02/23 - Roses Have Thorns, And Silver Fountains Mud

Not a blogtastic start to 2023, but here's one more top 5. I spent the whole of February in Mustarinda, one of my favourite places in the world, deep in the Finnish forests. With a group of lovely people spanning six nationalities, the playlists got predictably diverse:

 

Dakh Daughters - Rozy

Starting with a contribution from Ukraine, it was a somber experience spending the anniversary of Russia's full scale invasion together with Rehina, a Kyiv resident, and hearing about her experiences. Dakh Daughters is another constellation with members from my previous Ukrainan favourites DakhaBrakha, that Rehina brought to the kitchen soundtrack.

 

 

Čokovoko - Sebevražda

Not entirely sure who added this to the playlist, but some Brno electro pop is always welcome. There's something about certain languages and genres, and Czech just sounds perfect to this kind of music. Especially the sung section after 3:10.

 

 

Nuova Compagnia Di Canto Popolare - 2° Coro Delle Lavandaie

One could imagine this comes courtesy of our resident Italian, Giacomo, but it was in fact brought to the mix by dinner guest Tuomas, architect and connoisseur of washer women chants from obscure Italian movies.

Cucina Povera - Kärpässieni

From Finland via one of my other favourite places – Glasgow – come the perfect woozy sauna night vibes, introduced by Kati. I can feel I'm gonna listen to a lot of this in coming years. Bird sounds mixed in with rhythmic vocalisations is very much my jam.

 

Aapo Similä, Lauluyhtye A-men, Joose Vähäsöyrinki - Laulu Oravasta

We watched the highly recommended sauna documentary Steam of Life again, and it ends with an absolutely tearjerking rendition of this children's song about a squirrel, and the melody just stuck with us, throughout the month. Gorgeous sylvan melancholy – what Finland does best. 🇫🇮