Search - Anna-Kaisa Liedes :: Oi Miski

Singer and kantele (zither) player Anna-Kaisa Liedes has been at the center of the maelstrom that has been Finland's international folk storm. She was a member of the important ensemble Niekku and a graduate and teacher of the famed Sibelius Academy Folk Music Department, and she has worked with just about everyone in Finland's small music scene. This album focuses on old songs from southern Ostrobothnia, Karelia, and Ingria, but while there is a solid traditional center to it, there is a clear experimental and inquiring side to this performance in spite of its simple and all-acoustic nature. Sparse arrangements let the power of the songs prevail, carried on one of the great Nordic voices. The album was originally released in Finland as Kuuttaren Korut. --Louis Gibson