Finnish Folk Songs Vol 1

No one has done more in recent years for the jouhikko (the traditional Finnish bowed lyre) than Pekko Käppi. He has a real passion and thirst for Finnish folk music and has revived the perception of the jouhikko. He also has a deep belief that the instrument has a part to play in other musical genres, which he shows most successfully with his rock band K:H:H:L and his music videos.

Finnish Folk Songs Vol 1 though, is exactly what it says, a lovingly crafted collection of material inspired by one of Käppi's greatest heroes, Feodor Pratsu, a Karelian fisherman and jouhikko player whose songs were recorded onto wax cylinder. So the album contains some of Pratsu's material and some of the songs Käppi has collected over his 20 years of performing. He hypnotises us at first with some gentle reflective songs, his beautiful earthy voice at one with the haunting jouhikko, until the maverick side of him takes off with ‘Hevonen se Heiniä’ (The Horse in the Hay), where American blues meets horse riders on the Mongolian steppes. Throughout the album the expressive, rhythmic Finnish language is an instrument in its own right making this a compelling collection of tunes that just might have you wanting your own jouhikko.