Copenhagen’s Tone of Voice Orchestra release “Tourist at God’s Mercy”, the lead single from Running from the Devil, released on 7 November on Word for Word Records. Formed by singer-songwriter Trinelise Væring and saxophonist Fredrik Lundin, the ten-piece ensemble connects Scandinavian folk, jazz and global roots through collective writing and performance.

The song begins with a samba-patterned snare referencing Rio de Janeiro’s carnival rhythm, joined by fiddle, cittern and double bass that anchor it within a Scandinavian folk framework. Four vocalists enter together, then divide into harmony around the lyric “Been there, done that / Got the T-shirt / Still know nothing about love.” Midway, saxophone and bagpipes share a melodic exchange that links Brazilian rhythmic phrasing, Breton pipe tone and Nordic choral form.

The lyric views travel as a mirror for emotional understanding — a catalogue of movement that reveals how little is learned. “In matters of the heart, we are all travellers — curious and uncertain,” says Væring. The final section turns the refrain “Still know nothing about love” into a collective statement, lifted by the combined force of voices and drums.

Each instrument plays a defined role: the drummers sustain the samba pattern; the double bass locks its rhythm beneath the fiddle’s bowing; the cittern outlines harmonic shifts; bagpipes and saxophone trace a shared line that carries the song to its close. The result is both dance rhythm and reflection.

Discover and get a copy of the full album through THIS LINK