Pelimanni

"It’s tantalising to try to hear how the sounds are formed – is that a plucking sound from the kantele, pizzicato from the viola or the popping of accordion buttons? Listening to this album, you really feel close to each musician and her instrument," writes Amanda Kauranne.

In December 2021, Kaustinen fiddle playing was included on the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Kaustinen fiddling tradition has remained unbroken ever since the instrument first made its way to Finland some three hundred years ago. How does a living tradition pass from one generation to another, and what does the everyday music scene in Kaustinen look like?

"The JuuriJuhla-RotFest (Roots Festival) takes place in Espoo each year and says it has its own roots in the pelimanni folk dance music, although most of the concerts range much wider. It featured top names on the Finnish roots music scene."

When violins first reached the shores of Finland via Sweden sometime during the 17th and 18th centuries, it seems that they jumped straight into the Perho River and swam upstream to the Central Ostrobothnian village of Kaustinen. The local playing tradition has remained unbroken ever since, with each village boasting its own unique playing style. Now the Kaustinen fiddle tradition has been nominated for inclusion in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

"The four women of Enkel tell us tradition is their superpower, their take on this genre is a very welcome one."

"Päivi Hirvonen approaches music with focus and attitude, but then lets it speak for itself. Her music-making is quite intimate but at times incorporates a lot of different layers, expanding herself into an orchestra or a choir."

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.