Värttinä

Värttinä(Finnish pronunciation:[ˈʋærtːinæ],meaning "spindle") is a Finnishfolk musicband that started as a project by Sari and Mari Kaasinen in 1983 in the village ofRääkkylä,inKarelia,the southeastern region of Finland. Many transformations have taken place in the band since then. Värttinä shot into fame with the release of their 1991 albumOi Dai.As of 2009, the band consists of three lead female vocalists supported by threeacousticmusicians. The vocalists sing in the Karelian dialect of theFinnish language.

Värttinä
Värttinä in 2007
Background information
Origin	Rääkkylä,Finland
Genres	Folk,worldbeat,world fusion
Years active	1983–present
Labels	Nonesuch/Elektra Records Real World Records
Members	Mari Kaasinen-Paaso Lassi Logrén Susan Venhovaara Hannu Rantanen Mikko Hassinen Karoliina Kantelinen Matti Laitinen
Website	www.varttina.fi

In August 2005, Värttinä recorded their tenth studio album calledMieroatFinnvox Studios,Helsinki.It was released on 25 January 2006 in Finland, and 30 January 2006 worldwide. In 2006, Värttinä also released the Värttinä Archive Live DVD, which included material from their 20th anniversary concert and other new and archive material. Värttinä collaborated withA. R. Rahman,a notable Indian composer, in composing the music for the theatrical adaptation of theLord of the Rings,which played inTorontoin 2006 and in London in 2007.

Värttinä has been featured in two episodes of popular animated children's showArthursinging their hit song "Matalii ja Mustii" from the albumSeleniko.The song was also featured on the show's first soundtrack,Arthur and Friends: The First Almost Real Not Live CD (Or Tape).

History

Old Värttinä

The birth of Värttinä was heavily influenced by two sisters, Sari and Mari Kaasinen, fromRääkkylä.Guided by their mother, they had performed poems from the 1970s as a group named Tsupukat.After the group ceased in 1983, the girls established Värttinä, which they entered into a youth arts event and made their way into the finals. The following year they changed poem reading into singing, and this time the group won that same competition. In 1985 Värttinä, now having male members as well, made its first appearance in theKaustinen Folk Music Festival.Folk music circles became aware of the band as the one singing "korkeelta ja kovvoo"(high and loud).

Sari Kaasinen had become the leading member of Värttinä, and children in Rääkkylä were eager to join the band; at its height, the group was accompanied by 21 children. When the group finally could not be made any bigger, Sari established a band called Sirmakka for the youngest ones wanting to join.

In the beginning of 1987 Värttinä was selected as the "Ensemble of the Year" in Kaustinen.Their first record,Värttinä,was recorded in the following spring.Instruments used werekantele,acoustic guitar, double bass, violin,accordion,saxophone, flute, andtin whistle.They gained more publicity and, according to a guess by Sari Kaasinen, made over a hundred performances in one year.

Their next albumMusta Linduwas released in the summer of 1989.Playing skills and confidence had improved with experience, which can well be heard on the record. The pieces wereMarisongs collected by Sari Kaasinen on her journeys; one of them was her own composition. Returning home fromÅlandat summer's end, it seemed that Värttinä had come to the end of its journey. But the Kaasinen sisters, Janne Lappalainen, Kirsi Kähkönen, and Minna Rautiainen did not want to give up because they had just found their own way of making music, and the beginning of thenew Värttinäfollowed.

New Värttinä

The band's vocalists in 2006.

The band's instrumentalists in 2006.

In the beginning of the 1990s, the whole aforementioned group had moved toHelsinkiand started training at theSibelius Academy.Sari started singing with the other girls, and the background line-up stabilized as consisting of Janne Lappalainen, Tommi Viksten, Tom Nyman, Riitta Potinoja, and Kari Reiman. Värttinä made a demo record which led to a recording contract withSonet Records.The singleMarilaulu,released in the autumn, increased the public interest even more, and the albumOi Dai,released in the spring of 1991, became the band's breakthrough.They had now formed their style, which consisted of strong and energetic female singing, music pieces based onFinno-Ugricmusic traditions, and a band playingacoustic instruments.The style they created, mi xing folk music into rock,jazzandpopular music,was unheard of before.

