Heads or Tails Listening Post 389. Uusikuu’s sixth album has a pastoral title, but the group’s picnic basket has a false bottom, out of which emerges a cornucopia of song and delight. Led by Finnish singer-composers Laura Ryhänen and Mikko Kuisma, the ensemble also...
Zither and Yon Listening Post 341. Like a grand journey to distant lands, Barbora Xu’s debut album Olin Ennen (I Was) explores affinities and contrasts: In her delicate-resonant voice, the Czech-born artist sings ancient Finnish and Chinese poems, for which she...
Forest of Dreams Listening Post 270. Nani is a dreamscape of overlapping civilizations, emotions, epochs and realms, merged into songs as delightful to hear as they are stimulating to map. Start with Emmi Kujanpää’s sterling voice, soothing kantele (Finnish zither),...
Voices on the Edge Listening Post 227. Tuuletar’s debut album introduced vocal folk hop, a performance style of a cappella harmony, beatboxing, gesture and movement that filtered the natural world through Finnish mythology. Listening to Rajatila (Borderline), the...
Into the Woods Listening Post 181. One of Europe’s smallest nations, Estonia is also among the most heavily forested. “The woods are a sacred place for many of us,” observes folksinger-songwriter Mari Kalkun. “Many Estonians have a spiritual connection to the trees,...
