Ville Ojanen is a crossover violinist and composer from Finland who uses the folk tradition to create new sounds and ideas. Ojanen is a musician who could be characterized as a chameleon in the field of Finnish folk music. During last twenty years he has led his music into several new directions.
In this musical soundscape traditional acoustic instruments are in interaction with modern technology of our time. Together they create a contrasting tension which very well characterizes the nature of Villes’ music.
Ville Ojanen was born in 1972 in Kaustinen. He started to play violin in 1979 with Juha Kangas as his first teacher. “Besides classical music I studied folk music right from the beginning.”
In 1981 he continued violin studies with Mauno Järvelä as his teacher. Throughout the 1980s he played in various bands: Troka, Folkkarit, and Ottoset. Troka won a competition for Finnish folk bands in 1993. That same year, Trokas’ debut album rose to seventh place in European folk music chart.
In 2003, Ville received a grant to compose material for his first solo album. The debut album titled Rautavaara was released in 2005.
Discography:
Troka (1993)
Pako Pohjanmaalta, with Folkkarit (1994)
Kansanmusikaali, with Henrik (1997)
Hanunmaalta koilliseen, with Folkkarit (Seita Music, 1997)
Vihreä joulu, with Folkkarit (Seita Music, 1997)
Ookoo lypsykone, with Ottoset (1998)
Smash, with Troka (1999)
Kkane (2003)
Rautavaara (Seita Music, 2005)
Raharinki, with Troka (2006)
Hero (Seita Music, 2008)
Kekkonen (Seita Music, 2012)
Kameleontti (2016)
V (2020)
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.