Группа " Santtu Karhu & Talvisovat" (С.К. и зимние одежды) существует в разных составах с 1989 года и исполняет песни на карельском языке. За годы существования вышло 3 виниловых сингла и 4 CD. Aльбомы "Allus oli muna" и концертный альбом "E.L.O.S." вышли в 2009.
Santtu Karhu was born in 1967. Already interested in music as a child, Karhu studied the piano in a music school for several years. His first teacher was a firm believer in the pedagogy of the strict atmosphere: if concentration was loosened during a rehearsal, a prize of a crack in the head would result. Luckily, the teacher was replaced. The new teacher was a young woman, who furthermore introduced Santtu to American jazz music. These radical improvements in tuition helped him to continue playing the piano.
One of the few perks of a small harbour town were the Western rock albums brought in by the sailors to sell. Thus Karhu made his acquaintance for example with Abba, Chicago and Earth, Wind and Fire. Especially he fancied the first Velvet Underground album, which no-one else would buy, and particularly the track 'I'm Waiting for My Man'. The only keyboard player in his little hometown, Karhu landed in his first band at the age of fifteen, playing a Soviet keyboard - which nowadays would be trendily termed 'Lo-Fi'.
Besides the keyboard, Karhu had also been playing the guitar, but his final change into a guitarist came about when he received an electric guitar from his aunt as a present for his 17th birthday. Around this time he also became the vocalist in his band, compelled by an inner voice - or just the hormones.
The following year, in 1985, Karhu moved to Petrozavodsk in order to study building. This career choice ran into shore soon. In Santtu's own words the studies "obviously made no sense at all", as he had joined the university folk music group Toive (Finnish for 'A Wish') to play the mandolin and the double bass, and been acquainted with Leo Sevets and Arto Rinne, the Karelian- and Finnish-speaking youngsters of the group.
In 1986 Santtu and Arto left for their two-year conscription period, on the border guards in Northern Russia by the Norwegian border. Their assignment was to monitor Nato troops' manoeuvres on a radio equipment. As they soon discovered that Nato was moving about very punctually, always spot-on at the same times, Karhu and Rinne concentrated on listening to the "Rockradio" on Finnish Public Broadcasting service, which could be clearly received on the top of a nearby hill. Among the radio journalists of the time, Heimo Holopainen and Jake Nyman made a memorable impact. Tero Heinänen's show "Säveliä Neuvostoliitosta" ("Tunes from the Soviet Union") was also important for Karhu and Rinne, as this was where they could hear, for the first time ever, Soviet groups banned in the USSR, such as the anti-Soviet underground rock band DDT.
After returning from the army to Petrozavodsk in 1988 Santtu continued to play in Toive. He also begun studying Finnish and Russian language and literatures at Petrozavodsk University. Around this time, Karhu started to wonder why the Estonians were making music in their own
language, but the Karelians weren't. He decided to form a band which would perform music in Karelian, his mother tongue. The band, which was named 'Studio', played together for a couple of years. The first incarnation of 'Santtu Karhu ja Talvisovat' ('Santtu Karhu and Winter Overcoats') was born in 1989. The group was made up of Santtu Karhu (guitar and mandolin), Arto Rinne (keyboards, accordion and harmonica), Leo Sevets (jouhikko/bowed harp, Feodor Astashov (electric guitar), Pjotr Vassiljev (drums) and Aleksei Bronnikov (bass guitar). Later on Mikko Suokas became established on bass guitar.
As the time of Perestroika came about, the Soviet borders became open enough for the Finns and the Karelians to regain a contact that was lost for 70 years. During 1990 and 1991 Santtu Karhu ja Talvisovat gigged extensively in Finland and recorded two singles for the record company EiNo. After a promising start, the band retired for a five-year hiatus due to the economic crash in Russia and Finland. There were no opportunities for gigs in Finland, and life in Russia was unbearably harsh. There were times when not even potatoes or other staple foods were available in stores.
While the band was living low, Karhu worked with Leo Sevets to record a cassette tape of children's songs, Kurret ("Squirrels"). Santtu supported himself and his family as a truck driver, among other odd jobs.
Talvisovat were activated again in 1998. Santtu and his eternal sidekick, the world's sole Vepsä to master the electric guitar, Feodor "Fedja" Astashov, recorded the album Pahoin brihoin pajatukset ("Bad boys' idle talk") which they also published. After this, the band was re-joined by Arto Rinne, and a new drummer Igor Sakharov was also recruited.
In 2003 Santtu Karhu ja Talvisovat began recording for the Finnish record company Hot Igloo. Their first Hot Igloo album Hyvästit Karjala ("Goodbye Karelia") was received ecstatically by the Finnish press, and the band was gigging industriously in Finland.
The following album Terveh Petroskoi ("Hello Petrozavodsk") was apparently created under an ill-fated planet alignment. The band was going through heavy inner turmoil. Rinne and the wind instrumentalist Dmitri Demin left the group soon after the recording sessions. Also the drummer Mikhail Kokharov was a soon-to-be ex-Talvisopa. The album was planned to be mixed in Helsinki at a studio partly owned by Teemu Korpipää, which was forced into acute renovations after some unfortunate mishaps. The album was mixed in very primitive conditions. Even the record company was moving half-steam.
Despite all this, the album emerged a success. The critiques were, again, very enthusiastic. In 2007, the third album of Santtu Karhu ja Talvisovat should be coming out from Hot Igloo. Even though it is almost all the Petrozavodskian musicians who have passed through this group during the years of its existence, currently the band appers to have found a line-up which promises stability and longevity.
Santtu Karhu ja Talvisovat:
Santtu Karhu (vocals, mandolin, lapsteel, melodica, keyboards)
Feodor Astashov (guitar)
Artiom Undalov (bass guitar)
Andrei Lukin (drums)
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