May 28, 2024

Svang interview

Harmonica group Svang join me on episode 112. Svang are a harmonica quartet from Finland, who have been performing and recording for over twenty years now. They first formed in 2003 when Jouko was teaching at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and suggested forming a harmonica group with two of his students. The group doesn’t play the typical harmonicas of a harmonica group, with a harmonetta used instead of a chord, and bluesy diatonics used as part of the sound alongside chromatic. Their repe...

Harmonica group Svang join me on episode 112.

Svang are a harmonica quartet from Finland, who have been performing and recording for over twenty years now. They first formed in 2003 when Jouko was teaching at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and suggested forming a harmonica group with two of his students.

The group doesn’t play the typical harmonicas of a harmonica group, with a harmonetta used instead of a chord, and bluesy diatonics used as part of the sound alongside chromatic.

Their repertoire includes folk music from Finland and the rest of the world, but is equally influenced by classical music or Finnish tango. They have released ten albums to date, with the latest, Svang Nuevo coming out in 2024 to celebrate their 20 year anniversary.

Links:
Website:
https://www.svang.fi/

Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/svangharmonica

Concerts:
https://www.svang.fi/concerts

Galileo Music: (to buy their albums)
https://www.galileomusic.de/katalogsuche.aspx

Videos:
YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@SvangHarmonicaQuartet

Appearance on Jools Holland BBC TV show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwEkbFHpLTc

Podcast website:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com

Donations:
If you want to make a voluntary donation to help support the running costs of the podcast then please use this link (or visit the podcast website link above):
https://paypal.me/harmonicahappyhour?locale.x=en_GB

Spotify Playlist:
Also check out the Spotify Playlist, which contains most of the songs discussed in the podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QC6RF2VTfs4iPuasJBqwT?si=M-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQ

Podcast sponsors:
This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS
--------------------------------
Blue Moon Harmonicas: https://bluemoonharmonicas.com

Support the show

01:45 - Svang are a harmonica quartet from Finland

02:01 - Jouko Kyhälä is the harmonetta player in the group

02:05 - Tapani Varis is the bass player, having replaced the original bass player two years ago

02:11 - First soloist is Eero Turkka

02:52 - The group founded in 2003 and have released ten albums since that time

03:23 - Have had good success throughout the twenty years they’ve been together

03:56 - The group formed when Jouko was a teacher of two of the other band members at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki

05:02 - Eero Grundström joined the group as the second soloist

05:07 - Jouko had recently bought a harmonetta and so used that in the group, instead of a chord harmonica

05:51 - Jouko thinks the chord harmonica is a cumbersome instrument, with the harmonetta much more versatile

06:35 - Eero Grundström plays chromatic and diatonic harmonicas in the band, liking the low diatonics

07:25 - The use of diatonic in a harmonica group

08:12 - Tapani Varis plays bass harmonica, writes some songs and is the newest member of the group having replaced previous bassist Pasi Leino

08:52 - Tapani plays a Suzuki bass harmonica, but didn’t play bass harmonica before joining the group, played bass guitar and wind instruments

09:10 - Transition from bass guitar to bass harmonica was not easy, with the two instruments quite different

10:26 - Use a lot of double stops when playing diatonics and like to make a different combinations of mixing different sounds

11:44 - The band members write the songs and contribute different styles

12:00 - Jouko has a Masters in Harmonica and then an Artistic Doctorate Study and a PhD from the Sibelius Academy and applied his learnings to Svang

13:01 - The Sibelius Academy teaches different genres of music, not just Classical

13:48 - The place the Svang group has had in their musical careers

14:32 - Filip Jers is a dep for the band when either of the lead players can’t make a gig

15:01 - Anne is the band’s booking agent and plays a critical role

15:36 - The band usually learn from written scores and then apply them to memory

17:20 - Use chromatics in different keys and write music out as transposed instruments (so write in the key of C)

18:36 - Eero Turkka was taking an exam at the Sibelius Academy when Svang formed

18:54 - Familiar with harmonica band tradition after Jouko introduced the band to the Harmonicats but that wasn’t the style of music the band wanted to play

19:20 - Harmonetta is an important part of the sound of the band

19:45 - Eero Turkka has lived in Bulgaria for the past twelve years, so they practise parts individually before meeting up before recording and tours

20:31 - Can’t practise remotely using software, as that doesn’t work

20:56 - The other three band members live in Finland, but not that close together, so they have ‘band camps’ where they play together

