HURJA HALLA
The fascinating nordic archaic trio Hurja Halla offers audiences ancient grooves with experimental spirit. Their unique instrumentation and free-spirit energy ranges from wistful moods to trance-like beats.
Hurja Halla has released two critically acclaimed albums (Riitti 2022, Surma hiihti 2025) and received great radio cover across Europe.
The new album Surma hiihti (2025) draws heavily on ancient Finnish spell-tradition and the relationship between humans and nature. Their ability to play with musical nuances, contrasts and groovy rhythms transports the audience through the forests of Eastern Finland and invites to wild dance.
Hurja Halla:
Liisa Haapanen: five-string cello, mouth harp, vocals
Janne Ojajärvi: harmonicas, mouth harps, willow flutes, tin whistles, wooden horn, vocals
Eve Pietarinen: percussion, drums, vocals
RITVA NERO
Ritva Nero is a Finnish headbanging folk group formed in 2017. The music of the band could be described as Party Metal Folk. Lead instruments played in the band are Soprano Saxophone, Finnish Bagpipes and Nyckelharpa, complimented by a rock style Bass and metal music style Drums. Folk dance tunes are cleverly combined with the metal tradition of our time in a contemporary manner.
Santte Salonen – Soprano Saxophone
Emilia Lajunen – Nyckelharpa
Janne Ojajärvi – Harmonica, Overtone Flute, Jew’s Harp, Wooden horn
Heikki Kylkisalo – Uilleann Pipes
Jani Snellman – Bass
Patrik Fält – Drums
Past or currently passive bands
OJAJÄRVI BLOM OJAJÄRVI
Ojajärvi Blom Ojajärvi is the first ever Finnish contemporary ensemble built around the traditional overtone flute. They mix their soundscapes in a soup bowl of unlikely instrument combinations, throwing in the ancient sound of overtone flutes, the modern yet grounded pulse of beatboxing, and the rich and earthy sound of the cittern.
”There are regular folk music bands that unprejudicedly combine modern and tradition. One of them is Ojajärvi-Blom-Ojajärvi, formed by three experienced musicians, who have released their debut album.” (Aki Yli-Salomäki, YLE)
The ensemble started from an experiment where melodies from the ancient Finnish overtone flute were combined with different musical moods. This overtone lab focuses on the ancient tonal world of overtone flutes and other flutes with no tone holes. Ignoring genre or other limitations, it lets the flute sounds shine through beautiful melodic ambiances or trance-like beats. The trio’s repertoire includes both traditional tunes and original compositions.
Janne Ojajärvi – willow flutes (pitkähuilu), bass willow flutes, vocals
Venla Ilona Blom – beatboxing, vocals
Joonas Ojajärvi – cittern, vocals
TRIO BEOIR
Trio Beoir has retained their roots of joyful busking in their performances. Trio Beoir plays traditional, new and their own tunes based on Finnish and Irish folk music. They have been performing lately in Helsinki’s and Tartto’s streets, clubs and wine houses. The trio also had couple of tours in Germany during year 2018. Trio Beoir’s strength lies in tight ensemble play and energetic presence. They give you a warm introduction to Irish and Nordic folk music performed by violin, harmonica, guitar and percussions. In addition to the fiddle Trio Beoir’s sound scapes are coloured also by more rare instruments like musical saw, jaw harp and throat singin. Trio Beoir published their first EP in year 2018.
Tommo Henttonen – violin, spoons, mandolin, musical saw, vocals
Juha-Matti Kokkonen – guitar, banjo, vocals
Janne Ojajärvi – cajon, percussions, harmonica, tin whistles, vocals
JANNE OJAJÄRVI 