Ballads and Shamelessness - Cornelis Vreeswijk's Songs in Both Native Languages

Almost every Finn knows a couple of Swedish drinking songs.

We sing by the campfire "Vem kan segla förutan vind", we take pride in our Södergranes and Janssones, and we can sing "Höstvisan" in the original language. Yet it is surprising how little known this central Swedish troubadour and poet Cornelis Vreeswijk (1937-87) remains in Finnish-speaking Finland!

Cornelis loved Finnish music and recorded an album of Tapio Rautavaara's work translated into Swedish. Now five Finnish musicians and songwriters, united by a passionate love for Cornelis's work, have joined forces and formed a band.

The collective's strategy is to bring the beloved singer's output closer to Finnish audiences, and their tactic is to perform the songs both in the original language and as new Finnish-language translations.

The band consists of Daniela Fogelholm, Karri "Paleface" Miettinen, Kiureli Sammallahti, Anssi Växby and Roope Aarnio.