The Finnish folk hop ensemble Tuuletar has almost entirely taken over my playlist this month! They mash up a cappella, beatboxing and Finnish folk music and poetry into a unique combination. Some of the elements they incorporate even sound like yoik to me.

Tuuletar

At first I was baffled, not really being a fan of beatboxing, but the songs tend sneak up on you and before you notice, they stick around. Some of my new favorites are linked below.

In 2014, they made a go to be the Finnish representative in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Ruhtinaan tyttäret, made in collaboration with the Swedish producer Fredrik Arvidsson:

Ruhtinaan tyttäret (AUDIO) – Tuuletar feat. Fredrik Arvidsson via Tuuletar Vocalensemble

A 2014 live performance with audience participation at restaurant Kahvilla in Tampere, Finland:

Tuuletar – Tuu-kerää – LIVE Ravintola Kahvilla (25/7/2014) via Sini Koskelainen

Another live performance from the same year, this one at Klubb Ankaret in Göteborg, Sweden:

Pohjan Neito – Tuuletar – LIVE at Klubb Ankaret (22/10/2014) via Tuuletar Vocalensemble

Such innovative work – and you can tell they’re having fun themselves. 🙂 Tuuletar is about to release their first full album, expected in May 2016. I definitely need to remember this group!

Note: I wasn’t paid or perked to mention this; just passing along a good thing.