Ale Möller and I first met by accident in the lobby of 
a hotel in northern Sweden during a festival. Instruments 
out, and the session lasted many hours. Ale has been an 
important figure in the revitalization of Swedish folk music 
with his unique style of accompaniment and his “Nordic drone 
mandola,” an instrument he has developed and refined. I had 
already been sniffing around at the periphery of Scandinavian 
and Finnish music, thanks to brilliant players and composers 
Ellika Frisell, Mats Eden and Arto Järvelä, and through them 
had met many great players in the big cabal of traditional 
Northern European music. I’ve had the good fortune to return 
many times, and still do.

In May of 2024, Ale and I toured and performed around 
Sweden. Besides just having some fun playing together, the 
plan was to fine tune a cycle of music that celebrated our 
collision of styles and languages. The tour ended and we 
landed in the recording studio and capable hands of engineer 
Petter Eriksson, where this recording was made. Some of it 
was in front of a live audience who promised to be very quiet, 
but most of it was just us, sitting close together and breathing 
the same air. For me, it was a perfect situation - a great 
sounding space where we could hear every little squeak, bump 
and pop, and just dig deep. The conversation felt in sync, 
and we managed to pull each other into some unfamiliar but 
welcome places. 

BRUCE'S HALLING
1.Zolly’s Retreat/The Boatsman 
2.Dusty Möller Set 
3.Acadian Waltz and Oddish Polska 3:17 03:19
4.Sit Down Servant/Bruce’s Halling 
5.Fox & Duck
6.Venjan/The Time Has Passed 
7.McKaye’s Old Four Hand Reel/Gammal Bröllopspolska 
8.Homslien/Kentucky Winders
9.Brothers and Sisters
10.Peg and Awl
11.Throw The Old Cow Over The Fence/Whoa Mule