done the recording in Denmark, but we're both very busy persons, and it could be hard to find the same time and concentration. And also we liked to work with Paul MacDonald, not only because his recording principles and skills as a sound engineer are excellent, - also he really understands and loves traditional music, and was very supportive all along."

Obviously, they hope that Balance will bring more playing opportunies, inside and outside their homeland.

"We've just been in Berlin to participate in a dancing festival, - which means that we did some dance and instrumental workshops in the day time and played for dance at night," said Beck. "It was great to work with a bunch of good and open-minded dancers, and this also gave it more meaning to play at night. We are also very interested in doing concerts at festivals and all that - but in my opinion the force in the music is when it's played for dancers. So - a little of both. And concerning to Baltinget and Instinkt, - there's just one thing to say: The days should have more hours!"

As de Fries noted, one thing is certain - they'll both continue to play Danish music.

"Nobody can tell the future, but as long as somebody wants to hear and dance to the traditional music, Malene and I will be playing."