Polku (Aito Records, 2006)
Finnish accordion virtuoso Markku Lepistö shows a wide range of musical influences on his latest solo CD, Polku. The CD opens with the beautiful "Aosta," where he uses banjo, harmonica and mandolin to produce a mix of newgrass, Celtic and Finnish music.
Born in 1963 in Kuortane (South Ostrobothnia, Finland), Lepistö has become one of Finland’s leading accordionists. He is an expert at both chromatic and diatonic accordions. On Polku he uses 1 and 2-row accordions. Lepistö is currently the accordionist for Finland’s leading folk band, Värttinä.
Lepistö has traveled a lot through Scandinavia and North America and this shows in the rest of the musical pieces. For example, he introduces the nyckelharpa later in the album. This ancient instrument has been popularized recently by contemporary Swedish folk groups touring abroad.
Lepistö’s inspired accordion music should appeal to both fans of Nordic music as well as followers of the new acoustic genre.
Get Polku in North America and in Europe from Aito Records.
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.
