Nordman

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Nordman is a Swedish folk-rock duo formed in the mid-1990s by Håkan Hemlin (singer) and Mats Wester (nyckelharpa and main songwriter). They mix folk music with rock and pop, a style often called folk rock. The duo scored big early hits with “Förlist” (Shipwrecked) and “Vandraren” (The Wanderer).

Their first album, Nordman, came out in 1994 after their debut single “Förlist” released in February. The album quickly went gold and then platinum as the summer hit “Vandraren” topped the charts. They followed with Ingenmansland (No Man’s Land) in 1995, which went platinum, and the hit “Be Mig.” A 1996 concert at Cirkus in Stockholm was filmed for TV, and 1997 brought another platinum album, Här och nu (Here and Now).

The group split in 1998 due to Hemlin’s drug problems, but they reunited in 2004. They signed with Bonnier Amigo and made a comeback, releasing Anno 2005 and returning to touring. In Melodifestivalen, Sweden’s national selection for Eurovision, Nordman performed “Ödet var min väg” (Fate Was My Way) in 2005 and later competed in 2008 with “I lågornas sken,” finishing sixth.

Vandraren was later covered by Blackmore’s Night (2010) and Ensiferum (2009). The members had started Nordman after meeting in Hjorthagen in 1991, when Wester invited Hemlin to help with a project blending folk and pop. The duo continued to release music and perform, with a 2007 single “Du Behöver” and the album Patina, which featured acoustic versions and new material. They celebrated their 25th anniversary with special concerts in December and have remained active on Swedish TV and in the music scene, releasing new singles and taking part in Melodifestivalen again in 2023.