Scotch-Finnish duo Sarah-Jane Summers and Juhani Silvola’s follow-up to 2023’s Sølvstrøk is actually a few years old now, starting as a commission from Tromsø’s Nordlysfestivalen in 2022. It has been performed live in several places and even won a NOPA’s Musikkpris award for its second track, Polkadots & Moonshine. Needless to say then, that you’re in very safe hands with this duo and their new album of beautifully crafted chamber folk music.
How to Raise the Wind is inspired by Scottish and Norwegian folk tales and begins quickly with Trolls Resent a Disturbance (an ace title). This jauntily paced number uses Juhani’s rhythmic guitar to frame a super-fun, muscular violin line. Juhani’s guitar does a great job in using heavy strums to ratchet up the drama, but this tune is all about the bowed strings, with bonkers lines screaming off like burst balloons in the final quarter and a hell of a lot of flexing throughout the tune. It plays out like a statement of intent.
And this is appropriate, as the next song Polkadots & Moonshine wastes no time in maintaining a strong sense of rhythm and musicianship. Again built on a sturdy guitar line, the violin begins with a soaring line, before settling into a beautiful melody, played with plenty of volume, that various members of the band’s guest quintet (Seonaid Aitken, Patsy Reid, Katrina Lee, Sonia Cromarty and Rikard Toften Holst) shift and embellish throughout. A pretty damn wonderful section of this tune is Juhani’s electric guitar dueting with Holst’s double bass in the final third. It’s a high-octane piece of music that incorporates Baroque styles and wrings the most from its eight-minute runtime.
Deliberately calming the vibe is Visitor from the Sea, possibly my pick. This one employs a super-cool bass refrain and cello buzz to frame eerie bowed sounds and shards of violin, evoking that sea mist and mystery. I love the strangeness of this piece and the adventurous nature of the arrangement, which utilises stark space, string growls, and eerie howls to create an uneasy environment.
An element of weirdness also prevails on The Enchanted Songs of Kings, a piece inspired by a set of Highland dances. The electric guitar introduces this one with a neatly picked, busy cluster of notes, before the violin arrives and subdues it. The music is played at the tempo of an air, giving a ghostly character to the sound that is enhanced by the reverb of the guitar and the long notes of the violin.
By the time the ten-minute title track arrives to close the set, the listener has been on a journey through various musical styles and emotions. This tune does well to play out at its own pace, with beautiful cello notes and drones sharing the space. In fact, with a broad spectrum of sound and excellent pacing (again, the double bass with an oddly effected guitar shines), this song could stand alone as a very accomplished EP; however, it instead concludes a rich and luxurious album of music that achieves true beauty and depth. It’s another stunning work from this very talented pair of artists.
How to Raise the Wind (August 29th, 2025) Eighth Nerve Audio
