WILLE TOORS – Natt vid Skvaltkvarn (MNW, 1974)

Instrumental

International relevance: **

 

Sometimes mentioned along with progg because of the MNW connection, Wille Toors was in fact a traditional folk fiddler from Malung in the Dalarna district of Sweden. But not a folk fiddler alone; he was also well versed in Romani and classical music, and toured with circus varieties. Due to his exceptional instrumental skills he was dubbed 'the Paganini of Finnskogen' (Finnskogen is a region of more or less inaccesible forests spanning several Swedish and Norweigan counties). Toors experimented with electric violin already in the 1940's, and was also an author, a painter and a magician.

I dare say there's never been a folk violinist quite like him, at least not in recorded history. ”Natt vid Skvaltkvarn” is a blazing demonstration of his astounding capabilities, conjuring up vivid images of the darker sides of Swedish folklore. If Robert Johnson sold his soul to the Devil down at the Southern crossroads, then Wille Toors must have sold traded his to the creatures of the pitch black Swedish night. There's more rock & roll to him than anyone pretending to be rock & roll these days.

Wille Toors made several albums much later in his life (none of which I've heard as good as ”Natt vid Skvaltkvarn”). He died in 2008, 86 years old.

 

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