| Tie Vapauteen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by Paleface & Laulava unioni | |
| Released | November 28, 2019 |
| Recorded | 2019 |
| Studio | Raja-Audio Studio, Salo |
| Genre | Industrial folk music |
| Label | Finalmix Records |
| Producer | Tipi Tuovinen |
Tie Vapauteen (Finnish for "Road to Freedom") is an album by the Finnish rapper Paleface and the band Laulava unioni (Paleface and the Singing Union), released in Finland at the end of November 2019. It contains newly recorded versions of Finnish-American industrial folk music songs.
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), an anarchistic trade union in the United States and Canada, had a strong singing tradition, and its Finnish-American groups had many songs in the Finnish language as well. These songs had all but been forgotten when musicologist Saijaleena Rantanen found three Finnish-language IWW songbooks in the Immigration History Research Center archive in Minneapolis and at the Lakehead University archive in Thunder Bay, Canada. Of these three books, only one had a known copy in Finland, and only individual pages of the other two had previously been known to have survived. The songs had possibly last been heard a hundred years earlier at American Finn halls. [1] [2]
The songbooks contained only the lyrics of the songs, no sheet music. Finding the melodies took some deduction and detective work. It was easy to connect the song "Solidaarisuutta aina" to an English-language song called "Solidarity Forever", but the melody of the song "Langenneen laulun" (‘the song of the fallen woman’) was more difficult to find. In the end, Rantanen found the sheet music of this song for the piano at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. The authors of many of the texts are unknown, as they would have likely faced discrimination at their work places if known. [2]
The IWW grew in popularity in the 1910s. The Finns called the members of this union with the word “tuplajuulaiset” (‘double U folks’). Finns constituted the biggest ethnic segment of this union and they were also the most active members. The circulation of their magazine, the Industrialisti was 10,000 copies. Many of the IWW members knew little or no English, so it was natural for the union to produce songs in the Finnish language. The melodies of these songs were in many cases familiar to the Finns, and it was easy for them to learn the new words to them. The melodies came from here and there, e.g. from Oskar Merikanto, and the Swedish American Joe Hill, whose real name was Joel Hägglund. One melody was taken from the song "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", and others were taken from the theater and from folk music. [2]
Rantanen told of her finds to music producer and connoisseur of working class folk music Timo “Tipi” Tuovinen, and together they continued the detective work. Some four decades earlier, in the late 1970s, Tuovinen had collected anti-church American Finnish music, and he was planning to release a record of it, but the bankruptcy of Love Records put and end to those plans. In the 1980s, the Finnish record companies were not interested in such themes. [2]
The next thing to happen was that Tuovinen suggested to the rap artist Paleface that they should put together a band that would play the Finnish IWW songs. Paleface had earlier performed songs by Hiski Salomaa and Joe Hill, it did not take much persuasion to get him on the band wagon. The third member to join the group was Ossi Peura, and now they had a core of a band that could sing harmonies. After this accordionist Harri Kuusijärvi and drummer Anssi Nykänen joined the band. Tuovinen and Peura arranged the songs, with their previous expertise of the music genres of the times, but the use of imagination also played a part, as it had done with the American Finns of the time. [1]
The name Laulava unioni (‘The Singing Union’) was chosen for the band, as that is what the IWW was also called in America. [1]
The music for the song "Pontevat mahat" was composed by Oskar Merikanto, and the original is the provincial song of Lapland and North Ostrobothnia. Also the music in "Hoopon laulu" (‘The Hobo Song’) was by Merikanto, the original being called "Tula tuulan tuli tuli tei!" [3]
