It’s our song!


The contest started in January. Depending on their roots, participates were divided in four different groups: Afrovision, Arabvision, Latinvision and Asiavision. The winners of each group went to the final which will be held this Saturday.


The lucky finalists are:

 

 

Afrovision
Prince Levy (Ivory Coast)
Sofy Kapepula (Kongo)

Arabvision
Aida Murad (Irak)
Samantha Marie José Sayegh (Lebanon)

Asiavision
Eva Wong (Malaysia)
Anfisa Proskuryakova (Ulan-Ude, Siberia)

Latinvision
Tatiana Pereira (Brazil)
Fabiane Laube (Brazil)

The grand finale is hosted by Aria Arai and Jani Toivola. The winner will received 2,000 euro and cola products for a whole year.

Read more about this contest: Ourvision, (Y)our Music! by Silvia Costantini

Ourvision Song Contest Grand Finale

Saturday 5.5. 8-11 p.m.
Savoy-teatteri,
Kasarmikatu 46-48, Helsinki

Tickets: 8 euro (half price for students, pensioners and unemployed people)

Participating youth – A risk or an opportunity?

Annantalo Arts Centre is a member of the European Network of Art Organisations for Children and Young People (EUnetART) and will be hosting the event in Finland, along with EUnetART and Finnish Aladdin’s Lamp network, which enhances children's art education in Finland. This year’s festival will be held in partnership with the City of Helsinki, Passion2 seminar organized by Annantalo Arts Centre with Pedaali Association and various art institutions from the Capital region.

The conference will be preceded by the SpringLab. This is highlighted by the participation of ISH group from Holland, who will work with groups of Finnish children from Vantaa Mikkola School and have presentations for the results of their project on Saturday, 5th May in Tikkurila lukio hosted by the Cultural Services of Vantaa City.

While it might be true to say that the youth culture today lacks a steady footing, particularly in relation to art, listening to the director of Annantalo Arts Centre, Johanna Lindstedt, during an interview last Friday gave a broader overview of the reality of art and creativity even among children and youth in Helsinki region. It also paved way to recognise other creative activities that are taking place in other towns around Finland.

The Aladdin’s Lamp (Taikalamppu in Finnish) was launched six years ago and has managed to touch upon many aspects of children and art in Finland, and also forms a network that offers funding to pilot projects that target children and youth. So far there are many towns that have inaugurated the Aladdin’s Lamp, among which are Helsinki, Vantaa, Pori, and Hämeenlinna. These form a network that shares and implements ideas that strengthen the growth of children and youth art work in Finland.

My interest had been growing over the weeks regarding arts participation of young people in Helsinki region. Living in Helsinki metropolitan and being witness to the idleness of many youth gives one thoughts of what is not being done to occupy these youths, and what can be done to indulge them in something worthwhile, even useful for their future. This year's EUnetART festival offers an opportunity for participants, personnel of culture and education, along with teachers of children and people, to learn the success of others, adapt new ways of involving youth and children in art and cultural activities and also motivate them into new endeavours of their choice.

