LASSI LOGRÉN
Jouhikko
And now for something completely different! We don’t receive much in the way of traditional instrumental music from Finland here at FNW towers, so when we did, we were intrigued and then captivated. Here’s a little more info.
Lassi Logrén is the fiddle player for the band Värttinä, who, despite having a presence on the World Music circuit, have shamefully passed me by. The jouhikko of the title is a bowed lyre, using horsehair strings. Lassi apparently preferring the 3-string version to the 2-string alternative. The indigenous instrument had apparently suffered an almost terminal decline before interest was reactivated amongst Finnish musicians, and with Logrén having been playing one since the age of 12, the partnership has been celebrated with an album of 16 of his own compositions.
Having no comparators for reference, the review becomes very much one of ‘speak as you find’ and happily it is the case that this is a welcome discovery.
With an album based around one instrument and a lone player, it is a delight that the range of the instrument’s possibilities are thoroughly explored and demonstrated. The tunes take us through a range of emotions and styles, and although traditionally used to create music for dancing – often in quite short pieces, as is generally the case with the contents of the album, nearly half are under 3 minutes long and only one surpasses 4 minutes – the tunes from upbeat to the reflective. While the titles can give an indication of the thought or inspiration behind the music, ‘Waltz of the Cosmos,’ ‘Baccanalia’ and ‘Sunsets in Eikaberg,’ what unites the album as a whole is the underlying musical drone that lends a certain attractive coarseness to what is otherwise an undoubtably virtuoso performance. The atmospheric nature of the music does also put one in mind of the Scandinavian tradition of ‘Slow TV’ and matching up the music with appropriate visuals would be an interesting project and one well worth experiencing as a soul enhancing therapeutic antidote to an all too rushed world.
Having been introduce to both the instrument and the player, we are left to wonder how they would fare in conjunction with musicians from other traditions, and in the light of recent listens, the likes of the wonderful Tim Edey (new release just received) and the endlessly inventive Eliza Marshall (recent project ‘Rhythms of Migration’ has just inspired a ballet) spring to mind. Over to you Lassi – and keep us in the loop!
As a final note, having spent a little time down a jouhikko shaped rabbit hole, it appears that the instrument’s revival has been incorporated into a number of Finnish and Estonian folk-metal bands. Our breath is bated!!
