Anne-Mari Kivimäki

The Hämeen lauluja (Songs of Häme) album is based on notes from a Häme accordion player, a sense of homeland and old stories. For centuries, lust
for love, scheming for love and love sorrows have been experienced in the lands of Häme and from these intriguing stories and spells, the songs The
Bee Spell, Hyhky Girls and The Sad Letter were born. The gospel song Ain’t No Grave, also versioned by Johnny Cash, is borrowed from America. The
album concludes with the Lullaby Suite, inspired by Armas Järnefelt’s fine composition Kehtolaulu (Lullaby), and the final song of the series is the
Kalevala lullaby Tuu tuu tupakkarulla that my mother sang for me and my brother and to her grandchildren, including my son Vilho.
In 1981, at the age of five, my skis took me from Uusimaa to Häme and I settled down in Pirkkala. In the early 1990s I became hooked on the magic
of folk music and went on to study music at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. I returned to Häme, to Tampere, in 2005. The Karelia study employed me for many years, and after completing my research in 2018, I wanted to change my musical province and grab the songs of my home region, Häme. Ville Rauhala promised to be the artistic producer and musician for the album and Pekko Käppi joined in to complete the trio. With these super talented players, we’ve created an album of minimalist, modern vocal music with improvisation and quiet enchantment. The Soviet-made Notka accordion is accompanied by the Palomylly band, also known as the Juhannuskylän jousiorkesteri (Midsummerville String Orchestra).