Loituma | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Jäykkä Leipä |
| Origin | Helsinki,Finland |
| Genres | Folk,a cappella |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | NorthSide |
| Members | Anita Lehtola-Tollin Hanni-Mari Autere Sari Kauranen Timo Väänänen |
| Past members | Sanna Kurki-Suonio Tellu Turkka |
Loituma is a Finnishquartet whose members combine the Finnish vocal tradition with the sounds of thekantele. Loituma were selected Ensemble of the Year at the 1997Kaustinen Folk Music Festival.
Loituma's initial incarnation was in the autumn of 1989 as a septet calledJäykkä Leipä ("Stiff Bread"), born in theSibelius Academy's Folk music department. The original lineup included singersSanna Kurki-Suonio andTellu Paulasto, who later left forSweden to joinHedningarna.
Over the years, the group has persistently followed its own musical path, incorporating diverse influences into its music. One of the cornerstones of Finnishfolk music is the art of singing, through which the stories and feelings which comprise aspects of the Finnish heritage are conveyed, aided by backing musicians Martti Pokela and Toivo Alaspää. Another cornerstone of Loituma's art is a Finnish folk instrument called thekantele, which is featured in varied ways in their recordings.
Loituma members compose or arrange the tunes themselves, but often useimprovisation. Lyrics come from many sources, including two main traditional sources: theKalevala, the national epic of Finland; and theKanteletar (Lönnrot's collection of Finnish folk poetry). The lyrics are inFinnish.
Loituma gained great popularity[1] in 2006 when theLoituma Girl (also known as Leekspin), a loopedflash animation of ananime girlOrihime Inoue from theBleach series twirling a leek, set to ascat singing section of "Ievan polkka" from Loituma's 1995 debut albumThings of Beauty,[2] was posted in RussianLiveJournal. The animation instantly became anInternet phenomenon and the song clip soon enjoyed overwhelming popularity as aringtone.[3]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| GER [4] | |||
| "Ieva's polka" | 2007 | 48 | Loituma |
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