With fiddle and accordion in a magical interplay, the duo Symbio has established itself internationally as one of the leading groups on the progressive folk & world music scene. Symbio's musical world is described as a meeting between innovative folk music, minimalist art music and electronic club music, but above all - music that creates images and evokes emotions.
Johannes Geworkian Hellman – crank lyre
LarsEmil Öjeberget – accordion and kickboxing
Since the group was awarded the award as Newcomer of the Year at the Folk & World Music Gala in 2016, they have toured intensively in over 20 countries, Europe, the USA and Canada.
On their third album Endeavor, the duo have created a dreamy soundscape where heartfelt melodies and hypnotic beats depict life-affirming themes. The album was released in autumn 2022 and has been warmly received by listeners and critics in Sweden and internationally.
Symbio was awarded the Newcomer of the Year award at the Folk & World Music Gala as well as the Royal Academy of Music's ensemble scholarship in 2016. In 2019, the duo was selected to represent Sweden's Radio in the EBU Radio Folk Festival at the prestigious Rudolstadt Festival, Germany. The duo was also selected as the Official showcase artist at the International Folk Alliance in New Orleans (US) 2020, the world's largest industry meeting for folk & world music, and represented Sweden as the official showcase artist at the Nordic Folk Alliance 2022, Gothenburg and Mundial Montreal 2022, Canada.
"Symbio stands out to the highest degree as one of the most distinctive folk music-related groups in recent years. The musicians are dazzlingly skilled and there are plenty of phrases where you wonder how it is even possible to play like that.” - The music magazine LIRA
"The young Swedish duo Symbio is a true phenomenon on stage. Every show is an experience due to the musical telepathy between these musicians and their catching stories. From the first song the listener is lifted from their daily boring routine and is taken away to a new, more hopeful universe”
- Elda Dorren, Program manager of Folk & World music at De Doelen Con
