An unbeatable "world-beat" combination: traditional music, given a contemporary twist and a post-modern point of view.
- Rolling Stone
Värttinä is Finland's most successful contemporary folk music group, now celebrating their twenty-fourth year. Värttinä's roots are in the Karelia region of Finland – situated at the Finnish-Russian border – specifically in women's vocal traditions and ancient poems known as runos.
Fronted by three dazzling female singers and supported by six acoustic musicians, Värttinä composes most of their music and lyrics, based on traditional Karelian and other Finno-Ugric styles but with modern and thoroughly distinctive and original arrangements.
Since 1990, Värttinä have toured internationally and built a solid reputation as one the most inventive and uncompromising ensembles in the contemporary world music arena. Their live performance is well known to be thrilling and full of Nordic energy. The three front ladies stretch themselves to the whole vivid spectrum of women of the North: from virgins to witches, from enchantresses to mothers, from maids to murderers.
Fiona Talkington, BBC 3 Late Junction, said of the group: Värttinä has seemingly unstoppable creative energy. They thrill, surprise and amaze audiences all over the world. New York's Newsday described their music as a gale-force musical attack...beautifully poignant tunes...exotic but accessible, complex but exciting and the Billboard magazine as exquisite beauty...groundbreaking yet steeped in tradition, definitely Finnish, yet worldly.
Songlines Magazine (UK) voted their tenth album "iki" one of the "Top 50 World Music Albums You Should Own" and Utne Magazine (USA) voted Värttinä one of the "World's Most Soulful and Exciting Artists of 2003". As the most recent award, the Songlines Magazine chose their latest album “Miero” as one of the “Top 10 Albums of 2006”.
The new album “Miero” (2006) is the first of a two album license deal with Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records. All the Miero reviews have been unanimously positive with the album reaching Number 5 on the World Music Charts Europe and being picked Top 10 in Songlines Magazine "Top of the World".
Värttinä’s other latest high-profile achievement is the role of co-composer for the stage adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, with the Toronto World Premiere in March 2006 and the London West End premiere in June 2007.
Some Värttinä Fan Pages In MySpace:
www.myspace.com/varttinaunofficial
www.myspace.com/varttinagroup
Värttinä Contacts:
Official Homepage: www.varttina.com
Official Merchandise: Värttinä Shop, shop.varttina.com
Fan Mail: fanmail@varttina.com
Management: Hoedown Arts, www.hoedown.com
Bookings: Paha Juuso Agency, www.pahajuuso.com
Värttinä celebrate their 25th Anniversary in 2008!
Värttinä - As It Began
A few nice Värttinä Archive Videos can be found at YouTube.Com. For example Tupa Täynnä Tuppasuita and Matalii Ja Mustii as performed way back in 1990. A lot more archive rarities you will find on Värttinä Archive Live DVD, available at Värttinä Shop.
Värttinä Profile Was Edited With Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4
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