Kurkelankatu 28 A 7
04230 Kerava
Finland

http://www.tsuumisoundsystem.com

With their sixth album under their belts, this exciting roots ensemble from Finland is ready to take the road again. Don´t miss them.

public contact

• phone: +358 505 437 727
eMail:

business contact

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activities

• Artist
  • Band/Soloist

participation in

• WOMEX 2009
• WOMEX 2010
• WOMEX 2011

company description

Renseignements en francais sur demande / Informazioni in italiano su richiesta
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"Tsuumi Sound System
should have a rightful
place in the top of the
league of Scandinavian
bands."
Michael Moll, FolkWorld

Tsuumi Sound System is an urban folk music combo from Finland whose broad yet fresh sound presents the unusual combination of solid accordion, fiddles and bass on the one hand and bright, and airy sax, guitar, cittern and piano on the other. A drum kit and percussion keep up the crisp beat.

The music of Tsuumi Sound System is very much a fusion. It is not so very far away from traditional Finnish pelimanni music (Nordic Folk), but it fits the definition of modern world music very well too. Foreign listeners tend to identify something Northern in the lucid sound, but Celtic and Balkan influences have also been detected, much to the band's surprise.

BACKGROUND

Tsuumi Soundi System emerged alongside Tsuumi, a contemporary dance company. Founded in 1998, it has since become one of Finland's internationally most notable modern folk music bands. Over the years, the band has gone through a number of changes, but by the time of their fifth studio album, HOTAS (2007), their lineup has stabilized into eight members, and the name Tsuumi Sound System was established (earlier albums were released under the name Tsuumi). Their second album in this guise, GROWING UP, was released in summer 2009.

With those albums, the band actually acquired a ninth important member: producer Roger Tallroth, a super-name in Swedish folk music. The combination works well. Albums have racked up an impressive number of stars in record reviews around the world. Songlines magazine put Hotas on the Top of the World list in January 2008, and the critic declared "modestly" that the album is perfect. The same happened with Growing Up ("An impeccable follow-up to an impeccable debut". Fiona Talkington, BBC/Songlines)

The band has been particularly praised for the incredible energy they put into their live performances. Members have the knack of projecting their joy of making music to the very last row of the hall, and they have become accustomed to playing several encores to standing ovations. Southern European audiences in particular have taken this Northern world music to heart.

AWARD-WINNING FUSION

The album HOTAS received a TEOSTO AWARD nomination in 2008 (Finnish Composers' Copyright Society) and was selected as TOP OF THE WORLD album by SONGLINES magazine (Jan.)

The same year, the perfect rating of five stars was given to HOTAS by German IN MUSIC magazine, as well as a nomination in the Folk & Folklore category of the German Music Critic's Awards.

In autumn 2009, a piece named CASINO written by Hannu Kella won first prize in the 'instrumental jazz song' category at the JUST PLAIN FOLKS Music Awards in the USA. This was a remarkable achievement considering that the band have not yet toured in North America at all (an oversight that will probably soon be corrected!) and that there were more than 560,000 candidate songs in the Awards, all categories considered.

The album GROWING UP was nominated for the best ethnic album of the year in 2010 (EMMA AWARDS - Finnish Grammy Awards).

LINE-UP

In addition to master accordion player Hannu Kella, the group also features master fiddlers Tommi Asplund and Esko Järvelä, Pilvi Talvitie Järvelä on guitars and cittern, Joakim Berghäll on saxophones, Tarmo Anttila on double bass, and Jussi Nikula on drums and percussion.

REFERENCES

Tradit (Nl), Nordjo, Folkalarm, North Norway, Vikedall Roots (No), Emma gala, Folklandia, Kaustinen, Faces, European People's Festival, Haapavesi, Korpoo Jazz, Eurovision, Helsinki Music Center (Fi), Musiques d'à Coté (F), Muziekpublique, Scottish W-E (B), Touscouleurs, Itinerary Folk, Sentieri Acustici, Note di Notte, Classica & Dintorni, Castelfidardo (It), Glatt & Verkerht (Au), Urkult, Eskiltuna (Se), Viljandi (Ee), Odense Folk Fest (Dk)

DISCOGRAPHY

Tsuumi Sound System:
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Growing Up 2009
Hotas 2007

Tsuumi:
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Rajaton tapaus (Original sound track)
Avoin kentt 2002
Risteys 2000

"Bands about to embark on a recording
take note: this is a lesson in how to make the perfect album."Fiona talkington, Songlines/BBC

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