Customer Reviews

Seleniko

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Varttina's debut album for the Green Linnett/Xenophile label, "Seleniko" is the folksiest of the group's releases. Traditional Finnish melodies and strident female folk-singing are successfully blended with instrumental accompaniments that combine Scandinavian, Celtic and modern elements. More laid back and accoustic than some of Varttina's later work, "Seleniko" celebrates the band's traditional roots. Topics of the songs, sung in Finnish with English translations provided, are the stuff of all traditional folk music--love, courtship, marriage and drinking. The acapella song "Sulhassii", accompanied only by hand claps, is particularly fun, gaily encouraging young girls to accept a suitor. "Hyva Tyttona Hypata", on the contrary, warns girls to remain maids so they won't have move into a stranger's house and fawn on a mother-in-law. This simple song is arranged with a modern feel to it, building and evolving as the verses progress. All in all, "Seleniko" is an impressive and innovative debut with the promise of much more to come! Varttina's next, "Aitara", kicks it up a notch, while the solo release by lead singers Sari and Mari Kaasinen, "Can We Have Christmas Now?", delves more deeply into traditional Finnish music.

This album shows Varttina at their best, from revved-up instrumentals to slow and soulful a cappella. A good variety of styles, blending the traditional with the modern.