From Start to Finnish

Are you willing to expand your musical horizons a bit? For the adventurous, I recommend the Finnish band Värttinä.

Years ago Susan and I received for a while the National Public Radio catalog in the mail (raise your hand if you're surprised--anyone?), and it had a section dedicated to international music. I ordered the Värttinä album Seleniko [sample select tracks from that album here], not a word of which I could understand (um, it's in Finnish) but all of which I loved. The album features some beautiful a capella numbers with close harmonies, some lively traditional folk tunes, lots of violent staccato enunciations of the consonants that seem to pile up in Finnish sentences, and overall an aura of weirdness (at least to the untrained non-Finnish ear). In short, it is wonderful for its uniqueness. It didn't seem to impress many of my friends for whom I played samples, but it wasn't off-putting to me.

I haven't listened to that album for a long time, but I was reminded of Värttinä when I recently read an interview of actor Daniel Radcliffe (who plays Harry in the Harry Potter movies) in which he talks about reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows while listening to the Icelandic band Sigur Rós. I sampled some of that group's music on their MySpace page and thought of Värttinä. And guess what? Värttinä has a MySpace page, too! Now you can experience their music for yourself--if you're musically open-minded and curious enough to, that is. If you give them a try, leave a comment and let me know what you think.

P.S. Also loving at the moment? Much more mainstream (albeit indie) American artist Ingrid Michaelson, whose name sounds northern European but who hails from New York City. Even if you don't know the name, you might recognize "The Way I Am," which you can listen to here. Again, leave a comment below with your reactions.

P.P.S. Don't leave before listening to "Maamme," the Finnish national anthem, performed a capella by the all-male Polytech Choir. Lovely.

P.P.P.S. For those with a hardcore appetite for Finnish music:

• Philomela -- An a capella choir with gorgeous songs that will send a chill down your spine.
• Maija Vilkkumaa -- She sounds like an indie rock singer but can do harder stuff, too.
• Antti Tuisku -- Music with a dance beat but Finnish words. Still, in an American club, who would be alert enough to know while going nuts on the dance floor?
• The Rasmus -- The is the Euro club music that has made the group popular in Europe. You'll hear metal, garage band, and country music influences -- plus, the lyrics are in English.
• Kimmo Pohjonen -- Hard metal accordian? Give it a try. Start with "Keko," which isn't as metal as "Optikus" nor as Rosemary's Baby as "Mantis."
• Arto Järvelä -- Unusual melodies and harmonies on undeniably beautiful strings. Try the hauntingly beautiful "Over the Banks."
• Troka -- "Finnish chamber folk." Come on, people, live a little! All their tracks are truly beautiful.
• Johanna Juhola -- A little harder to categorize--tuba + accordian + electronica + Euro discothèque might make you feel as though you're listening to music of cafés from along the Venetian canals while lying in a nearby alley in a drug-induced stupor.
• Timo Alakotila -- Finland's answer to America's John Tesh or Lorie Line? But don't hold that against him (ha!); his music is gorgeous and serene and uplifting . . . not to be overlooked (overheard?).
• Maria Kalaniemi -- "Bellow poetry." More with the accordian! Listen to these sophisticated melodies--you've not heard anything like it before.
• Pekka Koponen -- "Ethnic" instruments and voice; it could be ambient music if it weren't so ear-catching in its singularity.
• Samuli Karjalainen -- From the MySpace page: "Samuli Karjalainen plays tin whistles, bamboo whistles and flutes, wooden whistles, guitar, vocals, bodhran, and fiddle." Don't you kinda have to check it out?
• Markus Asunta -- Didn't you think it was pretty much just a matter of time until someone melded the traditions of Irish wooden flute and Finnish folk music? Me, either. But here it is!
• Finski Folk -- Sounds like a cross between Lawrence Welk and Olive Garden! Ah, Finland, what a casserole of musical sounds!
• Rainer Angervo & Leijat -- The name sounds like a Saturday morning children's show (by way of eastern Europe), but the music sounds like a Croatian lounge act.
• At the End -- "Weaponized with pop and dark indie with distinct aftertaste of industrial metal and progressive rock" -- does that sound Finnish to you? Does their music? You be the judge.
• Apulanta -- The aggressive metal instrumentals of At the End with the addition of Finnish lyrics--music you neither enjoy listening to nor can comprehend!
• Ultra Bra Suomi -- Easier to listen to than Apulanta. Neo-punk and garage band influences (with a splash of '60s rock) underlie the Finnish lyrics and mainstream melodies.
• 22-Pistepirkko -- "Electronic country garage rock." But what does that even mean?
• Apocalyptica -- A cross between metal and classical! It sounds more inaccessible than it actually is.
• Bomfunk MC's -- Hip hop/funk? In Northern Europe?! I know, it sounds like a Vanilla Ice redux, but it doesn't sound any worse than the American groups whom they're imitating.
• JPP -- If you were to attend the wedding of a long-lost Finnish relative whose neighbors got out their instruments to play some jigs for the wedding dance, this is what you'd expect to hear.
• Scandinavian Music Group -- Isn't the name alone reason enough to sample? You could also listen for the musical banjo, the melodic vocals, and the full orchestrations.
• Finland's Eurovision songs from over the years -- Take a tour of the past few decades of Finnish music by sampling its entries in the annual Eurovision Song Contest (perennial underdog Finland finally placed first in 2006 with Lordi's "Hard Rock Hallelujah," which may take you right back to the American music scene of the 1980s).