FMQ - DayofFolkMusic&Dance Articles

Okra Playground - Live at De Ploter, Ternat

Okra Playground - Live at De Ploter, Ternat

Okra Playground - Live at De Ploter, Ternat

"Each of the three female voices is strong in her own right, but blended together there seems no end to the variation in mood and colour they can create," describes Ton Maas in his review of the group's gig in Belgium.

Ton Maas

March 16, 2018

Crazy brilliance lives on!

Crazy brilliance lives on!

Crazy brilliance lives on!

"In some ways Frost on Fiddles is a test of Frigg’s musical strength and spirit and it questions whether a band can survive changes in personnel and the pressures of the brilliant up-and-coming younger generation of Finnish musicians."

Fiona Talkington

January 25, 2018

Pelimanni meets pixels

Pelimanni meets pixels

Pelimanni meets pixels

Folk music and video game music are poles apart – or are they? Composer and sound designer Anni Tolvanen and Jimmy Träskelin, creator of the Pelimanni 8bit game, talk about the encounters between pelimanni players and the world of pixels.

Amanda Kauranne

November 7, 2017

Better than vitamin D

Better than vitamin D

Better than vitamin D

Having travelled all around the world, the Majidi brothers have distilled their experiences and musical influences into a titillating album that will knock your socks off!

Amanda Kauranne

September 21, 2017

Hymn of praise to midsummer and music

Hymn of praise to midsummer and music

Hymn of praise to midsummer and music

Both Karen Tweed and Timo Alakotila are supreme lyrical performers who have a true gift for uncovering the spirit and text of the tunes they play.

Fiona Talkington

September 21, 2017

Innovative noise box

Innovative noise box

Innovative noise box

Pull or push? Diatonal or microtonal? Traditional bear hunting celebration or reflections of the cosmos? Antti Paalanen and Veli Kujala prove that the accordion can do it all.

Amanda Kauranne

August 24, 2017

The kantele - outside the box

The kantele - outside the box

The kantele - outside the box

Today, the kantele inspires composers and performers across genre boundaries. Musician Maija Kauhanen and composer Adina Dumitrescu discuss the instrument from their respective perspectives.

Tove Djupsjöbacka

June 16, 2017

Music for cows and wolves

Music for cows and wolves

Music for cows and wolves

Cut off a piece of willow, construct a whistle and blow through it – this is as close as it gets to a perfect combination of the roles of musician and instrument maker. Although this kind of playing has not always been considered as music, folk wind instruments have gradually taken their place among contemporary folk music instruments.

Tove Djupsjöbacka

October 7, 2016

Conquering the tradition

Conquering the tradition

Conquering the tradition

In the heart of folk music is an idea of equality: professionals and amateurs playing the same repertoire, each at their own skill level, as valued members of the community. There is a natural curiosity about different cultures and any form of exclusion is discouraged. However, gender equality is an issue that still seems to need some fine tuning. What is the status of female folk musicians in the Finland of 2016?

Amanda Kauranne

July 10, 2016

Pillar of the Finnish folk music community

Pillar of the Finnish folk music community

Pillar of the Finnish folk music community

Tallari succeeds in transforming into whatever it wishes, something always remains – the fundamental lilt and the soulful playing.

Amanda Kauranne

June 10, 2016

Music of the Finnish Romani: roaming and singing

Music of the Finnish Romani: roaming and singing

Music of the Finnish Romani: roaming and singing

Music is strongly associated with the Romani people. Singing was always a part of travelling with horse-drawn wagons or sleighs, or resting by the campfire. Music still occupies a large role in the lives of many Romani today, even as traditional lifestyles are being replaced by modern ones.

Tove Djupsjöbacka

June 4, 2016

The accordion in Finland – an instrument of contradictions

The accordion in Finland – an instrument of contradictions

The accordion in Finland – an instrument of contradictions

Edited by Vesa Kurkela and Marko Tikka and released in late 2014, a new book about the Finnish accordion covers, among other things, the early stages of the instrument and the most significant players, as well as going through the Finnish accordion repertoire. In the following article, based on the book’s introduction, the two editors contemplate the status of the accordion in Finnish music.

Vesa Kurkela

February 7, 2015

Maria Kalaniemi - Music begins in freedom

Maria Kalaniemi - Music begins in freedom

Maria Kalaniemi - Music begins in freedom

Musician and composer Maria Kalaniemi has been overturning popular conceptions about the accordion and music played on it for almost three decades now. Active in many areas, she is also engaged in research, teaching and festival planning.

Elina Roms

January 8, 1985

Yoik on the road

Yoik on the road

Yoik on the road

Wimme Saari, one of the world’s best-known Sámi performers, has made a powerful comeback after a long break away from the recording studio. His new album, Mun, contains less electronics than before, but there is still an element of trance involved. Wimme transports his listeners to another time and place.

Riikka Hiltunen

January 8, 1985

Musical nostalgia

Musical nostalgia

Musical nostalgia

"The album as a whole is moving; nostalgia in its many forms is woven into the music, and longing is expressed through carefully selected instrumental combinations."

Amanda Kauranne

January 8, 1985

By the metre

By the metre

By the metre

"The Kalevala, which has since been translated into 61 languages, has harnessed this metre into something particularly Finnish, as well as stifling it into a literary form over the course of time. Every single Finn has sat at school bored stupid while reading a book that was meant to be sung. Even so, Kalevalaic runo singing metre is still alive in our culture – it can even be found in today’s singing. At least in contemporary folk music."

Amanda Kauranne

January 8, 1985

From symbiosis to encounter

From symbiosis to encounter

From symbiosis to encounter

Dancing and music used to be joined at the hip. In folk music, this symbiotic relationship was preserved for a long time due to the fact that the bulk of traditional music is actually dance music. Today the connections between these two art forms are being examined at the Sibelius Academy Folk Music Department and through the many and varied projects of the Tsuumi Dance Theatre.

Amanda Kauranne

January 8, 1985

Spells, blood and bliss

Spells, blood and bliss

Spells, blood and bliss

Singing with the voice of old men and playing the jouhikko, an ancient bowed lyre, Pekko Käppi is hot stuff in Finland and abroad with his band. The archaic boogie performed by K:H:H:L seems to resonate with an incredible variety of audiences. Käppi is on the front line in the resurrection of one of Finland’s oldest instruments.

Riikka Hiltunen

January 8, 1985