I first stumbled across Swedish folk rock band Garmarna back in the nineties when I worked at Tower Books, which being next to Tower Records, was a good place for a budding music nerd to be, not to mention a lifelong book nerd. Garmarna, along with another Swedish band, Hedningarna, were among the first examples of this type of music I'd heard. Driving music with fiddles and other interesting instruments (Garmarna features the hurdy gurdy playing of Stefan Brisland-Ferner, who also released an album under the band name, Hurdy-Gurdy, so you know he means business). Before that, It was Agnes Buen Garnas and a couple of albums by the duo of Lena Willemark and Ale Moller, which are all fantastic too. Another stand-out feature of Garmarna is the perfect voice of Emma Hardelin. Most Swedish folk vocalists have a kind of icy, pristine power to their voices. Maybe the all practice the art of kulning while growing up. Hardelin also sings with Triakel, who are likewise excellent, albeit more traditional than Garmarna. You really can't go wrong with Swedish folk music.
In nearby Latvia, there is an excellent folk rock band called Ilgi, who also have a Bandcamp page. The melodies will take up residence in your head.
Valravn are no longer a band, but they still have a Bandcamp page. Colin Potter sent me some cdrs because he really likes them. That's because he has good musical taste. Do you? There are only a couple of songs on their page, but they're "pay what you like."
Chirgilchin are one of my favorite Tuvan bands. They tour relatively regularly too, or at least they did. Hopefully they will again. There are only a couple of releases on their Bandcamp page, so it's easy just to get them both.
Chirgilchin Bandcamp page here.
Yat-kha take the whole throat singing thing to an almost punk level. Plus, they've released a whole album of covers, including their versions of songs by bands like Joy Division, Motorhead, and Iron Butterfly, to name a few. Plus, if you look on their merch page, they're selling their own brand of tea!
Tanya Tagaq is an Inuit throatsinger, which is completely different from the Tuvan style(s) of throatsinging, although not too far removed from some of Tuvan singer Sainkho Namtchylak's more avant garde moments. As with some of the other artists mentioned above, her Bandcamp page isn't comprehensive, but it gives you a taste, at least. Oh, look! You can get a Sainkho Namtchylak release on Bandcamp too, through the Crammed Discs site. It's actually the first Tuvan CD I bought, outside of a compilation CD. I'm now almost embarrassed to say how many Tuvan CDs I have.
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