Resistance was futile

Ladytron pioneered during the early 21st century electroclash boom, but has prevailed while many others have given up. The Liverpudlian foursome is fronted by two cutting edge entertainment units, Mira Aroyo, a Bulgarian import, and Helen Marnie. The males, Daniel Hunt and Reuben Wu, stay in the shadows and concentrate on knob-twiddling and as of late, guitar maltreatment.  Their 2001 debut album 604 laid the groundwork with its cool, detached female vocals and vintage 1980 sounds coupled with fuzzy glam/punk for street cred. It was followed by the darker, more honed Light And Magic in 2002. For the next three years the band toured and worked on their latest, Witching Hour, which was released in 2005 and featured a matured, slightly more mainstream sound. The crossover from pure electronica to a broader pop sound has admittedly boosted Ladytron's popularity and songs from Witching Hour were received with much enthusiasm. But at times the new tour line-up with added bass and drums proved problematic with older songs: some of the innovative beats were drowned by the drummer's heavy-handed treatment of his kit. The impassively sexy cult hit Seventeen suffered especially, since its trademark bouncy drum machine loops were replaced by a monotonic thumping. On the other hand the added instruments did fatten the sound and worked fine for the most part.  In terms of visual style Ladytron has always been a fascinating mix of socialist uniformity, robotics and 80's futurism. The band has since switched uniforms and gender-concealing haircuts to sexier kimonos and the two frontwomen are taking some steps away from lurking behind their Korg synthesisers. Not much movement took place on stage though, but the lights and background visuals were atmospheric enough. The most lyrical moments were undoubtedly a chilling rendition of Soft Power, with its dystopian lyrics (we're not sleeping at the wheel / the wheel is turning the machine / that kills / for us…) echoing in the dark, or the dismal techno anthem Fighting In Built Areas, with Mira's Bulgarian vocals sounding about as warm and human as a dentist's drill. Aside from sending shivers down your spine the Ladytron apparatus also managed to compel most of the club to twist and shout, especially to older, more punky tunes such as the irresistible Playgirl. And after all, underneath the clinical, unfeeling machine surface there were very human feelings at work: things like loneliness, fear and longing. Moving away from a tight, well thought out concept seems to have brought more shades (of grey and black) into Ladytron's soundscapes, but also deeper human emotion. But that doesn't mean cracks in the system. Resistance is futile against the Korg.

Say with a song

Dozens of events, concerts and street parties (let’s pray for good weather so everybody will be able to enjoy the outdoors happenings) that will export the image of Finland to the rest of the world. You may like it or not, but definitely you cannot deny the impact of the contest worldwide. In any case, if you live near the centre of Helsinki, there is no way to escape from the Eurovision fever. So as a wise man once said, if you cannot defeat them…join them!

There will be thousands of visitors coming during the following weeks. For many of those, the Helsinki Tourist Office is the first place where you can collect information about the cultural events and the wide amount of possibilities that the city and the country have to offer. There you can find FREE! too. Or not?

Some of you may have found the absence of copies of FREE! Magazine at the Tourist Office during the previous month strange. It seems that our cover crossed the line for the people responsible there, and they preferred to “store” our magazine in the back room. If you had the chance to see the cover, you can judge for yourself if it deserved such a punishment. If you didn't see it, visit our website and download the last issue.

In any case, we find it very sad that our audience was not allowed to enjoy the diverse articles we prepared with such effort just because of a personal opinion about an illustration that had no other purpose than teasing the curiosity of the reader. It seems that some censorship practices are still in use, even in such a freedom loving country as Finland.

So for the rest of you who grabbed a copy of the present issue, do not just stop at this editorial. Turn the pages and discover the exciting contents we have, from the most unusual Finnish literature to the trendiest indie rock bands. Or just forget your worries and shake your body exploring the contemporary dance Finland has to offer.

Go to concerts, watch the new exciting film titles that arrive to the big screen, and basically enjoy life…with no censorship. Be FREE!

Mors Principium Est – Liberation=Termination

The initial song is one of the most powerful on the album and goes direct to your brain, fast drums and a powerful voice from singer Ville (who joined the band in 2000 replacing Jori in the vocal tasks).

Even when the sound is raw, there is space for good melodies to be heard. The sound is strong but clear, not like other bands of a similar style where you can hardly understand a single word pronounced by the singer. In this case, Most Principium Est. has success in mixing a more classic death style with a careful presentation of the melodies, flourished by keyboards and sound effects that do not overwhelm the power of the guitar blazing solos.

As an example, the female background vocals and other looping effects ornate the second track, The animal within, one of the most recommended on the album. The band sounds compact, clear and focused in general terms. It is clear that they have achieved a more solid sound after the past of years and what is very important, a personal powerful style for a melodic trash band that finds a good balance with the quality of the compositions.

As well, the design of the album cover is one of the best I have seen in recent times. If you like good melodic metal, do not miss them if you have the chance to see them on tour in the future!

