ILMU | Juurakko - Etno-Espa

ILMU brings the distinctive pulse of Karelian folk-trip-hop to the Espa stage; at the Juurakko concert, audiences experience natural phenomena, stories, and the sounds of everyday objects.

16.00 | ILMU

ILMU is a Nordic folk-trip-hop ensemble from the Karelian Republic based in Tampere, presenting the culture of a new generation of Karelians. The group draws inspiration from the ancient origins of the land, the nature of their homeland, culture, traditions, and the beauty of the Karelian language.

A collective of musicians performs trip-hop and world music, singing in Karelian. With enthusiasm, the singers and musicians bring to life the nature of Karelia, grounded in its grandeur and mysticism that captivates their world.

In the group's songs, Livvi-Karelian, or Aunus-Karelian, is combined with traditional folk instruments (kantele, jouhikko, wind instruments) and electric guitar, violin, and cello, which are increasingly seen on stage. ILMU was awarded in 2021 as the best Russian ethnomusicology project according to the international jury of Russian World Music Awards 2021.

The ensemble has performed at numerous festivals in Finland and Estonia. The music video for the song "Langat" won the award for best music video at Luleå International Film Festival (Sweden).

Tatiana Tkachenko - vocals, kantele, synthesizers
Aleksei Tkachenko - electric guitar, samplers, synthesizers
Mirva Ormin - jouhikko, bass jouhikko, vocals
Nadezhda Gornitcyna - violin, vocals

17.15 | Juurakko: 15th Anniversary Concert In the Embrace of the Bog

In the concert "In the Embrace of the Bog," audiences journey through a world of beautiful, amusing, and strange natural experiences and scientific observation.

The Juurakko ensemble and sound designer-marine biologist Myyri Sysivesi have packed their suitcase with multi-voiced blues singing, the tones of kantele from deep wetlands, storytelling, and numerous everyday objects elevated to the status of instruments.

Laura Kaartinen - vocals, mouth organ, percussion
Eija Kankaanranta - kanteles
Kaisa Saarikorpi - vocals, cigar-box instruments, guitars, percussion
Minsku Tammela - vocals