21:49 - The Finnish approach to music that Svang applies to their songs

22:16 - Play a lot of minor keys with Hohner producing the Echo double reed harmonica mainly for the Finnish market, which has minor one side and major the other

22:35 - Have released ten albums covering lots of different genres

22:53 - Released an album of the music of Jean Sibelius

23:27 - Previously made an album of Chopin’s music

24:30 - Audiences react well to Svang playing classical music, although Svang don’t necessarily try to play it in a ‘serious’ way, with Chopin inspired by folk music

25:46 - Entertainment is part of the Svang act, including crazy hairstyles

26:30 - They don’t put the type of ‘tricks’ into the act that some of the classic harmonica groups did, as they like to focus on the music

27:08 - Audiences don’t know what to expect from a harmonica group, so they can look impressive with things that are relatively simple to play

27:56 - Sometimes they embellish a song, like the Harry Potter song Hedwig’s Theme

28:46 - First album, Svang, was released in 2005, and how the band has evolved over the years

30:13 - Play lots of tango music, and released an album devoted to tango, which holds a special place in the hearts of the people of Finland

31:36 - Haven’t played for tango dances but have had tango dancers perform with them

32:06 - In Trad We Trust album was released in 2020, winning "Best Album" from British Songlines magazine

32:48 - The numerous different types of folk music in Finland

33:37 - Compose a lot of their own songs, and learnt a lot from each other

34:32 - Latest album released in 2024, Svang Nuevo, celebrating their twenty years together

35:27 - Svang Nuevo album title is down to the second incarnation of the band, with Tapani as new bass player appearing on an album for the first time

36:07 - Have recorded with a classical orchestra, which they have called Svangfonia, which they will be doing again in Germany in 2024 with a concert in November

37:13 - Several of the bands albums are with German record label Galileo, with Svang mainly playing in Germany speaking countries when outside of Finland

37:38 - Concerts are usually the whole evening

38:04 - Have played a good number of gigs through the years, with 70 a year in the best years, but less since the Covid pandemic

38:34 - Appeared on the BBC’s Jools Holland Hootenanny New Year’s Eve show

39:05 - Played in many countries, including Japan, around Europe, Mexico and the US

39:28 - Have only appeared at one harmonica festival (Trossingen), enjoying the surprise of a harmonica band at non-harmonica events

40:06 - Music awards

41:21 - Ten minute question

42:12 - Use ear monitors which really help the band stay together

43:25 - Mics used by Svang are small hand-held ones which allow more freedom of movement and some hand effects

44:02 - Eero Turkka does use a mic on a stand when using the two-sided Comet harmonica

44:48 - Tapani uses a Suzuki bass harmonica with a Suzuki mic attached

45:40 - Bass mic can feedback easily, which is another reason to use in-ear monitors

46:25 - Bass harmonica played acoustically is quite quiet

47:50 - Use a PA for amplification and apply reverb effect on parts of the song

48:27 - Microphone is an integral part of the sound as they never play acoustically

49:39 - Don’t use amplifiers, partly because it’s easy when touring

50:00 - Overdriven sounds can be obtained using software, which is not so good but works well enough

50:14 - Mics they use are Audio Technica condenser, originally designed for violins or wind instruments

50:53 - For effects use software during gigs, such as overdrive, reverb and delay

51:46 - Sound is controlled via a combination of the sound engineer and the band

52:29 - Advice for people interested in forming a harmonica group

52:52 - Key to Svang’s success has been combining harmonica traditions with other music traditions

53:58 - Other harmonica groups in Europe and Asia

54:09 - The name Svang comes from Jouko, who used it to describe music that didn’t swing while he was teaching the others at the Sibelius Academy

54:52 - There is the Swedish word ‘svang’ but that has a different meaning

55:03 - Future plans is to perform the songs from the new album

55:39 - The group plans to continue for the next 200 years (in different incarnations)

WEBVTT

00:00:00.162 --> 00:00:02.565
Harmonica group Svang joined me on episode 112.

00:00:02.786 --> 00:00:09.537
Svang are a harmonica quartet from Finland who have been performing and recording for over 20 years now.

00:00:10.298 --> 00:00:19.393
They first formed in 2003 when Joko was teaching at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and suggested forming a harmonica group with two of his students.

