Entitled Veden värejä, the second album will come out on 28 October, with the album launch show taking place on the same day at Helsinki’s Teatteriravintola Kapsäkki at 7:00pm.
Hereä are a quartet whose roots lie deep in the soil of Scandinavian folk music. However, with their strong emphasis on rhythm, unusual instrumentation, flair for throwing in influences from numerous musical cultures and the heterogeneous musical backgrounds of their members, Hereä are far from a conventional folk music group. Indeed, their 2007 self-titled debut was praised for its original sound where folklore and mysticism met danceable elements.
On their sophomore, the group continues to explore Finnish folklore by tackling the mythical Finnish heroines Kuutar (goddess of the moon), Päivätär (goddess of the day) and Ilmatar (goddess of the wind), but this time their songs have also been inspired by more recent poetry. Through traditional and modern verse alike Hereä wish to express timeless wisdoms about the fundamental questions of life: love, power and the volatility of the human mind.
The group is composed of familiar faces from the Finnish jazz, folk and contemporary music scenes. Jazz vocalist Aili Ikonen has performed at, for example, the Finnish Independence Day Presidential Reception and released an acclaimed solo album, Laulan. Multi-instrumentalist Vesa Norilo recently completed his PhD in music technology. Sara Puljula has worked as a theatre musician and Milla Viljamaa is a Teosto Music Prize awardee. In 2011, the group collaborated with Susanna Haavisto on a multi-media piece Pohjan Neidon tarina (The Tale of the Damsel of the North), which combined live music and animation.
Hereä: Veden värejä
Label: Groovy Records
1. Älä minua (composed & lyrics by Vesa Norilo)
2. Tyttö itki (composed by Milla Viljamaa, lyrics by Milla Viljamaa/trad.)
3. Liikaa (composed & lyrics by Vesa Norilo)
4. Yön kämmenellä (composed by Milla Viljamaa, lyrics by Aila Meriluoto)
5. Päivätär (composed by Aili Ikonen, lyrics by Aili Ikonen/trad.)
6. Kuutar (composed & lyrics by Vesa Norilo)
7. Ilman impi (composed & lyrics by Vesa Norilo)
8. Keinu (composed & lyrics by Milla Viljamaa)
9. Edelin uni (composed & lyrics by Vesa Norilo)
10. Musta perhonen (composed by Milla Viljamaa, lyrics by Milla Viljamaa/trad)
11. Mataloita maita kuljin (composed & lyrics by Milla Viljamaa)
Aili Ikonen - vocals, violin
Milla Viljamaa - piano
Vesa Norilo - cello, Irish flute
Sara Puljula - percussion
Hereä album launch show
Fri 28 Oct at 19
Teatteriravintola Kapsäkki, Hämeentie 68, 00550 Helsinki
Tickets starting at 26,50 €, Lippupiste www.lippu.fi