Autio Huvila (Frigg000008, 2012)
From Finland comes yet another musical wonder. Kardemimmit is a Finnish folk music quartet formed by young women: Maija Pokela, Jutta Rahmel, Anna Wegelius and Leeni Wegelius. Their new album, Autio Huvila, is a collection of beautiful vocal music with a mix of solo vocal interplay and harmonies, accompanied by the mesmerizing sounds of the kantele.
Although the music is rooted in Finnish traditional folk music, all the material is original, composed by Kardemimmit. To be more specific, Kardemimmit draws its inspiration from Finland’s Eastern and Western regions, including reki-style of singing, Perhonjoki valley kantele method, Karelian small kantele and runo-song traditions as well as ancient improvisation.
By this time, my list of best albums of 2012 was already completed, but after listening to this recording, I’m going to have to amend it to include this wonderful gem from Scandinavia.
Autio Huvila is a magnificent collection of graceful and spellbinding songs rooted in traditional Finnish music.
The album is available from cdbaby.com/cd/kardemimmit2
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
