Vainaan Perua: Satavuotinen Sakka

There’s a fascinating premise behind this new release from Finnish folk violinist Emilia Lajunen, the title of which translates as ‘Legacy of the Dead: Deep in the Dregs’. Folk music has always been about creating a space which exists out of time, reflecting on the lives and experiences of everyday people, and filling that space with songs that resonate forwards and backwards through history. Here, Lajunen takes an almost literal approach, resurrecting two legendary, long-deceased Finnish fiddlers, Jalmari Siiriäinen and Juho Laitila, combining archive recordings with new material supplied by herself and long-time collaborator, the electronic sound-sculptor, Eero Grundström. Such projects require a sensitive approach, and we are in safe hands here – Lajunen is a committed student of Finnish folk, having completed studies at both the Sibelius Academy and the Royal Academy of Music, Stockholm.

There is indeed something of a phantasmagorical feel to this album, which sounds at once deeply rooted and yet soaring. On album opener ‘Elias Leppänen’, Lajunen waves hypnotic, mantra-like refrains around pulsing, thudding hand percussion. The electronic treatments are subtle yet distinctive. Lines echo off mighty cavern walls and drums boom through clouds of fog. When she sings, such as on the reeling, wonderfully emotive ‘Vilkon Laulu’, Lajunen’s voice provides a perfect counterpart to the wavering, flickering music, her delivery as ephemeral as a fairy tale. The two title-tracks, which arrive at the close of the album, provide an extraordinary immersive listening experience, delicate as a wavering flame, as illuminating as a thousand candles.