Jouko Kyhälä

• country:Finland
• style(s):Folk, Scandinavian
• label:Aito Records Oy
• type:Solo
• gender:male
• instrumentation:instrumental
• artist posted by:Aito Records Oy

Line up

• Jouko Kyhälä (Harmonica)

Harmonica maestro and multi-instrumentalist Jouko Kyhälä belongs to the top rank of Finnish folk music players. In addition to his own Saalas project, he leads the remarkable Sväng harmonica quartet and plays with Pekka Lehti & Outo voima, Markku Lepistö and many others. He also plays solo performances, which can range from acoustic folk music to experimental electronic sound-sculpting.

Kyhälä's musicianship is wide-ranging: In addition to folk music he has been involved with free improvisation, avant garde, contemporary classical and electronic music. Session playing on pop and jazz projects is also familiar territory for him, and he has worked extensively in film and theatrical productions. Kyhälä also has solid experience of working in the field of contemporary dance: He has composed and performed music for seven full length dance projects and worked for over 10 years in the Suomussalmi group of Finnish improvisational dance and music pioneers. Collaboration with visual artists has also played a strong part in his development as a musician.

Jouko Kyhälä is the first and so far the only graduate of Sibelius Academy to major in harmonica. The folk music department awarded him a masters degree in 1999 and Jouko continued his studies to become, this year (to the best of our knowledge), the world's first doctor of the harmonica!

Kyhälä's first solo record IMA-C was released in 2000. In this composition, Kyhälä combined electronics, harmonica, vocals and jouhikko into a highly imaginative fusion. His next solo record, Saalas, was released in 2005. This record concentrates on acoustic expression, the folk music of Kyhälä's homeland as well as his own folk music compositions. Other records featuring Kyhälä in the last few years have included Markku Lepistö's Silta and Pekka Lehti & Outo voima's Sohjo (both released on Aito Records). Kyhälä has performed on over 20 recordings and has worked in numerous diverse musical line-ups.