In Finland, the
older folk music form is based on the ancient poem collection called the Kalevala. The form consists of a type of
chanting or “poem singing,” which is centered around a trochaic (one long
stressed syllable followed by a short unstressed syllable) tetrameter (the
first five notes of a scale). The lyrics are alliterative and sung about
heroes. These songs were not written down; the singers performed these from
memory, either as a solo or with a chorus.
Pelimanni is a type
of tonal Nordic folk dance music that was also performed in Finland. Generally,
pelimanni relied on the fiddle, clarinet, harmonium (a type of reed organ), and
accordions. The polska, polka, mazurka, schottische, quadrille, waltz, and
minuet all use the pelimanni style. There is also a type of rhyming sleigh song
called rekilaulu that regained popularity in the 1920s, much to the chagrin to
the church (although I’m not sure why).
Finnish dance was
influenced by dances from France and Poland as well as others from Germany and
surrounding countries. The oldest dances were the minuet and the polska. These
could be danced by couples or modified as a circle or chain dance. Quadrilles
(more or less a French-adopted English country dance) also made their way to
Finland. Even though these dances originated from other areas of Europe, Finland
adopted them and made them their own. Purpuri are long ceremonial dances, which
are actually made up of several smaller dances, especially the ones listed
above. Essentially, there are three different areas of Finland, all with their
own variations and folk dances: the Swedish-speaking areas in the east (closest
to Sweden), Karelia (the area in the southeast near the Russian border), and
the rest of Finland. The 1970s saw a boom in the interest in folk dancing,
which waned in the 1980s. But it’s common for people to go through these waves of
attention to it.
The Sami (also
called Laplanders) are an indigenous group that lives in the northern part of
Finland. (Actress Renée Zellweger’s mother has Kven [Finnish peasants who
relocated to Sweden] and Sami in her ancestry). One of the well-known styles of
Sami music is their spiritual songs called joik. At times, it can be similar to
Native American music. Hip-hop artist Amoc is known for rapping in the Inari
Sami language, which is spoken around the town of Inari. I’ve listened to most
of his album Kaccâm. I really like it. He makes good use of strings in the
accompaniment. It’s pretty catchy.
Helsinki and Turku
were the cultural hotspots of Finland during the 1800s. A German composer Fredrik
Pacius wrote the national anthem (“Vårt land/Maamme”) as well as the first
Finnish opera. Jean Sibelius – one of my favorite composers – wrote one of his
most famous symphonic poems, Finlandia,
which played an important role in the fight for independence. It was rewritten
with added lyrics, making it an important national hymn. It actually had to go
by different names to keep it from being censored by the Russian government
during occupation. The classical music scene in Finland was quite substantial.
Many notable composers, musicians, and singers came out of this tradition.
Opera has especially been a forte in the 20th century.
Rock arrived in
Finland in the 1950s, and punk rock followed about 25 years later. One of the
early rock bands that had the most influence is Hanoi Rocks. I listened to the album
Up Around the Bend: The Definitive
Collection. Their sound shifts
from 1980s hair band to 1980s punk rock. They influenced other glam rock bands
such as Def Leppard, Poison, Mötley Crüe, and Guns N’ Roses. They were active
from 1979-1985, and again from 2002-2009.
One rock band I found
is The Rasmus. Their music sounds
a little like Linkin Park (minus the rap, just the rock). I kind of like them,
too. And they sing in English. Another rock band I came across is Indica. This
band’s lead singer is a female, and they sing in Finnish. Maybe it’s the
tambourine that occasionally comes out, but it sounds like a little happier
rock, I think. Anna Eriksson’s album Kaikista
Kasvoista is pretty good. It has more of a pop-rock feel to it.
The band Apocalyptica
is categorized as “cello metal.” This is a new term for me. (I’m wondering why
there isn’t a French horn metal yet. I should make this happen.) But
apparently, this is basically metal with a strong cello (and occasionally other
string instruments) section. I kind of like it. I know I’ve talked smack about
metal before, but it’s slowly growing on me. Of course, it’s growing on me at
the speed of a glacial retreat, but still. One heavy metal band I listened to is Amorphis. Even though they span various styles of
metal, they use sections of the Kalevala
as inspiration for their lyrics. I’ve always had a problem with what’s called
“growling vocals” or “death growl” in metal music, but apparently there are
vocal techniques you can use to not totally blow out your vocal chords. (I once
had a composition professor who did that.) And this technique goes back to the
Viking days. Who knew?
My cousin
introduced me to the band Korpiklaani, a folk-metal band. I wasn’t so impressed
with one of the folk-metal bands I listened to when I was doing Estonia, but I
like this band. They have a hard skateboard punk beat to some of their songs, although a lot of their songs makes me think of Gogol Bordello tripping on acid. I
liked the album Manala that I
listened to. (It's available through iTunes for $11.99.) They certainly
changed my mind about folk-metal.
Finnish musicians
aren’t just about rock and metal. There is a small hip-hop culture as well. One
rapper I came across that I like is Amoc, who I mentioned earlier. He uses
strings and mixes a jazz-blues-soul-funk with standard hip-hop behind his
music. And as I mentioned, one of the things that make him different is that he
doesn’t rap in Finnish, but in Inari Sami, the Sami variety that is spoken near
the town of Inari. He’s pretty good. I listened to the album Kaccâm and was fairly impressed. It’s
also available on iTunes for $9.90.
Finland also has
their fair share of trance, techno, and electronica DJs. One of my favorites is
Darude. I loved the song
“Sandstorm.” I’m also a huge trance and techno fan, so of course the album Before the Storm (where this song is
from) piqued by interest. To me, this is the perfect album and perfect kind of
music to work to. I also listened to JS16’s Stomping System album. I think I
liked most of the songs on this album. A couple of the songs were used in the video
game, Dance Dance Revolution. JS16 is
also a produced; he produced Darude’s hits “Sandstorm” and “Feel the Beat.”
Up next: the food
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