Ville Rauhala

"At times surprisingly groovy, at others surreptitiously enticing, Vodjanoi is free jazz for the future."

In a sun-drenched town only 200 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle, jazz connoisseurs mixed with locals to enjoy their 31st festival of music, at the Jazz on the Beach in Raahe, Finland.

"The Hot Heros' most recent album, Folkjazz from Finland, paints an image of the Finnish (mental) landscape that is best appreciated through focused listening. This gives the feeling of being at a live gig, and there is an irresistible urge to applaud after each solo."

Since 2005, Black Motor has been a proudly local Tampere institution, making its own idiosyncratic way apart from the orthodox Helsinki scene.