Den Flygande Bokrullen

Den Flygande Bokrullen started out as a duo in the University town of Uppsala in the early nineties with Matti Pohjola and Gustav Johansson. Back then DFB had many different kinds of folk music in its repertoire. Hearing "Bobrikov" (a version of the tune Khsidishe Nigun by Boibriker Kapelle) by the Swedish group Norrl?tar, and the album Metropolis by the Klezmorim were pivotal musical experiences for the aspiring young musicians.

Hearing "Bobrikov" (a version of the tune Khsidishe Nigun by Boibriker Kapelle) by the Swedish group Norrl?tar, and the album Metropolis by the Klezmorim were pivotal musical experiences for the aspiring young musicians. Oskar found this record in the Pohjola brothers' mother's record collection. The group became a quintet in 1994 when the founders' younger brothers, Oskar Pohjola and Carl Johansson, and a friend, Lars Ydgren joined. In 1999 the new bass player Arvid Petterson joined when Oskar left the group and moved to Gothenburg. Today Arvid plays piano and baritone horn in the group. The bass player since 2003 is Thomas Dawidowski.

The current line up is:

Carl Johansson: drums & baritone horn

Arvid Pettersson: piano & baritone horn

Thomas Dawidowski: double bass & tuba

Gustav Johansson: accordion, baritone horn & trombone

Matti Pohjola: mandolin, banjo, cornet & baritone horn

Lars Ydgren: clarinet & alto sax

Since 1997, when the band had a gig at Copenhagen Jazz House, Denmark, DFB have been playing abroad at International festivals, for example in Vienna, Warsaw, Lublin, Oslo, Zabkovice Slaskie and F?rth as well as cool clubs (Berlin, Leipzig, Halle, Lodz etc) and pubs (the band of course does domestic gigs regularly). During the years Den Flygande Bokrullen has also appeared on television, radio etc innumerable times, recorded three full lenght albums and one electronic-based ep, made a film about the group's origin, and been sampled by hip-hop groups. However, Den Flygande Bokrullen has not betrayed its humble beginnings, playing regularly at weddings and other parties. Today the six members of the group live in and outside Uppsala and Stockholm.

Klezmer

Klezmer is a form of music that is experiencing second renaissance (The first one was in the late seventies). It is a unique mix of many different folk music styles, mainly Jewish, Gypsy, and East- and Central European. Other forms of popular music have also contributed to the Klezmer sound. The word klezmer comes from kley-zemer which is hebrew for musical instrument, but later on it has gotten the meaning travelling musician. The earlier klezmorim (plural of klezmer) were travelling musicians who, a bit like gypsies, travelled through most of the countries of eastern Europe, for example Russia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary. They took were they blended influences from all those cultures and incorporated them into their music.

Klezmorim were often hired to play their music on weddings and other festivities, Jewish but also non-Jewish. Klezmer music came to the USA with Jews who fled the growing pogroms against the Jews in Europe. Since one of the main attributes of Klezmer music is its ability to absorb other styles of music, it was influenced by the music of that era, in this case American popular music of the early 1900s, like Jazz.

Den Flygande Bokrullen has followed the traditions of Klezmer music and let our music be coloured by the group members' own musical favourites and preferences. For example, we play many Greek tunes, just like the revival-pioneer group Klezmorim did on their first record. The Hasaposerviko, for example, mixes well with Klezmer music because of its energy and jolliness.

For tour dates and more, please browse www.denflygandebokrullen.nu