The year 1992 brought a lot of concerts and theEmma Award,and some members were changed due to the tightening pace. In the end of the year, the albumSelenikowas released with more compositions by the band than before. The record rose to the top of European world music charts and stayed there for three months.The album was released also in the United States, and the next year, whenOi Daiwas released in the USA, too, the band started its first North-American tour. Music from the albumSeleniko(an excerpt from the trackMatalii ja mustii) was featured on the American children's television showArthur.

AfterSeleniko,Antto Varilo became the guitarist and Pekka Lehti the bassist. OnAitara,recorded in the autumn of 1994, Anssi Nykänen plays the drums, but Marko Timonen played them in concerts. The record made it to the charts again and it was remembered for the tracksTumalaandOutona omilla mailla.The band toured around the North America and Europe. Many were interested in the women's distinctive way of singing, and they made an appearance on a record ofMaggie Reilly.

Värttinä's sixth albumKokkowas released in the end of 1996. The familiar note "trad." was not found in the credits of the pieces any more as all songs were written by the band itself. After the release ofKokko,Värttinä started its first tours in Japan and Australia, even though Sari Kaasinen had to leave the band for family reasons, and only three women were left as singers.

In August 1998 their seventh album,Vihma,was released under the record company Wicklow Records, established byPaddy Moloneyfrom the bandChieftainsalong withBMG.Värttinä's style can be said to have changed inVihma.All compositions were made by the band's male members, and they contained more complex changes in time and also the singing melodies became rhythmically more diverse.Vihmamade it to the charts around the world like its predecessors.

During the winter 1998–1999 Värttinä experienced yet another change of members.Susan Aho,originally joined to replace Riitta Kossi (previously Potinoja), became a permanent front-row singer, and Markku Lepistö joined to replace her as an accordionist. Riikka Väyrynen replaced the singer Sirpa Reiman.

In June 1999 Värttinä was awarded the BASF Master Award, given to artists, producers, recorders and studios for records gaining chart success and at the same time displaying high technical and artistic quality. The award has previously been given toMetallicaandShania Twain.After the award Värttinä moved to the studio to record their next albumIlmatar,released in the beginning of 2000.Ilmatartook the experimental and diverse style ofVihmaeven further.Äijöbecame the most popular song of this album, featured by singerIsmo Alanko.During the year, Värttinä toured around Japan and Europe, ending the tour in the Savoy theatre in Helsinki, where a live album of the same name was recorded on 6 December. It was released in the beginning of the next year, simultaneously with the bookKorkeelta ja kovvooby Kimmo Nevalainen.

In 2001Ilmatarwas released in Brazil, and Värttinä performed in theRock in Riofestival inRio de Janeirofor more than 200,000 people. Värttinä's line-up was changed again, when Johanna Virtanen joined to replace Riikka Timonen (previously Väyrynen) who had left the band, and Jaakko Lukkarinen replaced the drummer Marko Timonen.

Rebirth

In 2002, the violinist Kari Reiman, bassist Pekka Lehti and original Värttinä singer Kirsi Kähkönen left the band, too. Reiman was replaced by Lassi Logrén, who had already been in theold Värttinäin his childhood. Hannu Rantanen became the bassist. Both had performed in the band before as substitutes. Värttinä thus started its "third era" with the singer trio Kaasinen-Aho-Virtanen. The first release with this line-up wasIkiin 2003, when the band also celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Later in the same year Värttinä was invited to compose music for theLord of the Ringstheatrical adaptation, based on the book byJ. R. R. Tolkien.Värttinä composed music for two and a half years together withA.R. Rahman,coordinated by Christopher Nightingale. The musical, premiered in Toronto in 2006 and moved to London in May 2007.

In December 2005 Värttinä was awarded the Finland Prize, awarded yearly by the Finnish Ministry of Education for considerable artistic merits and remarkable professional achievements. In January 2006 Värttinä released their eleventh albumMiero.The album was the band's first one to be made underReal World Records,established byPeter Gabriel.

In 2008, Värttinä toured Finland, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Belgium, in support of their 25th anniversary CD. The concert in Tampere (Finland) was filmed by Filmiteollisuus Oy and was broadcast on YLE Finnish national TV.

In late 2008, a new Värttinä book "Värttinä – Mierontiellä ja punaisella matolla" covering the story of Värttinä until now was published in Finland. Janne Lappalainen and Markku Lepistö departed the band.

2010s

In late 2009, Lassi Logrén and Antto Varilo departed the band. Accordionist and keyboard player Matti Kallio joined Värttinä.

