Thread: Ethno
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Old 25-06-2005, 08:47 AM   #2
Timpsi
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Kuopio, Finland
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Värttinä was ridiculed a lot in Finland when they started nearly 20 years ago, but with hard work they've become immersely popular abroad. The songs may sound pretty unoriginal at first, but then the talent of the singers and the naughty lyrics kick in. The harmony of their voices is rather spectacular, and the sense of humour shines through.

MP3's and Real Audio are available on their website at http://www.varttina.com (check for example the ones over here).

EDIT:

This probably shouldn't go under Ethno, but since it's a very Finnish phenomena, I will add it here anyway.

Mieskuoro Huutajat ("The men choir Screamers", or "The Screaming Men") are a group of 20-30 guys in black suits, white shirts and rubber ties, screaming traditional and/or well-known songs.

Yes, screaming. Or yelling, if you prefer.

It's amazing how well such an off-the-wall idea works. The performances are mighty powerful, and the serious humour shows the Finnish mentality in an excellent way.

Examples as MP3's at their website http://www.huutajat.org/ - also check out the video, as it gives a much better idea of what the heck is the whole thing all about.

There's a movie made of them, and the website for that is at http://www.klaffi.com/screamingmen/
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