Tusks, Trunk and Ghetto Grooves

Upon arrival we were informed the opening act, arctic afro-beat posse Rhythm Funk Masters had just finished their set. Luckily they had left the crowd warmed up for DJ pair Infekto and Mr. Willy, who whipped up plate after plate of more or less eclectic funk gems and kept the floor moving. To break up the party it took the eagerly awaited Tuomo, who unwittingly started his set with some smooth balladry, and it took a few songs beofore he gained true command over the audience. Before setting out on the Motown path with his first solo outing, My Thing, Tuomo Prättälä has made his mark in noted jazz and nu-soul line-ups such as Huba, Q-continuum and Ilmiliekki Quartet. The lush orcherstrations audible on My Thing were replaced by a more stripped down sound, which permitted leeway the band was happy exploit for more protracted jams. The centre of attention was of course mr. Prättälä, seated firmly behind his Rhodes piano, which he stroked in a manner reminiscent of a young Stevie Wonder, singing with a silky smooth voice like a true gentleman. It was easy to see how he has managed to conquer the hearts and minds of the Finnish public.

Between the sets it was time for an excursion downstairs to the smaller Semifinal, but several meters before entering the club we hit a wall of human flesh. Inside we caught a glimpse of ”Finland's R. Kelly”, R'n'B prankster Stig Dogg brandishing what I hope was a microphone. Tonight his brand of humour was not quite appealing enough to merit squeezing through a crowd as dense as Rick James's cornrows.

Staying for the most part in more mellow territory Tuomo left my dancing feet calling out for some down and dirty deep funk, and that was just what The New Mastersounds delivered. With an overall sound resembling the funk stylings of The Meters bolstered by featured guest vocalist Corinne Greyson, the band wasted no time on stage. Seconds into their set they had turned the club floor into a steaming cauldron of twitching and swaying bodies, and while periodically taking it down a notch, they kept a steady, danceable groove going. The band played meticulously like a well oiled funk machine, but made it all seem so easy and organic, even downright gritty. Soulful vocals by the sassy miss Grayson softened things up in a couple of songs. Still, favouring endless funk jams the Mastersounds were more for the feet and less for the heart.

Interview with Ola Salo (The Ark)

 

{mosimage}Have you heard any song from the other competitors in Eurovision?
Yes I've heard all of them. 42 songs in a row! It was quite much to take in at the same time so I don't really remember much. But I’ve heard the Finnish song a couple of times and I think that has good possibilities of getting a good placing in the competition.

If The Ark wins, do you fear that it will be remembered as “the band that won Eurovision”?
It doesn't bother me. The people who really listen to our music know its qualities.

 

Your music was much darker at the beginning. What would you answer to people who think that you have soften your style?
That they probably don't get the bigger picture of what I'm doing. The lyrics of this last album are probably the darkest I've ever written. But the music is dancy, sunny, positive and energetic. That's how I like my music: a bitter pill wrapped in candy foil. You pay a lot of attention to fashion and design.

Do you like to have a lot of personal control on what you wear on stage?
Yeah, I design almost everything I wear myself.

 

You have sold out for 3 days at Tavastia in Helsinki. Which are your feelings when you come to play to Finland?  
Excitement! Our shows in Finland are always great and the audience is always fantastic. It's our second home country.

 

Tell us about the last books and films that you liked most.
The other day I saw Spike Jonze’s Adaptation again. I think it was the fourth time I saw it but it was even more amazing this time. It's been a long time ago since I finished a book. I start reading many but I only finish a few. Right now I'm reading The Picture of Dorian Gray -funnily enough I've never read it before!

 

What band on earth would you like to play with (alive or dead)?
Sly and the Family Stone, as they were around 68.

 

It is obvious that you attract a lot of fans, overall among teenage girls. How do you deal with fame? Is it stressful for you?
My life can be quite stressful, so I rent this cottage deep in the forest where there's no electricity, I go there as often as possible and I chop wood, cook food and take long walks in the woods.

The Siida Museum

 

{mosimage}The Triangle of Life

Theoretically, at least, Sami artist Tuula-Maija Magga-Hetta’s exhibition is thought-provoking. Almost all of the exhibits in the Sami Museum’s gallery are based around the triangle: the shape of the traditional Sami tent, a shape associated with unrequited love, but also the strongest of shapes. But this is, perhaps, as far as the originality goes.

