The Original Five (SE) to release fourth album (Update)

The Original Five from Malmö, Sweden, toured Ireland in June 2017, including the Westport Folk and Bluegrass Festival. Thanks to Johan Malmberg, their banjo-player and fiddler, for the news that their fourth album, Wipe away those years, will be released on 1 February 2019 on their own label, Rootsy Records. It will be available as download or streaming on all major services, and also as physical CD and LP. A video and single will be released on 1 January. The Original Five write in their press release:

... We’re very proud of the faceted little diamond that will see the light of day in the beginning of 2019. Apart from the expected foundation of hard-driving bluegrass we offer exciting ventures into Nordic folk tradition, tejano music, a cappella, and we couldn’t help throwing in a country ballad for good measure.

Wipe away those years is our most uncompromising album to date. Every step in the process, from song writing and arranging to recording and mixing, has been allowed to take its time and has been made completely on our own premises. It is a bluegrass album no doubt, but the deeper we delve into the genre, the more confidence we get to let our own heritage and influences shine through. Our hope is that we’ve come up with something new, something we think could please both hard-core bluegrass fans and a wider audience.

The Original Five have been active, with some changes to the lineup, for eight years. During these years we’ve toured over most of Sweden and also played in Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Ireland, and USA. We offer genuine and well played bluegrass with some of Europe’s finest musicians in the genre. [...] The Original Five have one leg firmly rooted in traditional bluegrass and the other in modern European bluegrass. In the band's own songwriting you’ll find influences from country and pop, old and new, as well as folk music from both sides of the Atlantic.

If you would like to get in touch with us, or if you would like a copy of the album for review or airplay (CD or download) please let us know!

The Original Five (also on Facebook) consist of Dan Englund (bass, vocals), Johan Malmberg (banjo, fiddle, vocals), Daniel Olsson dobro), and Jonas Svahn (guitar/vocals). Live videos are on YouTube of them playing 'Big old machine' and 'The old mountaineer'.

The Original Five's three previous albums are on Spotify. The band can be contacted by 'phone (+46 739088895), e-mail, or post:

The Original Five Ekonomiska Förening
C/O Johan Malmberg
Södra Parkgatan 33
214 22 Malmö
Sweden

Update 5 Jan. 2019: The promised New Year video and single release are featured by John Lawless on Bluegrass Today; the video of the title track can be seen there and on YouTube. John Lawless remarks: 'We certainly look forward to hearing the full album next month.'