In 2010,Susan Ahoand Johanna Virtanen represented Finland at theEurovision Song Contestin Oslo asKuunkuiskaajat.Their songTyölki ellääfinished 11th in the semi-final.

In February 2012 Värttinä released their 11th studio albumUtu.The album reached number one on the World Music Charts Europe in May. In October, Värttinä received the Womex Artist Award 2012 in Thessaloniki, Greece. Later it was announced, that Karoliina Kantelinen would replace Johanna Virtanen in the lineup.

Members

Current members

• Mari Kaasinen-Paaso(née Kaasinen)– vocals, kantele, accordion(1983–present)
• Lassi Logrén – vocals, violin, jouhikko, Jew's harp(1985–1989, 2002–present)
• Susan Venhovaara(née Aho)– vocals, accordion(1998–present)
• Hannu Rantanen – violin, double bass(?–present)
• Mikko Hassinen – drums, percussion(2012–present)
• Karoliina Kantelinen – vocals, kantele(2012–present)
• Matti Laitinen – guitar, mandocello(?–present)

Former members

• Minna Haikola – vocals, violin(1983–1986)
• Terhi Hirvonen – vocals, kantele(1983–1987)
• Sari Kaasinen – vocals, kantele, accordion(1983–1996)
• Kirsi Kähkönen – vocals, kantele(1983–2002)
• Janne Lappalainen – bouzouki, saxophone, wind instruments(1983–2008)
• Pauliina Luukkanen – vocals, violin(1983–1989)
• Nina Mononen – vocals, kantele(1983-1989)
• Heidi Pakarinen – vocals, kantele(1983–1989)
• Minna Rautianen – vocals, kantele(1983–1992)
• Sari Tyynelä – vocals, kantele(1983–1989)
• Jaana Vänskä – vocals, kantele(1983–1989)
• Jussi Kaasinen – vocals, kantele(1985–1989)
• Johanna Logrén – vocals, accordion(1985–1989)
• Tuomas Logrén – vocal, kantele, trumpet(1985–1989)
• Matleena Pekkanen – vocals, kantele(1985–1987)
• Saija Vänskä – vocals, kantele(1985–1989)
• Olli Varis – mandolin(1985–1989)
• Tapani Varis – bass, jouhikko(1985–1989)
• Nikko Prauda – bodhrán, percussion(1988–1989)
• Petri Hakala – mandocello(1989–1990)
• Christer Hackman – drums, percussion(1989–1991)
• Maria Kalaniemi – accordion(1989–1990)
• Tom Nyman – bass(1989–1993)
• Kari Reiman – violin(1989–2002)
• Sirpa Reiman – vocals(1989–1999)
• Tommi Viksten – guitar(1989–1992)
• Riitta Kossi(née Potinoja)– accordion(1990–1997)
• Reijo Heiskanen – guitar(1992–1993)
• Pekka Lehti – bass(1993–2002)
• Antto Varilo – guitar(1993–2008)
• Anssi Nykänen – drums, percussion(1994)
• Marko Timonen – drums, percussion(1994–2001)
• Markku Lepistö – accordion(1998–2008)
• Riikka Timonen(née Väyrynen)– vocals(1999–2001)
• Jaska Lukkarinen – drums, percussion(2000–2007)
• Johanna Hytti(née Virtanen)– vocals(2001–2012)
• Jaska Lukkarinen – drums, percussion(2001–2007)
• Hannu Rantanen – bass(2002–2013)
• Toni Porthen – percussion(2007–2011)
• Matti Kallio – keyboard(2009–2015)

Discography

• Värttinä(1987)
• Musta Lindu(1989)
• Oi Dai(1991)
• Seleniko(1992)
• Aitara(1994)
• Kokko(1996)
• Vihma(1998)
• Ilmatar(2000)
• 6.12.(2001) released asLive in Helsinkiin the United States (live album)
• Double Life(2002) – 2-CD compilation containing all of6.12.and tracks from studio albums.
• iki(2003)
• Snow Angel(2005) – compilation including songs from studio and live albums
• Miero(2006)
• 25(2007) – compilation including songs from every Värttinä album throughout their career with previously unreleasedVipinäveetfrom the Miero sessions
• Utu(2012)
• Viena(2015)

Also appear on

• Arthur and Friends: The First Almost Real Not Live CD (or Tape),1998 (Rounder Kids)
• Beginner's Guide to Scandinavia,2011 (Nascente/Demon Music Group)

External links

• Official site
• Complete Discography
• VärttinäatIMDb