Despite all the arty verbosity in the press release (“The triangle of life is reflected on our moments in the form of a triangle of destiny. We meet our triangle in the fells…”), there is very little that is original or distinctive in this exhibition. In essence, it is typical Sami handicraft: twigs, Sami colours, reindeer-related stuff, colourful textiles, carefully displayed and occasionally given interesting titles.

The triangle dimension is a nice touch but it hardly compensates for the fact that there are scores of places in Lapland –both in Finland and Norway– where you can see handicraft just like this, indeed possibly more original than this. If you merely want to look at Sami handicraft, it may well be worth waiting until July when Inari will be populated with tents from which Sami will sell their various creations… and it will be free to look around those.

At a time when Lapland has become extremely touristy –and saturated with Sami handicraft– a Sami artist needs to approach the tradition in a strikingly original and fresh way. Although the triangle metaphor is interesting, I don’t think Magga-Hetta’s exhibition is fresh and striking enough.

Until the 6th May 2007

 

{mosimage}“Rewind!” Arctic Russia in Archival Films

Some exhibitions are so breathtakingly bizarre that they are worth seeing simply for that reason. ‘Rewind!’ definitely falls into that category. The exhibition’s blurb seems pretty boring: it is archive footage of life in Soviet Arctic Russia. But when you actually get to the exhibition you can do things like watch Russian TV from decades ago in a typical forty-year-old Russian front-room and change the channel by moving around on the sofa.

You can be filmed against an age-old Arctic Russian backdrop of reindeer herders as if you are there with them and, most peculiarly of all, you have the chance to mix different examples of Russian archive footage with various examples of old Russian music to create the appropriate mood for the film. But the exhibition also reflects a more serious purpose. Much of the archive footage involved, which is at any rate very rare, has been painstakingly restored and rescued from unsuitable and damaging conditions.

So the whole project aims to ‘protect the cultural heritage’ of northern Finland and Russia. But an exhibition of Soviet archive footage, no matter how rare and significant, could sound mind-numbingly dull to many people. However, this really is entertaining, original and… well… just plain bizarre. Whatever the exhibition is, it is great fun and worth having a look at.

Until the 20th May 2007

 

Both exhibitions are at the Siida Museum, Inari, Lapland.

The Siida Museum also houses permanent exhibitions about Sami life, nature in Lapland, the Northern Lights and an open air museum recreating traditional Sami houses and traps. All of them are highly recommended.

Prices: Adults (€8), Children (€4), Students/Pensioners (€6.50)

The demon crush – Interview with Kristian Huitula

In 1999 you moved to Japan, why did you choose this country?

I've always been interested in Japan. I started training ninjutsu in 1990 and since then it has had a very important meaning in my whole life. In 1999 I had the opportunity to move to Tokyo and study the animation process in the studios responsible for Ghost in the Shell. It was a turning point in my life because I even met my wife there!

Oni Kudaki is a collaboration with your wife and that makes it the first Finnish-Japanese comic production. How was it?

Of course, she was a very good assistant. She helped me be very precise with details. I wanted to do a historical story, but the plot is fiction and the details are accurate, just like the real 16th century Japan. It's not only fantasy, as I did a lot of background research since 2000.The idea had already been in my mind for quite some time. The time spent in Japan gave the final kick: all the experiences about Japanese culture, people, nature, training… I think all of that has had a strong impact, that without it Oni Kudaki wouldn't have been possible.

Music is a big part of your life. You studied classical guitar for more than ten years. How would the soundtrack of Oni Kudaki be?

Oni Kudaki

It wouldn't be too modern. There would be lot of ambience to get a mysterious feeling. It would be a bit spooky music, indeed.

A couple of years ago Kristian Huitula received great acclaim because of his adaptation of the legendary Kalevala. It is the first and only comic adaptation of the Finnish national epic and it has been translated to English and Russian.

How was this idea developed?

It's hard to say. When I read it at school I didn't hate it. I didn't have any traumas as most of the children at the time, although I didn't become a Kalevala freak. Some parts got stuck in my mind.

