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In the Spotlight

Heading to rock'n'roll heaven – with an accordion: Antti Paalanen

Antti Paalanen makes relentlessly intense accordion music where ideas from both heavy metal and electronic dance music...
Mikael Mattila, 17.10.2019
In the Spotlight

Pekko Käppi brings jouhikko to the masses

Pekko Käppi dreams that the traditional Karelian string instrument jouhikko (bowed lyre) will one day be...
Jukka Hätinen, 20.8.2019
In the Spotlight

From Game of Thrones to public schools: Meet vocal folk hop originators Tuuletar

Neither folk nor a cappella music is a hang-up for GoT-approved 'vocal folk hop' originators Tuuletar....
Mikael Mattila, 9.5.2019
In the Spotlight

Maria Kalaniemi: Bellow songs with feeling

Read our feature interview with Maria Kalaniemi, a versatile, multiple-award-winning accordionist, who considers herself a soul musician. 
Mikael Mattila, 29.8.2018
In the Spotlight

Maija Kauhanen – multitasking her way between tradition and modern rhythms

Maija Kauhanen is a Finnish one-woman band, singer, songwriter and player of kantele, the Finnish traditional...
Anna Brotkin, 11.10.2017
In the Spotlight

Folk meets baroque

Violinist Kreeta-Maria Kentala, a Finnish pioneer in early classical music, was born in Kaustinen, the hotbed of...
Tove Djupsjöbacka, 22.5.2017
In the Spotlight

Okra Playground gets the folk party started

Okra Playground bring their tantalising electronic update of Finnish folk to the WOMEX 16 World Music...
Wif Stenger, 28.9.2016
In the Spotlight

When Lapland met Balkan

Creators of their own self-defined musical genre, “Lapland-Balkan”, Jaakko Laitinen & Väärä Raha have played a...
In the Spotlight

Helsinki-Cotonou Ensemble on the trail of voodoo rhythms

Villa Karo, the Finnish-African culture centre in Benin, is a gateway and a nexus for many...
In the Spotlight

Archaic goes urban

“What a weird instrument!” was Ilkka Heinonen’s reaction when he first encountered the jouhikko in the...
In the Spotlight

Samuli Kosminen: Flying to the US via Reykjavik

Samuli Kosminen is one of Finland’s most internationally successful percussion players. He started out as a...
In the Spotlight

WoW – what a sound!

The groundbreaking folk wind ensemble Wind on Wind will surprise even wind music sceptics with their...