I think Ånon Egeland is one of the most important contemporary fiddlers in the Scandinavian traditions, with a growing and dedicated audience around the world. Like no one else, his repertoire and playing style show us how tunes and techniques from masters of the previous generations can be the basis for contemporary musical expressions. It is more than just "inspired by" tradition, and more than just "playing like the old masters"; Ånon creates a genuinely personal musical world with great emotional and communicative power. Also in Sweden, Ånon has like no other Norwegian fiddler, a large following. On any session with Swedish musicians, you are likely to hear one or several tunes from Ånon's albums. It is perhaps hazardous to claim that Ånon's generation is the last to learn fiddling "the old way", but there have certainly been some important changes - culturally, technological and economical - that neccessarily influence the way music is learned, and, not least, the perception of what music is about. Without the immediate availability to a vast body of recorded material, nor relevant full-time education for traditional musicians, Ånon's education as a musician depended to a large extent on tracing fiddlers with interesting repertoar, and get tunes directly from their fiddles. Also important were all the digging in not-so-easily accessible archives and collections for recordings and old hand-written sources of tunes. In the process, he got a broad view of playing techniques, and a large repertoire of more or (most often) less well-known tunes. His three last albums (Sorpesoll, Egeland/Edén/Marin, Farvel, farvel) have all gotten nominations to important prizes. His playing is firmly rooted in the traditions of Southern Norway, and, at the same time, is, highly personal and contemporary in style. - Tellef Kvifte