Gjermund Larsen Trio - Christmas Sessions

Gjermund Larsen Trio with a lovely Christmas album!

"Christmas Sessions"* is out on November 8 and is a warm and intimate Christmas record. The trio lets the melodies shine with a strong folk musical identity.
After playing self-composed music for almost 20 years, Gjermund Larsen Trio is now releasing their first Christmas album. On 8 November, "Christmas Sessions" will be launched. In a beautiful, folk music-influenced musical landscape, the trio interprets well-known and beloved Christmas songs in their own way.

The Gjermund Larsen Trio, which consists of Gjermund Larsen (fiddle), Andreas Utnem (wood organ/piano) and Sondre Meisfjord (double bass), has since its first release in 2008 garnered praise, cheers and a number of awards, including both the Spellemannpris (2008), German Phonographic Critics Award (2015) and TONO's composer award (2016).

The trio has long had a desire to make a Christmas album, but has not had time to realize the project until now. When the Gjermund Larsen Trio played with Det Norske Solistkor on their Christmas album *«Veni – Songs of Christmas II»* in 2022, it gave extra flavor and extra motivation to start their own Christmas project.

This autumn, with only three recording days at their disposal, the trio went into the Amper Tone studio. The process was inspiring, intense and constructive. Gjermund Larsen tells:
- We had sketches, ideas and thoughts about how we wanted to shape the music, but it got its final form and shape during three intense studio days. It is both scary and exciting to release music that everyone knows and has a strong relationship with. We have selected the Christmas music we like best and given it our signature.

Releasing Christmas music now also feels right for reasons other than the purely musical. Several of the carols have a strong message of peace, which is unfortunately extra important in these times!

With wood organ on all the songs, they create a warm and beautiful Christmas atmosphere. The intimate arrangements are something that fits well with the repertoire, and makes the whole thing a bit contrived and silly. Gjermund continues:
- We believe this release will be an important contribution in the ever-growing jungle of Christmas albums. The album is instrumental, and the arrangements are original and unadulterated. We play with a strong folk music identity, which we think many people will recognize. Christmas music is in many ways all folk music today.