05/02/2011

Finland


A desire to see a place can come from the smallest incident. A wish to visit Greece came from seeing a photo of Mount Olympus in an encyclopaedia once. Then as a child I came across a Moomin book, either as a present or from the library: Moominland in Midwinter, I think, where the hibernating Moomin wakes halfway through the long dark winter and unexpectedly sees a strange and sometimes frightening world previously unknown to him. More than the characters, it was the settings of the book that really got my attention, with the descriptions and pictures of the forests, hills and valleys, lakes and islands and the sudden surge of colour as winter ends and everything springs back to life. There was something magical - in the sense of a fairy tale - about it and also something rather surreal, (though I wouldn’t have recognised the term then).

But at the same time I was also vaguely aware that it was based on a real country. The back of the book I read had a note about the author, Tove Jansson, who did much of her work on a small island in the Gulf of Finland where she, and sometimes her mother and brother, were the only inhabitants. This seemed a wonderful adventure . She later wrote of it:

It is so small you can walk around it in ten minutes. It is shaped like an atoll and surrounds a deep lake which in good weather makes a fine swimming pool, but in bad weather turns into a raging torrent surrounded by waterfalls. Then our boat has to be pulled right up to the house and tied to the veranda. We only have one tree, a rowan, which bloomed for the first time last summer. But we plant wild roses in the crevices, and potatoes. And we fish. We use rainwater for our coffee and driftwood for our fires. My favourite weather is fog, when the island seems to be afloat at the very end of the world in perfect silence and solitude. Only rarely does one hear the foghorns from the open sea where big ships go by for foreign countries.’

It was this notion of Finland – a mysterious, rather melancholy, place of endless forests and lakes and full of silence – that I carried with me. Statistics said there were 187,000 lakes, 180,000 islands, forest over 70% of the land. This was brought home on my first visit there. Having been dropped in the small town of Karjaa one evening from a union conference centre a few miles away in the countryside, I realised when it was time to get a taxi back that I wasn’t sure where it was - other than it was in a forest by a lake.

Solitude seemed easy to find. A teacher from Kuopio told me of some supply work she had done in a tiny country school, where she brought in finger puppets to bulk out her class of two children. At least it made calling the register last a bit longer. At lunch time they went into the fields outside and picked blueberries. The Finns also have a reputation (when sober) for silence or not talking much. I remember reading about an exchange student whose family hosts didn’t speak to him for the first 3 days. They weren’t being rude, it was just how they were.

Music from Finland , other than Sibelius and Finlandia, is not much known in the UK. It was a novelty to discover, for example, a popular Finnish dance called the Humppa (derived from German oompah music) and which looks like the name sounds. There is also a Finnish tango though, unlike the better known one from Argentina, its mood is apparently sad and nostalgic . Neither have there really been any Finnish equivalents of Abba, Bjork, A-Ha or even Aqua. The first, and apart from Hanoi Rocks possibly only, Finnish group to spring to mind is Lordi, the heavy metal group dressed as monsters that unexpectedly won the 2006 Eurovision contest with Hard Rock Hallelujah: a long way from All Kinds of Everything and Puppet on a String.

Neither have there been many songs about the country. As mentioned in a previous column, the Monty Python song Finland summed up the general lack of knowledge about the place-“You're so sadly neglected and often ignored, a poor second to Belgium when going abroad”.  Helsinki has fared a bit better. 70’s prog-rock band Wigwam painted a little picture of the city in Helsinki Nights: “An' you can go up by the railroad yard, coast on down by the Boulevarde, out along past the shipping docks, Fisher women all counting their stocks” .Swedish-Finnish group Laakso gave a rather different image of Helsinki in their rather kitsch song and video, Italy Vs Helsinki.

However, the song here, Finland, by The Redwoods (primarily American artist and musician Wesley Berg), is from a whole 2010 album about Finland, Jarvi,  ‘written and recorded in a small cottage in Alajarvi’. The lyrics of this and some of the others are cryptic but the sound of the songs captures, for me, the feeling of Finland. There is a sense of the dark forests and lakes –“quiet lakes with pinewood dust” - , a feeling of space and also of melancholy, noises at the edge of the music like something in the trees just at the periphery of your vision.“Fall Winter breeze has whispered things and carved out words on evergreens” (Bonfire). In this setting it is easy to see where the dream-like quality of Tove Jansson’s books came from.

Link to song

41 comments:

  1. Annukka Pietilä6 February 2011 at 19:55

    Thank you, Geoff, for writing so beautifully about the impact of the Moomin books. Tove was my aunt - my father, Reima, was the brother of Tuulikki Pietilä, Tove's life partner. So Tuulikki and Tove were my aunts. I wish you could have visited Klovharu when they were living there. It was a mystical place when I visited as a child.

    If you have not encountered her adult fiction yet, you might enjoy any of these novels:
    www.amazon.co.uk/Travelling-Light-Tove-Jansson/dp/095489958X
    www.amazon.co.uk/Summer-Book-Esther-Freud/dp/0954221710
    www.amazon.co.uk/Winter-Book-Selected-Stories-Jansson/dp/0954899520

    Thank you again for your beautiful writing.

