Drakkar Sauna was a

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Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

-based musical duo active from 2003 to 2015. Their members were Jeff Stolz and Wallace Cochran. Their music incorporated elements of

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

, bluegrass, and

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History

Drakkar Sauna formed when Stolz and Cochran worked together on the soundtrack to ''Blood Feud'', a

B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

that Cochran directed. They subsequently began collaborating on additional music after completing the soundtrack. They released their debut album, ''Rover'', in 2004. Its music reflected such disparate influences as Mandy Patankin and the musical ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also bo ...

''. It was followed by 2005's ''Drakkansasauna'' and 2006's ''Jabraham Lincoln''. In 2008, they released ''War and Tornadoes'', an album of nine

Louvin Brothers The Louvin Brothers were an American musical duo composed of brothers Ira Louvin, Ira and Charlie Louvin (''né'' Loudermilk). The brothers are cousins to John D. Loudermilk, a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member. The brothers wrote and p ...

covers. Stolz and Cochran have identified the Louvin Brothers' music as a major influence on their own vocal styles. In 2009, the band released ''20009'', a space travel-themed album that originated in ''The Moon For Its Citizens'', a book that Cochran had previously written. They broke up in 2015, because Cochran was moving to

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Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. Their final performance took place on August 7, 2015. In 2017, the band briefly reunited to release the album ''Very Much Cologne''.

Style

Critics who reviewed Drakkar Sauna's music consistently noted the duo's unusual style and subject matter. For instance, '' Paste'' described their songs as "...very idiosyncratic and complicated", and Jason Harper wrote that the duo "...have perfected a merry strangeness while singing rattly, circus-wagon folk songs about bears, spears, wolf tits and obscure historical figures such as would-have-been president-napper

John Surratt John Harrison Surratt Jr. (April 13, 1844 – April 21, 1916) was an American Confederate spy who was accused of plotting with John Wilkes Booth to kidnap U.S. President Abraham Lincoln; he was also suspected of involvement in the Abraham Linc ...

". Nikki Miller-Rose described their style as "kinda country folk bluegrass and also old-timey" and as "uniquely quirky". She also referred to the duo as "

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a d ...

meets

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

". Joshua Klein of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' wrote that Drakkar Sauna "...embrace the rich traditions of American folk, bluegrass, and country, yet do it as outsiders, sticking to the backroads and playing up the Old Weird America eccentricities with a subversive wink."

Discography

Studio albums

*''Rover'' (Marriage, 2004) *''Drakkansasauna'' (Marriage, 2005) *''Jabraham Lincoln'' (Marriage, 2006) *''Wars and Tornadoes'' (Marriage, 2008) *''20009'' (Marriage, 2009) *''Very Much Cologne'' (Bandcamp, 2017)

Singles

*''Leave That Hole Alone'' (

Third Man Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the striking batter, to limit the number of runs that the striker scores and/or to get a batter out by either catching a hit ball befo ...

7", 2010)

References

{{Authority control Musical groups from Kansas 2003 establishments in Kansas Musical groups established in 2003 American musical duos Musical groups disestablished in 2015 2015 disestablishments in Kansas American folk musical groups American country music groups Third Man Records artists Folk music duos