In a catalogue perhaps better known for its out-there heavy metal, seismic noise-rock and overall outsider sonic extremities, Soitimella (Ektro-156) arrives like a hush in a whirlwind, a solemn breath of air echoing through the iron-aged pine. Released by Jussi Lehtisalo's Ektro Records, this singular recording unites varying players of the Finnish kantele – Heikki Laitinen, Martti Pokela, and Hannu Saha.
The kantele is no ordinary stringed instrument. With origins buried deep in the Finnish-Karelian folk imagination, it is said to have been first built by Väinämöinen, the mythical shaman/hero of the Kalevala, from the jawbone of a giant pike. The oldest forms of kantele had just five strings and were said to be played by shepherds, ritualists, and wanderers. Their songs were neither entertainment nor spectacle – they were meditations and acts of remembering. The kantele in its nature hardly demands attention; it rewards stillness.
1986/2026 Ektro Records
