Trond Kallevåg: Twins of Træna

On Minnesota (Hubro, 2025)—one of the most compelling releases of recent months—Trond Kallevåg deepens his exploration of the cultural and emotional ties between Norway and the United States. The album reflects on waves of migration driven by the longing for a better life across the ocean—and by the quiet ache for what was left behind. With his distinctly cinematic touch, the Norwegian guitarist expands the narrative arc of his earlier Hubro albums, Bedehus & Hawaii (2019) and Amerikabåten (2023), both inspired by Norwegian emigration to the U.S.—a movement that began two centuries ago with a transatlantic voyage from Stavanger to New York City. The state of Minnesota would become one of its principal destinations.

"Twins of Træna," however, turns its gaze closer to home. Inspired by a collection of early black-and-white photographs discovered during an artist residency on the remote island of Træna, in the Helgeland region—one of Norway's oldest fishing settlements—the piece grew from a photograph by local artist Alma Sandøy depicting a pair of strikingly symmetrical twins. That image sparked Kallevåg's evocative sonic storytelling, rendered through an enveloping atmosphere and elevated by the elegant interplay of Tuva Halse (violin), Mats Eilertsen (double bass) and Gard Nilssen (drums).