Värttinä

Värttinä (meaning "spindle") is a Finnish folk music band that started as a project by Sari and Mari Kaasinen in 1983 in the village of Rääkkylä, in Karelia, the southeastern region of Finland. Many changes have taken place in the band since then. Värttinä became famous after the release of their 1991 album Oi Dai. As of 2009, the band is made up of three lead female vocalists supported by three acoustic musicians. The vocalists sing in the Karelian dialect of the Finnish language.


In August 2005, Värttinä recorded their tenth studio album called Miero at Finnvox Studios, Helsinki. It was released on 25 January 2006 in Finland, and 30 January 2006 worldwide. In 2006, Värttinä also released the Värttinä Archive Live DVD, which included material from their 20th anniversary concert and other new and archive material. Värttinä worked with A. R. Rahman, a notable Indian composer, in composing the music for the stage musical version of The Lord of the Rings, which played in Toronto in 2006 and in London in 2007.

Värttinä has been featured in two episodes of popular animated children's show Arthur singing their hit song "Matalii ja Mustii" from the album Seleniko. The song was also featured on the show's first soundtrack, Arthur and Friends: The First Almost Real Not Live CD (Or Tape).

Category:Finnish musical groups

Category:Folk music groups
Category:Musical groups established in 1983