What was the most difficult part of adapting this epic?

It is such a long story that I wasn't sure if it would work as a comic. Editing was the hardest part: how to tell the 50 runes of the Kalevala in less than 200 pages.

Do you find any similarities between Finnish and Japanese legends and myths?

Sure. For example, there is a certain mystic sense of nature that strongly links both. The shamanism that has obviously a specific importance in Kalevala, is very closely connected with nature and all the different “gods and spirits” inhabiting the nature and the forests. On the other hand, the Japanese Shinto religion and its gods and spirits (Kami) which are present in all Japanese legends, is also related to natural elements, sacred trees and mountains, for example. Those nature spirits have quite an important role in the stories of both Kalevala and the old Japanese legends. They are important characters that get involved with the people's activities, and also make the story move on.

Oni Kudaki – The Magician and the Ghost Boy is published in the English language.

More information: www.huitula.com

Dance, dance, dance

Since the late-eighties an association of artists have worked for the production of modern dance performances and activities. In 1997 that association was established in a permanent place at Kaapeli (Cable Factory) with the aim of supporting the production of contemporary dance. Now Zodiak is doing better than ever. The second annual Z-In-Motion festival takes places in May and about 15-20 productions are presented every year. How is this done? Let's take a small tour behind the scenes.

Are you a dancer? Do you want to produce a piece? Send your application! Dancer-choreographer Vera Nevanlinna is part of the board of the Zodiak Presents Association. Every year the board decides the performances to be produce from all the received applications. “It is a really hard selection process because every year there is 70 or 80 applicants and we only produce 15 or 20 of them.” Don't give up if your application is not approved, “Production will be harder then and to rent a performance space will be more expensive,” Vera acknowledges, “but I think people should try to do it.”

Vera has danced since she was three. “Someone told my mother that I wasn't walking, but that I was dancing,” she tells. Since 1998 she has been involved with Zodiak and currently she is premiering the solo piece News, a 20-minute piece that she learned from the Deborah Hay performance commissioning project in Scotland last September. I agreed to practice the piece at least for three months before the first public performance,” Vera explains, “and that means that I do the piece in its entirety five times a week during those three months.”

 

 {mosimage}

 

As in any production, someone needs to take care of managing the money. This spring, choreographer Hanna Pajala-Assefa is taking care of that part of the productions. “I don't get the money but I just coordinate the budget. It's quite nice to be able to help the production because as a choreographer I know that when the premiere is getting closer your mind is getting more and more focused with the artist work, so it's hard to get involved with the practical problems.”

Those practical problems can be very diverse, “I was working in a production some weeks ago and in the performance they were using lots of toilet paper,” Hanna explains. “When I saw the rehearsal and I saw that they were using 15 or 20 rolls per show, it was obvious that they should get them free from someone. It that sense, it's nice to help. Fortunately, it didn't happen during the paper workers strike.”

An important aspect of the show is the technical requirements of every performance. Tuukka Törneblom has worked for one year at Zodiak as technical director. “My task here is to make the light and sound design possible. Sometimes people want to have something fancy and I have to say that it's not possible,” he clarifies. “There are lots of tricks to learn here because it's not the typical stage. We miss a backstage, there are windows. Many of those are still new for me.”

 

Education and workshops

Apart of the performances and the productions, Zodiak is devoted to spread the knowledge about contemporary dance. The center organizes different workshops and lectures. Choreographer Anu Rajala has been in charge of the workshop Dance as an Experience in Body and Mind this spring. This workshop was “open to anyone interested in learning and experiencing more about their own movement” and it was “focus on encountering, sensing and bodily communication within the group”. The workshop results in a public performance.

Katja Kirsi is in charge of Education and Outreach at Zodiak. She plans different ways for artists and audience to communicate. Pre and after performance talks are organized which allow audiences to learn about the artists' work. Zodiak is trying to reach the widest audiences possible, so even if Finnish is not your best language, every now and then workshops in other languages, such as English, French and German, are organized.

