Puhti – Biography
For the love of the Karelian ways
In 2001 Anne-Mari Kivimäki was preparing her final concert for the Department of Folk Music at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland. The concert was to be based on Karelian traditions and Anne-Mari was being mentored by accordionist Maria Kalaniemi. Anne-Mari was researching the archives of the Finnish Literature Society when she fell in love with their tapes of accordionist Ilja Kotikallio. On the tapes Ilja talked about illatsus, Karelian festive evenings that, in addition to music, included dancing and merriment as a central part of the festivities. This gave Anne-Mari the incentive to ask choreographer Reetta-Kaisa Iles, who had graduated as a dancer from the Theater Academy of Finland, to join her in her concerts. They both shared a love and interest for the Karelian tradition of music and dance. After the first concerts Reetta-Kaisa and Anne-Mari realized that they worked extremely well together and decided to continue their work with the Karelian style as a duo they named Puhti – meaning vigor in old Finnish. This marked the beginning of their journey together, during which Puhti has created a vast amount of new Finnish folk music and dance.
The first recordings and videos from Puhti are from Anne-Mari's solo album Pauhu (Rumble). The duo's first cd and dvd Arkistomatkaoppaat (The Archive Tour Guides) was released in July 2006, when the duo were nominated to be the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival's celebratory performers. The Kaustinen Folk Music Festival is the largest and longest-running folk music festival in the Nordic countries. During the same year Reetta-Kaisa Iles was named the Young Artist of the Year by Finland Festivals and Puhti was given the opportunity to represent the organization in London, Dublin and Saint Petersburg. In 2007 Puhti was accepted into the Finnish-Russian Cultural Forum's partnership project and performed at a cultural exchange concert in Veliky Novgorod, Russia. In the summer of 2009, Reetta-Kaisa and Anne-Mari returned to Russia to represent the Sommelo festival in Viena Karelia.
The artistic endeavors of Puhti were also acknowledged by the Central Committee of Folk Music and Dance in 2008, when the duo was presented with the Wäinö-award. The award is given to a person, group or institution in the folk music or folk dance field, who deserves recognition for artistic or pedagogic merits, life’s work or remarkable innovations. Puhti's artistic excellence and captivating stage presence eventually also led the duo into the world of television. Puhti was featured in the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE's program Etno is Happening, which aimed to present the broad spectrum of today's folk music and the innovative artists behind it. The program aired during the spring of 2010.
On stage Puhti can be seen as the cooky and off-beat but on-key co-operation between a musician and a dancer, that at times may be moving, joyful or even pompous and solemn. From the very beginning one of the key objectives of the duo has been to create vivid, energetic and high-quality folk dance and music, and to develop a new kind of stage art with those elements. The duo's repertoire consists of a variety of shows suitable for both small club environments as well as large scale festival arenas. The unique sound of Puhti is created by the use of accordions, vocals, rhythmic stomping and a pyngyr – a five string bass variation on the kantele, which is the traditional plucked instrument native to Finland, Estonia and Karelia. Puhti's performances are also able to incorporate moods and atmospheres from all around the world. The duo has been influenced by experiences on their journeys that have taken them from Viena Karelia in Russia, to Mozambique in Africa and all the way to Nicaragua, South America.
In co-operation with director and writer Johanna Keinänen, Puhti created two Folklore cabaret shows. Kantelehenkilö (The kantele person) and Kaamosteoria (The Polar Night Theory) were widely acknowledged by both the press and the public: Anne Välinoro wrote the following in Aamulehti, one of the major daily Finnish newspapers, on the 24th of April 2009: “If we really wanted to create a sensation at the Eurovision Song Contest we should send the duo Puhti there. Reetta-Kaisa Iles and Anne-Mari Kivimäki are strong singers with a mythical talent for extracting something joyful and new from the old traditions. Puhti is able to create drama on stage and will guarantee new audiences for the folk music genre.“
Puhti's newest piece Puhti-Elämysmatka (Puhti Adventure Travels) was created specially for the Folklandia-cruise, a winter festival of folk dance and music. Folklandia is held on M/S Silja Europa in January and is created and supported by the most important Finnish organizations and festivals of folk music.
In addition to Puhti
Reetta-Kaisa works as a freelance choreographer as well as for the Finnish Tsuumi Dance Company. Anne-Mari works as a freelance composer and with music groups Hehkumo and Juurikadun Orkesteri.