The melody for "Siispä laulakaa" (‘Sing, therefore’) was taken from the song "My Old Kentucky Home", whereas that of "Säälikää herroja" (‘Have mercy on the fine gentlemen’) is from an old Methodist hymn. Also the melody for "Karvajalka" is from a hymn called "Sunlight, Sunlight". In "Kirkkopotpuri" (‘Church Potpourri’) the melodies of a German youth song and the Swedish birthday song "Ja må han leva" are combined. [3]
The band had to exercise some artistic freedom, as IWW songs often had a great many verses, even up to 40, and it is not possible to perform such songs in their entirety today. [2]
Many of the songs are in major scale, which gives them a joyous feeling, and included are also some rowdy ditties making fun of this or that. [2]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Arrangement | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Uniossa on voima (There Is Power in a Union)" | Joe Hill, Finnish lyrics anonymous | Lewis E. Jones | Ossi Peura & Tipi Tuovinen | 3:07 |
| 2. | "Solidaarisuutta aina (Solidarity Forever)" | Ralph Chaplin, Finnish lyrics anonymous | trad. | Tipi Tuovinen | 3:12 |
| 3. | "Maailman proletaarit nouskaa" | Joe Hill, Finnish lyrics anonymous | Joe Hill | Ossi Peura & Tipi Tuovinen | 4:10 |
| 4. | "Long Way and Short Way" | Anonymous | Williams/Judge | Tipi Tuovinen | 5:10 |
| 5. | "Hoopon laulu" | Anonymous | Oskar Merikanto | Ossi Peura | 3:41 |
| 6. | "Pontevat mahat" | Anonymous | Oskar Merikanto | Tipi Tuovinen | 2:23 |
| 7. | "Siispä laulakaa" | Joe Hill, Finnish lyrics O.-J. Pellikka | Stephen Foster | Ossi Peura | 4:17 |
| 8. | "Langenneen laulu" | Anonymous | Garwood Simons | 4:52 | |
| 9. | "Säälikää herroja" | Pen name Ikki Ikinen = Henry Jokinen | Albert Midlane | Ossi Peura | 3:03 |
| 10. | "Rikkurin synty" | Jack London (trad.?) | 1:20 | ||
| 11. | "Karvajalka" | Joe Hill, Finnish lyrics anonymous | W. S. Weeden | Tipi Tuovinen | 6:14 |
| 12. | "Kirkkopotpuri" | Anonymous | trad. | Tipi Tuovinen | 6:18 |
| 13. | "Lännen lokari" | Hiski Salomaa | Hiski Salomaa | Ossi Peura & Tipi Tuovinen | 3:07 |
Joe Hill, born Joel Emmanuel Hägglund and also known as Joseph Hillström, was a Swedish-American labor activist, songwriter, and member of the Industrial Workers of the World. A native Swedish speaker, he learned English during the early 1900s, while working various jobs from New York to San Francisco. Hill, an immigrant worker frequently facing unemployment and underemployment, became a popular songwriter and cartoonist for the union. His songs include "The Preacher and the Slave", "The Tramp", "There Is Power in a Union", "The Rebel Girl", and "Casey Jones—the Union Scab", which express the harsh and combative life of itinerant workers, and call for workers to organize their efforts to improve working conditions.
The music of Finland can be roughly divided into folk music, classical and contemporary art music, and contemporary popular music.
Värttinä 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 transformations have taken place in the band since then. Värttinä shot into fame with the release of their 1991 album Oi Dai. As of 2009, the band consists of three lead female vocalists supported by three acoustic musicians. The vocalists sing in the Karelian dialect of the Finnish language.
Helsinki Cathedral is the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran cathedral of the Diocese of Helsinki, located in the neighborhood of Kruununhaka in the centre of Helsinki, Finland, at the Senate Square. The church was originally built from 1830 to 1852 as a tribute to the Grand Duke of Finland, Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. It was also known as St Nicholas's Church until the independence of Finland in 1917. It is a major landmark of the city, and possibly the most famous structure in Finland as a whole when viewed globally.
Aarre Merikanto was a Finnish composer.
Eppu Normaali is one of the most popular rock bands in Finland. The band formed in 1976 in Ylöjärvi, a small town near Tampere. The band is the best-selling music artist in Finland, with certified sales of nearly two million records, and it has also gained success especially in the use of the Finnish language in rock lyrics. In addition to their studio albums, Eppu Normaali also released live records, DVDs, and over 20 singles.
