Pairing Finland and the mandolin sounds a little odd at first. However, over the centuries, this amiable eight-stringed instrument with the chiming tone has been used in different types of music around the world, from Italian serenades to Brazilian choro to bluegrass. So why shouldn't the mandolin have found its way up to the northern reaches?
The mandolin does in fact have a history in the land of the thousand lakes, even though this history has had its interruptions. In the nineteenth century it was a downright popular instrument, typically in use at home, although there were also a few mandolin orchestras at the time. Between 1920 and 1930 there were around fifty ensembles in Helsinki alone. However, as time went by, the mandolin went out of style in Finnish folk music. Now, in Suomi, people are proud of the vital and innovative folk music department at the famous Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. And a couple of ingenious people there have been involved in the rediscovery and revival of the mandolin since the 1980s. Heikki Lahti and Petri Hakala have been working diligently at this for fifteen years. While Lahti, an old master, raised the mandolin from the depths of unpopularity in Finland, Hakala represented the new generation of mandolin players. Originally a bluegrass fan, he made sure that the old polkas, schottisches, and waltzes remained in the instrument's repertoire. As a member of the New Folk pioneers Ottopasuuna and the Helsinki Mandoliners, he also introduced the mandolin to the twenty-first century. Hakala's modern methods were especially useful to three of his students.
JUHA-MATTI KURRA, PETRI PRAUDA, and JARMO ROMPPANEN are an inventive trio known as PLEKTRONITE, and this is their debut album. Kurra found his way to the mandolin via classical guitar and Irish folk music, and is equally inspired by Celtic melodies, American folk, and Scandinavian music. Among other things Kurra has worked as the director of the Rimpparemmi Folk Dance Theatre Band, and is still busy in the dance scene. Prauda spent his youth playing wild rock before he warmed up to folk. Like Kurra, he is about to graduate from the Sibelius Academy, and is currently teaching at the Academy and touring—not only with Plektronite, but also with other folk bands such as Frigg and Hyperborea. His energetic virtuosity occasionally allows a glimpse of his rock background to shine through. Romppanen can look back at engagements at the Finnish State Opera and the National Theater. A composer, arranger, and concert promoter, Romppanen is a key figure in the southern Finnish folk scene.
It was 1998 when the three hooked up together and began working on a repertoire of traditional dance music. Polkas, waltzes, schottisches, mazurkas, and minuets are all part of the program, but they are not played in a stiff, stylized manner. Instead, they are imbued with a fresh spirit, youthful élan, and the sly humor the Finns are famous for, giving the music the occasional surprising twist. The trio's repertoire is also enriched by their own original compositions. "Pletroniitit tuloo!" - "Enter the Plektronites!" is the trio's exuberant battle cry. An entire family of mandolins and some of their relatives are involved in the music. There's the mandola, the alto-voiced variation; the mandocello, the old daddy bass, and finally, there's the cittern, which is a silvery sounding instrument well-established in Irish folk music. – Stefan Franzen
Plektronite