In addition, big efforts are done to integrate dance into schools and get the young into modern dance apart from the hip hop artists' MTV choreographies. “Feedback youngsters usually give is that modern dance is odd, but at the same time they say they enjoy it,” Katja points out. “One thing I try to say is that it can be good to challenge your mind. I try to give them hints and tips to understand the performance: Why are they feeling like this? Why are they reacting like that? They have new questions for themselves.”

Don't be afraid if you haven't seen contemporary dance. The dozens of performances during the Z-In-Motion festival are a good opportunity to discover this art, “Come and see many pieces. There are so many variations of modern dance that you need to see several performances to see the whole picture,” suggest Vera Nevanlinna suggests, but the best advice she gives is, “Don't trust what you saw on TV!”

The spider is back

Maybe many of you did not know that before this original appearance, Stan Lee dismissed the design for Spider-man that Jack Kirby initially drew. In this first design, that was never published, Spider-man was heavier and with more muscles, and instead of acquiring his powers because of the radiation, he could get his amazing powers carrying a ring. Ditko's ideas prevailed.

Marvel did not believe in the success of the new hero, and the first adventures were published in a magazine that was going to be imminently closed. In August 1962 Spider-man's first adventures were published in the magazine Amazing Fantasy #15. More issues of the magazine were published and the readers quickly identified with the new hero and asked for more. The result: the first issue of The Amazing Spider-Man was published in March 1963. The rest is comic history.

{mosimage}The first appearances of Spider-man in films date back in the 60s and have nothing to do with the enormous budgets of the Sam Raimi's movies. The first adaptation is an amateur movie directed and performed by Donald F. Glut done in 1963 in which Spiderman fights Dr. Lightning. Three years later, the first commercial Spider-man was done in Turkey (Örümcek adam, 1966). More popular were the tv movies and series in the end of the 70s.

Thanks to Sam Raimi the series went big in 2002. It was the first film of what it is expected to be a series of six. And what can the spectator expect in this third Spider-man film: Well, amazing new enemies such as Sandman and Venom, the extreme beauty of Kirsten Dunst as the red-haired Mary Jane, and overall the excitement of watching Spider-man dressed in a black costume fighting against his most powerful enemy: his dark side.

Commander Zero

Around the streets of Manugua, Edén Pastora carries a gun while driving a car brought from Mexico and speaks to the camera. It is the first sequence of the documentary Edén Pastora – Commander Zero (Eden Pastora – Komentaja Nolla). The film portrays one of the most intriguing characters of the revolution in Nicaragua and follows him in the municipal elections for mayor of Manuagua in 2006.

The documentary was made by Spanish filmmaker Álvaro Pardo, who has been living and working in Finland since 1979 when he decided to moved from Madrid to study cinema at the School of Motion Picture, Television and Production Design in Helsinki. “I didn't mean to stay this long in Finland. I was just a visiting student, trying to learn editing and cinema,” he remembers, “but then I started working, I got married and well, I'm still here.”

 

Why did you decide to make a documentary about Edén Pastora?

The idea came to my mind when I read an article that said that Edén Pastora was selling all his possessions because he didn't have any money to live. I was shocked because he had been such a great personality. We all also know that all the Sandinsta leaders are millionaires now, so I wanted to know why he was so poor.

How is possible that he didn't have the money?

He was considered a traitor, and a CIA agent, but he was only a guy who disagreed with the Sandinista regime. He received money from the CIA just to do something in which he believed, like he could have taken the money from any other source. He didn't have anything to do with the counter-revolution in Honduras.

{mosimage}Was it easy to get in touch with Edén?

Actually, it was. I got lucky. I didn't know much about Nicaragua and I didn't know anybody there. I contacted the author of an article I read that told good things about Edén. I contacted the journalist and he got me in touch with Edén. When I arrived there, Edén was in Mexico to get a car and nobody knew when he was coming back. After five or six days, he appeared. He's always very keen to be interviewed and I started the pre-production.

How was the filming?

It got a bit complicated because Edén never tells what he's planning to do the next day. It's a custom from his guerrilla days. Many people hate him there and would like to see him dead. I made two trips to Nicaragua. The first lasted around twenty days and then he decided to run for major, so I came back for another twenty days.

Is Managua a dangerous place?

