Group

Värttinä

From: Rääkkylä, Finland
Since: 1983–present
Releases: 31

folk
folk pop
worldbeat

About

Värttinä (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈʋærtːinæ], meaning "spindle") is a Finnish folk music band that started as a project by Sari and Mari Kaasinen in 1983 in the village of Rääkkylä, in Karelia, the southeastern region of Finland. Many transformations have taken place in the band. Värttinä shot into fame with the release of their 1991 album Oi Dai. As of 2009, the band consists of three lead female vocalists supported by three acoustic musicians. The vocalists sing in the Karelian dialect of the Finnish language.

In August 2005, Värttinä recorded their tenth studio album, Miero, at Finnvox Studios, Helsinki. It was released on 25 January 2006 in Finland, and 30 January 2006 worldwide. In 2006, Värttinä also released the Värttinä Archive Live DVD, which included material from their 20th-anniversary concert and other new and archive material. Värttinä collaborated with A. R. Rahman, a notable Indian composer, in composing the music for the theatrical adaptation of the Lord of the Rings, which played in Toronto in 2006 and in London in 2007.
Värttinä has been featured in two episodes of popular animated children's show Arthur singing their hit song "Matalii ja Mustii" from the album Seleniko. The song was also featured on the show's first soundtrack, Arthur and Friends: The First Almost Real Not Live CD (Or Tape).

From Värttinä on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Members

Mari Kaasinen 1983–now · original member
Susan Aho 1998–now
Hannu Rantanen 2002–now
Matti Kallio now accordion
Pauliina Lerche 1983–1989 · former
Minna Rautiainen 1983–1992 · former
Sari Kaasinen 1983–1996 · original member · former
Janne Lappalainen 1983–2008 · former
Olli Varis 1985–1989 · former
Tapani Varis 1985–1989 · former
Lassi Logrén 1985–1989, 2002–2009 · former mouth harp, background vocals, jouhikko, violin
Petri Hakala 1989–1990 · former
Christer Hackman 1989–1991 · former
Tommi Viksten 1989–1992 · former
Tom Nyman 1989–1993 · former
Sirpa Reiman 1989–1999 · former
Kirsi Kähkönen 1989–2002 · former
Kari Reiman 1989–2002 · former
Riitta Kossi 1990–1997 · former
Reijo Heiskanen 1992–1993 · former
Antto Varilo 1992–2009 · former
Pekka Lehti 1993–2002 · former
Marko Timonen 1994–2001 · former
Markku Lepistö 1998–2008 · former
Riikka Timonen 1999–2001 · former
Jaska Lukkarinen 2001–2007 · former
Johanna Hytti 2001–2012 · former
Karoliina Kantelinen 2002–2004 · former additional