Ethnogala2017

"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."

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.

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!

"Maija Kauhanen's debut album could well be a future classic in Finnish folk music."

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

According to the festival programme, Frigg, a band from Finland that made their first Dutch appearance at the Celtic & Balfolk Night in Rotterdam on 18 February, “sometimes sound like a polka band, sometimes like a Riverdance troupe and sometimes even like a rock band”. And they did, even though they didn’t show their rough and edgy side right from the start.

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?

"With Turmio Okra Playground have swept on to Finland’s folk music scene with a distinctive celebration of Finnish traditions and stories driven by captivating energy and passion and an obvious historical perspective."

The nature of folk music has always included the shameless borrowing of refreshing material from elsewhere – right now Baltic Finnish influences are rising to the top in Finland.

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.