Yes, it is. There's a lot of poverty and people have nothing to lose. Anything you have is more than they have.

What is your opinion about Edén now that you spent such a long time with him?

I always thought that many things he said in media were not true, but after spending time with him, everything he says is true. He is very optimistic and charismatic. One tends to like him so much that one is willing to do anything for him. On a bigger scale one might be able to fight and die for him.

Edén Pastora – Commander Zero will be show on YLE 2 on 8th May 2200

A film (finally) exposed

Louhimies is the most acclaimed director inside Finnish borders in recent times and, with only five films, he has achieved a great reputation and, more importantly, captured a personal style in each one of his films. Having received the Jussi award two consecutive years, he is also a controversial character, not only because of the plots of the films, but also concerning issues in the post-making, which contrasts with his calm attitude. However, it seems that internationally, the Kaurismäki brothers are still unreachable when referring to exporting Finnish films abroad.

Riisuttu Mies will surely create a great deal of discussion among the most conservative sectors of the Finnish population. Nevertheless, the topic is quite controversial, since throughout the movie we follow a gang of peculiar priests, male and female, that split their thoughts between the love for God and the love for the bottle, the power and frantic sex – not exactly the kind of movie that many religious people would feel comfortable watching.

{mosimage}Many can argue that Louhimies pushes their stories to limits that have more to do with fantasy than with the reality of Finnish society, but it is certain that his acid critic always hides some parts of truth. The director is obsessed over showing us the darker side of Finnish society that goes further than lakes, sauna and Lapland. And surely he achieves it with his raw style.

In the main roles we find a group of old collaborators in his previous movies: Samuli Edelmann as the fatty childish priest aspiring to bishop –who is a director and musician himself, having released Rock and Roll Never Dies some months ago, Matleena Kuusniemi in the role of his calculative wife and Laura Malmivaara (who also happens to be the wife of the director) as the hippie young priest, Eve's apple. For those of you who live in or visit Turku, the locations of the churches may be familiar.

With Riisuttu Mies, some themes are repeated by the obsessions of Louhimies, such as the difficulties in love relations, the infidelity and the flexibility of moral values. You can like his visions of society or not, but surely it is worthy to give it a try and watch it.

Jazz and a little bit more

For one week (25.4 – 1.5), Espoo's evenings are devoted to music. The main concerts take place in Outokumpu-teltta, a big tent installed next to the library in Tapiola. If the weather if good, the festival will be like a long summer night.

Of course, there is a lot of jazz. Good jazz. Musicians from around the world are coming to play, such as vocalist Andy Bey and saxophonist Archie Schepp, both from United States, and the jazz vocalist from Australia Michelle Nicole and her quartet. In addition, local sensation The Five Corners Quintet will make a special appearance on Friday night.

Jazz festivals nowadays include much more of other musical genres other than jazz. In April Jazz will get the blues, with the great Erja Lyytinen and the Blues Caravan, which features a trio of female guitar players (Sue Foley, Deborah Coleman and Roxanne Potvin) this year. Hot Latin rhythms will warm the tent with the Eddie Palmieri's Afro-Caribbean All Stars, and hip hop will meet flamenco with Ojos de Brujo from Barcelona.

Guitar woman

This year's Blues Caravan is travelling with three female guitar players: Sue Foley, Deborah Coleman and Roxanne Potvin. It is a nice shift for music usually performed by hoochie coochie men.

Canada-born Sue Foley represents the power of women in blues and popular music. Since her debut album in 1992, she has impressed blues fans with her sweet voice and wicked guitar playing. Apart from her career, in the last few years she has focused on the Guitar Woman project, which is meant to “document the relationship between woman and the guitar from past to present and beyond”.

The CD compilation Blues Guitar Woman (2005) features songs by contemporary and traditional blueswomen from the 1930s, such as Memphis Minnie and Elvie Thomas. Now, Foley is working on the book Guitar Woman that tries offer a concise historical and biographical account of women guitarists throughout the world and their stories and philosophies.

