THE HISTORY OF THE BAND

"Ur-Burlakat"

It all began when four like-minded musicians, Tarja and Tuomo Lamminsalo, Jukka Korhonen and Johanna Koukkunen, met at the Central Karelian Community College in the autumn of 1993. At first, making music together was just a way of unwinding, but their enthusiasm quickly grew and with it the desire to create new, more experimental music. Soon they were joined by Mirva Oinonen and Pauliina Lerche. During the spring, their repertoire began to include songs in Karelian, so it seemed only appropriate to call the band Burlakat, a Karelian word that means "vagabonds" - a good expression of the band's spirit.

Burlakat

Burlakat stepped into the spotlight for the first time at the annual Kihaus Folk Music Festival in Rääkkylä in the summer of 1994. They received a warm and enthusiastic reception, being hailed as "fresh and new, firmly based on talent and well-honed skills." (Kotiseutu-Uutiset)

Karelian-style

In the autumn Burlakat entered the Central Karelian Musical College, where they were taught by Sirkka Kosonen, who had just been appointed to the post of folk music teacher. Now they began regular, purposeful work on defining and developing the band and it was during this time that they created several of their best known songs, such as Tšastuška, Neido and Tšiganaizet. When the band played at the Kihaus festival the following July, they had an even more Karelian-flavoured repertoire.

Defining their own style

In the spring of 1996, Sirkka joined the band, whose skills and music now advanced at a staggering pace. Their performance at Kihaus was described as "Unbelievable! At last Karelianism has been brought up to date. It has been given a new form of expression without losing anything of the old, and with such skill and conviction!" (Karjalainen, Anita Korkatsu-Palo, Kihaus 1996)

Changes

A more unique style of performing for the Nordisk Union '97.

The following autumn, bassist Vesa-Pekka Pisto joined the band and at the end of the year Mirva and Jukka left. 1997 was a period of intensive touring. In January the band took part in the annual Folklandia cruise between Finland and Sweden, spring saw them recording their first demo tape, and during the summer they performed at many venues. Burlakat were also chosen to perform in the finals of the Suurella Sydämellä TV-show on the Finnish TV-channel TV2.

In October the band held a concert at Kerimäki, on Sirkka's home turf. "Burlakat's program was well constructed," wrote Tuija Pauhu, "They kept up intensity and excitement by altering tempo and mood. In just over an hour, the band performed an almost breathless folk musical trek from Karelia, through Africa, Bulgaria and Kerimäki, back to beyond our eastern border." (Itä-Savo, 14.10.1997)

Recording

In June 1998, Burlakat received a grant to make a CD of Border- and Eastern-Karelian folk music. Jukka rejoined the band for the recordings.

The photograph shows percussionist Antti Pyykkö interpreting the song Ihanainen Virta. Antti gradually became a regular member of the group.

Tšatuška

The album, Tšastuška, was released at the Kihaus festival in July 1999 and was well received by both audiences and critics see music). The same month, the band had its debut on the main stage at the Kaustisen Folk Music Festival. As well as touring in Finland, Burlakat performed for a delighted audience in Padova, Italy.

Touring

Following the release of the album, Burlakat toured all over Finland, giving concerts and performing at private functions and clubs. The band played in Stockholm for Finns living in Sweden and in January 2000 theyperformed with great success at Folklandia. At the Kihaus festival that year, Jukka Kyllönen made his debut as the band's percussionist/guitarist.

Becoming the Celebration Band at Kaustinen

In 2002 Burlakat was chosen to be the Celebration Band for the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival, the reason being "[t]radition; their own tunes and lyrics are arranged with new nuances and interpretations, originality and versatility". Burlakat gave several performances, including an hour-long celebration concert in the Music Hall and at the Ilo Pintaan Karelian rhythm concert in the Festival Arena.

When they performed later that year at Kihaus, the venue was too small to accommodate everyone who wanted to hear them. "Burlakat focuses on 'Karelianism'," wrote Kimmo Nevalainen, "Some of the songs are in the Karelian language, and - though it sounds like a cliché - their style is their own and not borrowed from someone else. Their approach to our common cultural heritage is unpretentious and down to earth." (Karjalainen, 6.7.2002).

In July the band performed at the Bomba Festival's 20th anniversary concert in Nurmes.

The Second Album
In April 2003, Burlakat began recording its second album, which was released at a concert held in Joensuu on 2 July. The new material was also showcased at Kihaus.

The new CD, Magie, contained even more songs in Karelian, as well as songs composed by the various members of the band, but the arrangements were still mostly the result of the combined efforts of all the band members. The sound and style of the band became better defined. Magie is a very versatile work, in which the various moods shift smoothly and easily, providing the listener with a good overall picture of the band's abilities. Magie was released on the Joensuu-based Pilfink Records label (www.pilfink.com).

A Licensing deal in Germany

In the spring of 2004, Burlakat signed a licensing deal with the German Humppa Records label and Magie was released in Germany (www.humppa-records.de).

Humppa Records is known in Germany for its Finnish music. Other groups signed to the label include Eläkeläiset and Mieskuoro Huutajat. Humppa Records wishes to expand into the fields of ethnic and world music, and Burlakat is the first band representing these genres to sign with them. Magie has received very positive reviews in Germany and Humppa Records expects Burlakat to receive good radio exposure in there (see music).

Humppa Records distribution is handled by Indigo, which is one of the largest independent distributors of records in Germany and also covers Switzerland, Austria, the Benelux countries and Japan. Indigo specialises in jazz and world music, and distributes another famous Finnish folk music group, Värttinä.

Burlakat's Tenth Anniversary

In the autumn of 2004 Burlakat celebrated its 10th anniversary with a tour of Finland, and in the spring of 2005 the band went on a tour of Germany.