Folk trio AR-GOD started in 2014, when musicians-folklorists Maria Korepanova and Nikolai Anisimov from Udmurtia and multi-instrumentalist Toivo Sõmer met in Tartu. The first joint music making at that time turned into a fruitful collaboration in the interpretation of traditional music.
AR-GOD's repertoire mainly consists of polyphonic folk songs and primitive spells from different regions of Udmurt, which are interwoven improvisationally with Finno-Ugric melodies. Song arrangements often have a rich selection of instruments, linking it with the modern sound language of world music.
The collaboration of AR-GOD members has received a very good response, and in 2017 they released their debut album, which was nominated (Estonian Etnokulp 2017) in two categories: "Best debut album" and "Ehe folk song". The debut album also gave momentum to AR-GOD's concert tours around the world, and so far they have performed at festivals in Japan, France, Holland, Germany, Finland and Latvia.
In 2023, AR-GOD completed the second album "PUU", which interprets the folk music of the Finno-Ugric small nations and Estonian and Udmurt traditions in their own way.
The concert is supported by the Estonian Cultural Foundation.
More information: www.ar-god.ee
AR-GOD:
Maria Korepanova – song, tambourine, flute, sansula
Nikolai Anisimov - vocals, frame drum, drums
Toivo Sõmer – mandola, kannel, handi-mansi lyre
Contact: toivosomer@gmail.com
+372 55671134