Music Born Everywhere
by Sergio Reseco Fernández

{mosimage}Someone wakes up hungry in some city in the middle of the night, goes to the kitchen to look for a bite to eat but finds out that the fridge is just empty. It has happened probably to everyone and for Ojos de Brujo the solution for this is simple: Go down to the streets and celebrate. These are just some lines from one of the songs by this band born in the streets Barcelona, but looks out to many different directions.

Flamenco, a gender born from pain, gets together here with several influences and rhythms as distant to each other as hip hop from rumba – as a matter of fact, they have been defining their music as 'hip hop flamenquito'. Categorizing them would probably take too much time and it would definitely be quite useless. Ojos de Brujo (Eyes of the Wizard) is usually formed by eight members and represents the mix of cultures that is currently felt on the streets of many Mediterranean cities, with Barcelona one of the clearest examples.

Due to the fact that flamenco is the main base of their songs, their concerts are lively and full of energy. Currently they are touring the world presenting their third album Techarí. They will be coming from Tallinn to play in Espoo. Zarkus, from Finland, will share the stage with them in Outokumpu-teltta.

Tender melodies

Sister Flo released their first album in 2001, through their own label. Since then the band has been one of Finland's pop secrets, continuously praised by critics. Their new album, The Healer, hits the note and will make people hum the melody of the first single "Hyvinkää". Sister Flo's music has a warm and tender quality, like coming from small Finnish village without making much noise. As humble and even shy, bassist Mikko Salonen and keyboard player Janne Lastumäki explain the secrets of Sister Flo.

How does it feel one week before your album comes out?

Mikko Salonen: Anxious at least! It's taken a long time. We started with the first demos almost two years ago.

Janne Lastumäki: So far there have been two good reviews of it. We're happy then.

Why did it take so long?

JL: It took a bit longer because Sama the singer made a solo album. I played in his solo live band and we played some shows in spring and summer, so that delayed working on the album. We didn't have any strict timeline. Nobody put on any pressure.

How different is it from your previous works?

MS: We're very happy with it. The songs are a natural development from our earlier albums. They are very diverse.

JL: On this album there are much faster songs, more similar to our live shows. Our previous works had a soft general sound and then our shows were much more direct and energetic. On The Healer there is a bit more of that rock side.

{mosimage}You seemed to work hard on the mood and the melodies of the songs? How is the mood of this album?

MS: I think it's a bit darker and a bit more mystical or fantasy like.

While recording and composing, do you pay attention to someone other band's music?

JL: Sometimes, yes. For example, in The Healer there is this song, "Spirit of Christmas". We talked about getting a dark atmosphere, like Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper".

Now you have a pretty intense tour ahead of you during May. What do you expect of it?

JL: Our first gig will be on the April 28th in Tavastia with Rubik and Matti Johannes Koivu. Starting in Tavastia is a luxurious start.

MS: This tour will be special. We are excited to play in new cities where we have never played, such as Vaasa and Rovaniemi.

Are you afraid of playing in small cities?

JL: It will be interesting to see how it goes. We've heard stories that in places like in Vaasa there might be only five people in the audience.

MS: We trust our music and ourselves, so even if there are only five people we won't feel depressed.

Sister Flo is different playing live on stage. The band is much more direct. Why is there this different?

JL: I thought about this and I came to the conclusion that in studio we can build these huge sound walls that it's very hard to replicate on stage. It feels natural to concentrate on the energy. It's rejoicing.

You have had some gigs abroad in cities such as Stockholm and London. Were they positive experiences?

JL: Absolutely. All the trips abroad have been very great and brought us together as a band and friends.

Where does the band's name come from?

MS: First we thought about being just Flo, because of the Norwegian football player, Tore André Flo. I don't know why. We just thought about it. Then we found out that there was a band with this band, so we had to find something else.

JL: Adding “sister” was a bit like a tribute to The Velvet Underground's song Sister Ray. Then we even noticed that there is a David Bowie song, "Queen Bitch", with the line, "He's down on the street / And he's trying hard /to pull sister Flo".


The Healer is available in all good record stores now.

Sister Flo's first out of print album, Boys of Cat, can be downloaded from the band's website: www.hansoovoice.com/sisterflo