For the love of the Karelian ways
In 2001 Anne-Mari Kivimäki was preparing her final concert for the Department of Folk Music at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland. The concert was to be based on Karelian traditions and Anne-Mari was being mentored by accordionist Maria Kalaniemi. Anne-Mari was researching the archives of the Finnish Literature Society when she fell in love with their tapes of accordionist Ilja Kotikallio. On the tapes Ilja talked about illatsus, Karelian festive evenings that, in addition to music, included dancing and merriment as a central part of the festivities. This gave Anne-Mari the incentive to ask choreographer Reetta-Kaisa Iles, who had graduated as a dancer from the Theater Academy of Finland, to join her in her concerts. They both shared a love and interest for the Karelian tradition of music and dance. After the first concerts Reetta-Kaisa and Anne-Mari realized that they worked extremely well together and decided to continue their work with the Karelian style as a duo they named Puhti – meaning vigor in old Finnish. This marked the beginning of their journey together, during which Puhti has created a vast amount of new Finnish folk music and dance.
The first recordings and videos from Puhti are from Anne-Mari's solo album Pauhu (Rumble). The duo's first cd and dvd Arkistomatkaoppaat (The Archive Tour Guides) was released in July 2006, when the duo were nominated to be the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival's celebratory performers. The Kaustinen Folk Music Festival is the largest and longest-running folk music festival in the Nordic countries. During the same year Reetta-Kaisa Iles was named the Young Artist of the Year by Finland Festivals and Puhti was given the opportunity to represent the organization in London, Dublin and Saint Petersburg. In 2007 Puhti was accepted into the Finnish-Russian Cultural Forum's partnership project and performed at a cultural exchange concert in Veliky Novgorod, Russia. In the summer of 2009, Reetta-Kaisa and Anne-Mari returned to Russia to represent the Sommelo festival in Viena Karelia.
The artistic endeavors of Puhti were also acknowledged by the Central Committee of Folk Music and Dance in 2008, when the duo was presented with the Wäinö-award. The award is given to a person, group or institution in the folk music or folk dance field, who deserves recognition for artistic or pedagogic merits, life’s work or remarkable innovations. Puhti's artistic excellence and captivating stage presence eventually also led the duo into the world of television. Puhti was featured in the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE's program Etno is Happening, which aimed to present the broad spectrum of today's folk music and the innovative artists behind it. The program aired during the spring of 2010.
On stage Puhti can be seen as the cooky and off-beat but on-key co-operation between a musician and a dancer, that at times may be moving, joyful or even pompous and solemn. From the very beginning one of the key objectives of the duo has been to create vivid, energetic and high-quality folk dance and music, and to develop a new kind of stage art with those elements. The duo's repertoire consists of a variety of shows suitable for both small club environments as well as large scale festival arenas. The unique sound of Puhti is created by the use of accordions, vocals, rhythmic stomping and a pyngyr – a five string bass variation on the kantele, which is the traditional plucked instrument native to Finland, Estonia and Karelia. Puhti's performances are also able to incorporate moods and atmospheres from all around the world. The duo has been influenced by experiences on their journeys that have taken them from Viena Karelia in Russia, to Mozambique in Africa and all the way to Nicaragua, South America.
In co-operation with director and writer Johanna Keinänen, Puhti created two Folklore cabaret shows. Kantelehenkilö (The kantele person) and Kaamosteoria (The Polar Night Theory) were widely acknowledged by both the press and the public: Anne Välinoro wrote the following in Aamulehti, one of the major daily Finnish newspapers, on the 24th of April 2009: “If we really wanted to create a sensation at the Eurovision Song Contest we should send the duo Puhti there. Reetta-Kaisa Iles and Anne-Mari Kivimäki are strong singers with a mythical talent for extracting something joyful and new from the old traditions. Puhti is able to create drama on stage and will guarantee new audiences for the folk music genre.“
Puhti's newest piece Puhti-Elämysmatka (Puhti Adventure Travels) was created specially for the Folklandia-cruise, a winter festival of folk dance and music. Folklandia is held on M/S Silja Europa in January and is created and supported by the most important Finnish organizations and festivals of folk music.
In addition to Puhti
Reetta-Kaisa works as a freelance choreographer as well as for the Finnish Tsuumi Dance Company. Anne-Mari works as a freelance composer and with music groups Hehkumo and Juurikadun Orkesteri.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Contact
puhti[at]puhti.eu
tel. +358 50 581 4155
puhti[at]puhti.eu
tel. +358 50 581 4155