I attended a party in Berkeley in the early 1990s and someone played Ottopasuuna’s eponymous (1991) record. The sound is riveting and powerful and I had to own it. It’s given me endless hours of listening pleasure ever since.
Though this review at Allmusic.com is sloppily written and full of musical comparisons that do little to clarify the author’s point (the problem is that there’s almost nothing on the web–at least in English–about this group), it’s sufficiently useful as to be worth quoting:
Local tunes mixed with Celtic and bluegrass phrasings trickle through the sensibilities of Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy, where Ottopasuuna’s members teach. Though violinist Kari Reiman also fiddles with Värttinä, these musicians aren’t exactly wild, except in a reserved sub-Arctic kind of way. Accept them as classicists, however, and the disc burst open up into a charming world view that in a subdued fashion does for Finnish folk what the 3 Mustaphas 3 do for klezmer. The same care and cleverness that go into arrangements shine on the choice of material, which in true folklorist fashion was unearthed by bandmembers from such obscure sources as a 1914 wax cylinder recording, an acetate disc from the 1930s, and an old music book dating back to the early 1800s.
Of all the junk in the above passage, the most important is “accept them as classicists.” Indeed, what shines through Ottopasuuna is the impeccable musicianship and beautifully balanced classical form of their compositions. The arrangements gleam like polished stones.
This is truly an outstanding album. I’ve chosen this particular song to sample, though I could’ve chosen any song on the record they’re all that good: Honkolan Mamman Kirnumasurkka (hear it).
For more information about Finnish folk music (including groups like Vartinna and JPP), visit the Finnish Music Information Centre.
WARNING: This mp3 blog exists to spread the wonder and genius that is traditional music. It does NOT exist to enhance your private mp3 collection. So by all means come, listen, enjoy, then follow the links to buy the music. If you come, listen, download, then leave—you’re violating the spirit behind this blog and doing nothing to support the artists featured here. And if you link to my mp3 file at your own site, then you’re stealing my bandwidth and being pretty uncool. So please don’t do it.
I beg to differ with the allmusic quote “these musicians aren’t exactly wild, except in a reserved sub-Arctic kind of way” — Kimmo Pohjonen IS wild…he certainly has become so!
The man on the left in the album pic, has, 13 years on from this recording, created amazing loop-based creative improvising music using accordion and voice, working in variety of projects, sometimes with quadrophonic PA. Check http://www.kimmopohjonen.com/
/d
PS – please don’t use WMA format for samples
I found the album in a cut-out bin nearly 15 years ago. Since then, it has been a touchstone. I agree that there is little to which it can be compared. However, there can be no doubt that the musicianship was of the first water and the album has the thoughtfulness that is a perennial breath of fresh air.