Legendary Finnish folk singer-songwriter and poet best known for writing the songs "Lintu" and "Kehtolaulu" covered by Finnish metal band Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus. Since her 1993 debut, Pariisi–Vuorenkylä, she has created works that are direct, uncompromising and widely regarded as classics. The poetic lyrics and strong atmosphere of her music have secured her a place among the great folk artists of our time. Recent works include collaborations with the Finnish folk group Tenhi.
In February 2016 a southeastern musical wind started to blow towards Vuorenkylä (the village where Marja lives). Anton Belov, who makes Finnish-language music in Kiev, Ukraine, and performs it with his band Kauan, contacted Marja. He asked if Marja would be interested in writing lyrics to Kauan's new album. Marja decided to accept this surprising challenge. Anton's compositions and Marja's lyrics were published as Kaiho in September 2017.
When Marja had finished the lyrics for the album Kaiho, she asked Anton Belov to arrange four new songs that she had written. Anton had never before arranged music made by others but took the challenge. These songs written by Marja and arranged by Anton were published 1st of December 2017 as an EP titled Kohti ('towards').
Marja Mattlar was the one whose poetry always made chills on my skin. By simplicity and beauty of every word in every sentence, Marja leads you through her story.
I first discovered Marja’s tracks years ago when living in Lahti. The city library had many of her CDs. Marja’s pronunciation of the Finnish language is impeccable, and I loved her simple-but-deep lyrics. For every album I write, there is always a stage when the music is nearly finished but there are no lyrics yet. It occurred to me that I could get one of Marja’s poems from her website and just use it temporarily. After doing so, it was clear that it fit the track so perfectly that I decided to write her asking if we can keep it on the album. Marja answered and said that she was familiar with the band and that one of her sons listens to KAUAN. This is how we started. Working with her was a great experience. She’s actually never written lyrics for anyone else. So this is an experiment, but I feel like it’s a 100% successful experiment.
I heard her previous work with Tenhi (album Polku) and was impressed by her musical personality. When i recorded promo version of Kaiho, i used her poem as placeholder lyrics, and every word fit the melody so well that i asked her to write lyrics for the whole album. Happily she agreed. She is an outstanding Finnish poet and it's a great honor to work with her.
Oh yes, 1st of December, my (as Anton Belov) first collaboration with Marja Mattlar, Kohti, was released under our very own label, kauanmusic. It's my first release as composer and arranger for Marja's tracks. –Anton Belov
Formed in: 2017
Status: Active
Years Active: 2017-Presemt
LINE UP
Anton Belov - Composition, Arrangements
Marja Mattlar - Lyrics, Vocals
Country of Origin: Russia
Location: Kyiv, Ukraine
Genre: Experimental Folk
Current Label: Kauan Music
Press Contact: kauan.info@gmail.com
Last FM: http://www.last.fm/music/kauan
Miskeri: http://www.mikseri.net/artists/?id=56273
Soundloud: https://soundcloud.com/kauan
Instagram: http://instagram.com/kauanmusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kauanmusic
VK: http://vk.com/kauan
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-6zi7XGNExv8xjZz0tKH-g
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2QgzO1Z5XYu9zj3nOYsXUa
Merch: https://marjamattlarantonbelov.bandcamp.com/merch
Kohti (EP - 2017)
Released December 1, 2017
Listen and buy the album at:
Juno Records Webstore: https://www.juno.co.uk/products/marja-mattlar-anton-belov-kohti/671671-01