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  2. What a gorgeous photo of the boats Geoff - did you take that?

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  3. Great Geoff - what a great meditation on Finland; glad there are songs about Finland, I didn't know about this band. (I suggested Finland last week).

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  4. Thank you for writing in with the book links, Annukka. I havent read her adult books but have often meant to get hold of the Summer Book.
    Yes, thanks for the suggestion last week, Jet!

    Yes, I took the photo Desiree. Its at the back of the conference centre near Karjaa I mention-in a forest by a lake somewhere!

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  5. What a great great idea and sentence, this one: "noises at the edge of the music like something in the trees just at the periphery of your vision."

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  6. You're like a musician taking requests! (which is supposed to be a compliment). I am still thinking about what else to suggest for next week's column. Working my way through your back catalogue too. (earlier columns).

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  7. It's stunning. Would you mind if I use it as a backdrop on my computer? I don't want to violate your copyright or anything.

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  8. Of course, Desiree-I havent got a copyright!

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  9. I loved your column. And I thought you might like my own photo which echoes yours a bit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jerome2l/3107740965/. It is in Haapaniemi, Kuopio.

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  10. There is also a song called The Land of Sad Songs (Murheellisten Laulujen Maa). By a quite popular rock band called Eppu Normaali. It seems like most of the songs about Finland are very sad, actually! It's from the 1970s I think, and here is an English translation I found online:

    He happened to born innocent
    to this country northern and cold
    where ancestors already, drunk ofcourse
    beat up their wives, kids if they caught them

    the fate of a traditional man, that boy wanted to avoid
    I'll never buy an axe, and I'll never drink spirits
    otherwise I'll drink the house

    snowdrift awaits, the family at winters
    but I never wanna do like daddy
    but when from employment exchange no work is given
    the hand of fate offers booze to drink
    so Tommy of Doom awakes again
    and the manners of masters clings to the servant
    towards he gallops to the booze store

    it drives man to desperation, when frost eats the crops
    from mids of cold soil quietly, cold eye stares, when axe rises

    from mids of hills, from the soil of the land
    fathers proudly watch their sons
    unemployment, booze, axe and family
    snowdrift, police and the last mistake
    this land of thousand sad songs
    into which thousand lakes one can run
    junipery people, who's amount of self pity
    wont measure sense, nor number of noses
    in who's songs are lost the trumps of life
    and shut stay the heaven's gates
    they tell about Dennis Desperation

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  11. And there is a song called "The land of Ice and Snow" by Stratovarius, who are a Finnish metal band.

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  12. And I think Alexander Rybak did a song about Finland. You know, a Eurovision style one. Called "Suomi – Finland in my heart forever". Terrible stuff.

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  13. The Monty Python song is funny enough that it's worth pasting all the lyrics here I think:)

    Finland, Finland, Finland,
    The country where I want to be,
    Pony trekking or camping,
    Or just watching TV,
    Finland, Finland, Finland,
    It's the country for me.

    You're so near to Russia,
    So far from Japan,
    Quite a long way from Cairo,
    Lots of miles from Vietnam.

    Finland, Finland, Finland,
    The country where I want to be,
    Eating breakfast or dinner,
    Or snack lunch in the hall,
    Finland, Finland, Finland,
    Finland has it all.

    You're so sadly neglected,
    And often ignored,
    A poor second to Belgium,
    When going abroad.

    Finland, Finland, Finland,
    The country where I quite want to be,
    Your mountains so lofty,
    Your treetops so tall,
    Finland, Finland, Finland,
    Finland has it all.

    Finland, Finland, Finland,
    The country where I quite want to be,
    Your mountains so lofty,
    Your treetops so tall,
    Finland, Finland, Finland,
    Finland has it all.

    Finland has it all...

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  14. I love Finland. Especially because it has topped the list for free press since the inception of that list in 2002 (along with other countries): http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2010,1034.html

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  15. Until this column, I had no real sense or visual image of Finland, but I went to do a little searching. And one amazing thing I found is that, with 179,584 islands, Finland is the country with by far the most islands in the world. According to the National Land Survey of Finland and the Finnish Environment Institute, Finland has the following:

    Approx
    179,000 islands with an area of 100 m sq or more
    188,000 Lakes with an area of 500 m sq or more
    of which 56,000 have an area of 10,000 m sq or more

    It must be beautiful!

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  16. Eva - Michael Palin hums that song, I think, on a train from Lapland to Helsinki in Pole to Pole!

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  17. Geoff, you might enjoy the Washington Post's "Finland Diary" - it is really interesting: http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/finlanddiary/

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  18. I think that "Midnight Sunrise", a song by the Finnish band Turisas, is mainly about Finland.....