Teräsbetoni is a Finnish heavy/power metal band. Their first album, Metallitotuus, was released in 2005 and has so far sold more than 32,000 copies. Teräsbetoni has been strongly influenced by bands such as Manowar. The direct translation of the band's name is "steel concrete", Finnish for "reinforced concrete".
Finland participated in and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah" written by Mr Lordi. The song was performed by the band Lordi. The Finnish broadcaster Yleisradio (Yle) organised the national final Euroviisut 2006 in order to select the Finnish entry for the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece. 12 artists with two songs each were selected to compete in the national final, which consisted of four semi-finals and a final, taking place in February and March 2006. Twelve entries ultimately competed in the final on 10 March where votes from the public selected "Hard Rock Hallelujah" performed by Lordi as the winner.
Slow or DJ Slow is a Finnish DJ and music producer. Slow is known for his nu-jazz style and for his production of commercial music for high-profile advertising projects for TV and cinema.
Kinetik Control is a Finnish rock band formed in 2004 by the composer and lyricist Sauli Vuoti. The band's sound used to incorporate electronic elements to rock and pop music, but nowadays the music is more pop oriented. Kinetik Control has released eight singles, one EP and three albums. Kinetik Control's most known songs are "The Mutt", "No-One Knows About Us", "Give A Little Love", "All Fours" and "Chinese Medicine", which featured Michael Monroe as a guest musician.
Agents is a Finnish band formed in 1979, playing rautalanka, schlager and rock'n'roll music. The head figure and musical director of the band is solo guitarist Esa Pulliainen.
Hevisaurus are a Finnish heavy metal band that formed in 2009 with music aimed at children. The band members are known for performing in dinosaur costumes. Hevisaurus's debut concert was at the Elämä Lapselle charity concert on September 9, 2009. Their first tour started at the Tavastia Club in Helsinki on November 22, 2009.
Finland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Blackbird" and performed by Lasse Piirainen and Leena Tirronen under the name Norma John. The Finnish broadcaster Yleisradio (Yle) organised the national final Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2017 in order to select the Finnish entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. Ten entries were selected to compete in the national final on 28 January 2017 where the 50/50 combination of votes from ten international jury groups and votes from the public selected "Blackbird" performed by Norma John as the winner.
Miika Sebastian Tynkkynen is a Finnish politician. He has been chairman of the Finns Party Youth and third vice chairman of the Finns Party. He was elected as a member of Finnish Parliament in April 2019 and was a candidate as Member of European Parliament for the 2019 elections.
Mafia Honey is a Finnish pop-rock band formed in 2016 in Helsinki by the former vocalist of the ceased to exist band Sallan ja Miron matka maailman ympäri, signed by the local branch of Sony Music. The band released its self-titled debut solo album in 2019 and several singles from it, all the songs were written by Salla-Marja Hätinen.
Ano Veli Samuel Turtiainen is a Finnish former powerlifter and politician who served in the Parliament of Finland for the South-Eastern Finland constituency from 2019 to 2023. He is also founder and leader of Power Belongs to the People party. He lives in Juva. Turtiainen was elected to the parliament in the 2019 parliamentary election. Turtiainen was expelled from the Finns Party due to him posting a tweet perceived as mocking the murder of George Floyd in February 2021.
Rita Marketta Behm is a Finnish singer and songwriter. She uses her surname as her stage name. Behm rose to popularity in 2019 when Warner Music Finland released her hit single Hei rakas, a number 1 hit in Finland for 10 consecutive weeks.
Annikki Tähti was a Finnish schlager singer, known for her wide repertoire ranging from waltz and tango to swing and Latin music, over a career lasting more than fifty years.
Kalevauva.fi is a Finnish troubadour group band from Helsinki, singing in Finnish. The band has become famous for its songs published through the Internet, with lyrics gathered from the discussion forums of the Finnish Vauva magazine, other online discussion forums and social media.