Hand to Play (self-released, 2018) is a duo album from Norwegian Hardanger fiddler Olav Mjelva and American octave mandolinist and guitarist Eli West, a project rooted in the cross-cultural dialogue between Scandinavian fiddle music and the American old-time and Celtic traditions West had explored throughout his career. Mjelva plays Hardanger fiddle; West plays octave mandolin and guitar. The fourteen tracks move between Norwegian folk melody, shared North Atlantic musical heritage, and original compositions that inhabit the overlapping tonal world of both traditions. The collaboration grew from shared performances at acoustic music gatherings and produced an album that found a coherent common ground between two distinct fiddle cultures without pressing either into the other's mold — a document of genuine mutual listening rather than mere cross-cultural novelty.
Tracklist
- 1 Visa Pisa 4:18
- 2 Isle of France 4:50
- 3 Stout's Waltz 3:49
- 4 Hand to Play 3:36
- 5 John Reilly the Shepherd 2:48
- 6 The Doctor 3:11
- 7 Winchell’s Falls Source Recording 2:32
- 8 Don't Drink and Dance 3:13
- 9 Fairmorning Hornpipe & Bigfooted Man in a Sandy Lot 3:38
- 10 The Love Boat 3:44
- 11 Baconost 2:42
- 12 Hugnad (Halling) 3:59
- 13 Varhogda (Spring Heights) 3:30
- 14 Five Minute Swing 2:28