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  19. As far as I can tell, this is a song about Estonians who want to return to Finland, although I'm not sure it merits as place in your list of songs about Finland Geoff:) www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTaON7HWsPw&

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  20. There is also our song “The King of Finland”:
    http://daisychaintunes.com/daisychain/mp3/king%20of%20finland.mp3

    The Daisychain Connection

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  21. We have a song about Finland too: http://www.myspace.com/hariandaino/music/songs/finland-71962762

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  22. Geoff, it is true that Finland has been considered along the years as a source of the most eccentric and bizarre bands such as the worst rock and roll band in the world, Leningrad Cowboys, modern surf messengers Laika & The Cosmonauts, a 30 member male choir Mieskuoro Huutajat that shouts instead of singing, Eläkeläiset (The Retired) who turn rock classics into old-fashioned dance music called humppa, and Cleaning Women who use vacuum cleaners and drying racks as their instruments. One would not describe jazz/funk/lounge/electronica cult figure Jimi Tenor and masters of minimalistic electronica Pan Sonic as mainstream artistes either. But even though we are proud of being a bit odd in the eyes of the rest of the world, weirdness is not the whole truth. The year 2000 was a turning point for the Finnish popular music industry in various ways. After many years of hard work and banging heads against walls, some Finnish bands made their way to the top positions in many international charts. The best results were achieved in the field of dance music. Bomfunk MC’s created more than a slight buzz with their mixture of techno, rap, electronica and hip hop, and Darude was the talk of the town in club world with his smash hits Sandstorm and Feel the Beat. Metal has traditionally been one of Finland’s main export products. This is the case with popular music as well. The biggest success so far has been HIM who topped the charts of the German speaking part of Europe. Some other bands worth mentioning are Stratovarius, cello quartet Apocalyptica (another Finnish speciality), Amorphis, Nightwish (whose vocalist is a female opera singer) and Sentenced who have gradually built a solid following for themselves in various continents. At the same time local consumers have learned to accept and buy records of bands singing in English. The domestic music, and especially the popular music sung in Finnish, has had a market share of 40-50 %. Such a strong position is quite unusual on the European scale. This change of consumers’ attitude has created more possibilities for bands aiming at the international market. Also, stylewise the local music scene has also become more varied. For example, a few years ago Finnish hip hop would have been taken as a joke. Now bands such as Paleface and Kwan have created interest even in the US.

    I think one can expect to see and hear more and more Finnish names in charts in various parts of the world during the forthcoming years.

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  23. I LOVE the Moomin books. Here are a few illustrations, for anyone who hasn't ever read the books: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marja2006/4992843998/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/marja2006/4992842982/
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/marja2006/4992235325

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  24. I have been to Karjaa too! I loved it. And at the end I had to be at Karjaa railway station by 7 as I had booked a train to Turku and I was walking to the station, about to be late, really exhausted, and a really nice Swedish-speaking Finnish lady happened to stop and take me with her car, so that I managed to be at the station in time. I was showed what a nice people the Finnish are - so incredibly helpful and unselfish.

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  25. I think Karjaa is in a Swedish speaking part of Finland.

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  26. That explains it then!

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  27. I really like this song, Geoff - thanks for introducing me to this band!

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  28. I make these tshirts, if you would like one Geoff, or maybe one of your friends or family: http://www.amazon.com/T-Shirt-Happily-Married-Finnish-Finland/dp/B00138DU6E

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  29. Apparently Finland hosts World Championship events such as mosquito swatting, wife carrying, mobile phone throwing, boot throwing and swamp soccer. All of which sound fabulous.

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  30. I think the Italy Vs Helsinki song and video might be my new absolute favorite thing!!

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  31. I love Finnish tango. It's beautiful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsMDrVrQZdw

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  32. I definitely think Hanoi Rocks were doing their thing way before Guns N Roses borrowed a lot of stuff from them: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipcZr4ky8jo

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  33. Still can't believe they won Eurovision: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdItwaLrv1U (in 2006 I think). !

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  34. I have a little boat photo too! Of Kuopio. Not as nice as yours, but here it is!

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/eap0323/3645786048/

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  35. Have you seen the Jim Jarmusch film "Night on Earth," which follows taxi rides in 5 different places across the world? The Helsinki taxi scene really seems to sum up the idea of the silent Finns that you mention.

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  36. I am from Finland - and you are right that we might seem like quieter people than some others. But this is because silence is regarded as a part of communication. We don't really perform "small talk" and instead gaps in conversation are acceptable. And this is because we are simply interested in getting to the real part of the conversation - the interesting exchange.

    As well, part of the perception comes only from inter-cultural conversations. The Finns speak slower. Only 70-140 words per minute, while the Americans produce 125-150 words/min and the word-per-minute rate for the English people is as high as 150-190. So we are often interrupted when it is perceived that we are speaking too slowly, or with too many gaps. And that means we end up speaking less!

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  37. Geoff, you might also enjoy Diane Jarvi, who is a Finnish-American singer. She is trying to bring the music of Finland, especially the kantele, to the U.S. And is very focused on changing public perception of Finland as being just a place with chilly weather and colder people. Here is her website: http://dianejarvi.com/......

    Thanks for the great column this week!

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  38. Thanks for the reference-I hadnt come acros her before.

    Thanks for the other links and for the links to the tee-shirts, Hilde

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  39. Wonderful column Geoff! I don't think anyone ever wrote a column quite like yours, I hope you can turn it into a book! I can think of several people I know who would buy it right away.

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  40. Thank you Dawn -thats really nice to hear.

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