Stian Carstensen

Stian Carstensen comes from four generations of accordion on his mother's side, five on his father's side, and is perhaps most associated with this instrument. But he is also one of the best musicians we have on banjo, guitar and pedal steel. Watching him play can be a dizzying experience, there’s something about the way he indulges every single verbal and musical whim, both in between and during song performances. He has a keen sense of musical humor, he plays hide and seek with art and improv music, but he also has a deep love for rural music, old sentimental melodies, forms of music that have traditionally not been considered “art”. In inspired moments, and there are many of them in Carstensen's world, he finds ways of turning our preconceived notions of “high” and “low” in music - and life in general - upside down.