Home » Jazz Musicians » Hvalfugl

Hvalfugl

Get swept off your feet as Hvalfugl invites you into their alluring universe where tales from the ancient music tradition of Scandinavia are united with the sound of the modern nordic tone. In the intersection between the lightly flowing and the great and heavy, we find the folk trio Hvalfugl - a band that have created a sound that is entirely their own, through beautiful melodies inspired by both the Danish and the Swedish folk music tradition. In this universe the sun can shine from a clear sky, and the rain can fall from a dark and grey November cloud. Hvalfugl’s original compositions are both beautiful and melancholic, and from the first note they create an intimate atmosphere in the space they inhabit with their music.

Hvalfugls primary source of inspiration is the Danish and Swedish folk music traditions, in which the melodies were written with the purpose of being easy to play and sing along to. For that same reason it has been the strongest and most recognizable melodies that have survived the longest. Hvalfugl applies the same principle when making their music. The melodies must be so intuitive and understandable that anyone who listens, are touched by them.

In 2017 Hvalfugl released their debut album “By” (City), which has been critically acclaimed in several countries.

Lineup Jeppe Lavsen (guitar) Anders Juel Bomholt (double bass) Jonathan Fjord Bredholt (piano, harmonium)

Hvalfugl: Bag Vore Øjne Strømmer Drømme Sagte Forbi

Read "Bag Vore Øjne Strømmer Drømme Sagte Forbi" reviewed by Jakob Baekgaard

by Jakob Baekgaard
May 12, 2025

An impossible creature flies across the sky; a whale-bird. It has the heaviness and mythic stature of a whale and the lightness of a bird in slow flight. It is both grounded and free. This creature does not exist and yet it does exist in music. Since 2016, the Danish trio, Hvalfugl (Whale-bird), has created its distinct brand of ambient jazz. The album with the elaborate title, Bag Vore Øjne Strømmer Drømme Sagte Forbi (Behind Our Eyes Dreams Flow Quietly), ...

Album Review

Hvalfugl: Øjeblikke Vi Husker

Read "Øjeblikke Vi Husker" reviewed by Anthony Shaw

by Anthony Shaw
October 23, 2020

There's no denying that this Danish trio plays a very mellow mood. Based around the interplay of Jeppe Lavsen's mildly electrified, echoing guitar and Jonathan Fjord Bredholt's piano, this album continues the style that Hvalfugl captured on earlier albums. But while the melodies move gently forward there are small surprises lurking along the way. These include the crisp, borderline aggressive chords of the piano entering on “Fractal," and the abrupt electronic cut-off of “Under Viadukten." And the band are ...

Album Review

Hvalfugl: Som En Faldskærm

Read "Som En Faldskærm" reviewed by Anthony Shaw

by Anthony Shaw
March 28, 2019

Hvalfugl is a young Danish trio whose music straddles the awkward boundary between jazz and a rather ill-defined style of instrumental music which might be considered folk. This is despite prominently featuring two instruments which barely feature in the genre--electric guitar and piano. If one is to define a style, it surely shouldn't be through the tools of expression but by the forms used. In this sense, the tunes on both their first two albums are principally measured, ...

The music of Hvalfugl is so damn beautiful. The trio’s debut album By stakes out territory where Scandinavian folk and Nordic Jazz share a border, which means you’re gonna get some lovely melodic imagery set in an environment where a thick, moody ambiance has all kinds of potency. (Dave Sumner, Jazzblog Bird Is The Worm)

”It neither shouts nor stamps its feet, but this delightful debut release from Scandinavian trio Hvalfugl exudes crystalline warmth and a certain spacial delicacy – a beacon of serenity above the throng of high-energy jazz.” (Adrian Pallant, AP Reviews)