00:00:20.065 --> 00:00:30.538
The group doesn't play the typical harmonicas of a harmonica group, with a harmonetta used instead of a chord and bluesy diatonics used as part of the sound alongside chromatic and a whole new comet.

00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:38.487
Their repertoire includes folk music from Finland and the rest of the world, but is equally influenced by classical music or Finnish tango.

00:00:39.247 --> 00:00:47.277
They have released 10 albums to date, with the latest, Fang Nuvo, coming out in 2024 to celebrate their 20-year anniversary.

00:00:48.033 --> 00:00:50.560
This podcast is sponsored by Seidel Harmonicas.

00:00:50.981 --> 00:01:00.344
Visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seidel1847.com or on Facebook or Instagram at Seidel Harmonicas.

00:01:39.745 --> 00:01:41.728
Hello Slang and welcome to the podcast.

00:01:42.230 --> 00:01:42.549
Thank you.

00:01:42.609 --> 00:01:43.632
Thank you.

00:01:44.132 --> 00:01:44.953
So welcome guys.

00:01:45.013 --> 00:01:47.799
So you're a harmonica group from Finland.

00:01:48.118 --> 00:01:49.941
So there's four of you in the group.

00:01:50.042 --> 00:01:57.072
So I think probably best maybe if you introduced the members of the group so I don't pronounce your names wrong.

00:01:57.112 --> 00:02:00.477
So if you want to just tell me who's in the group first of all.

00:02:00.599 --> 00:02:00.938
Thank you.

00:02:01.439 --> 00:02:01.819
My name is

00:02:02.221 --> 00:02:05.286
Jouko Kyhälä and I'm playing harmonetta.

00:02:05.858 --> 00:02:10.187
My name is Tapan Ivaris and I play bass harmonica.

00:02:11.390 --> 00:02:20.852
Our first soloist is Eero Turkka and he's having technical troubles joining in but he's playing mainly the lead parts of our group.

00:02:22.274 --> 00:02:25.680
Yeah, so just to explain, yeah, so we've got you four guys on.

00:02:25.881 --> 00:02:27.623
We're actually missing one at the moment.

00:02:27.644 --> 00:02:32.332
Hopefully he'll join us shortly and then Eero, as you say, is just having a few issues.

00:02:32.372 --> 00:02:38.383
So we'll cover with Joko and Topani as best we can and then hopefully the other guys can chip in as we go through.

00:02:38.424 --> 00:02:51.453
MUSIC You're the New Harmonica Quartet from Finland.

00:02:51.612 --> 00:02:56.986
You founded, I think, back in 2003, so your 20th anniversary just gone, yeah?

00:02:57.207 --> 00:02:58.129
Yes, that's true.

00:02:58.812 --> 00:03:01.318
It's funny to say New Harmonica Group anymore.

00:03:01.338 --> 00:03:04.066
20 years is quite an age for a band.

00:03:04.449 --> 00:03:05.251
Absolutely, yes.

00:03:05.290 --> 00:03:07.973
So congratulations on a long distinguished career now.

00:03:08.054 --> 00:03:09.975
You've had 10 albums out during that time.

00:03:09.996 --> 00:03:12.818
You just had one released this year, 2024.

00:03:12.859 --> 00:03:15.122
So we'll get on to that shortly.

00:03:15.162 --> 00:03:16.924
So that's well done.

00:03:16.963 --> 00:03:23.050
So, you know, how's it been, you know, over that 20 years as a harmonica group and, you know, what sort of success have you had?

00:03:23.611 --> 00:03:26.534
Well, we have had quite a good success.

00:03:26.895 --> 00:03:57.213
I think we have been very lucky that we have found persons who are interested in selling this group and interested in our music and from the very beginning we found this formation such a funny thing to make music with sounds of harmonicas only that we got fascinated by the idea that we could make new music with harmonica band and i think that was the speciality of the start

00:03:59.906 --> 00:04:09.218
About

00:04:09.278 --> 00:04:10.360
how you all formed then.

00:04:10.480 --> 00:04:15.788
So you all studied at the Sibelius Academy in Finland, and Sibelius, of course, is a famous Finnish composer.

00:04:16.189 --> 00:04:22.798
So I think you were teaching Joko at the Academy, and then you met a few of the other guys, and that's how the band started.

00:04:22.877 --> 00:04:24.500
You could tell us about how you got together.

00:04:24.519 --> 00:04:25.420
Oh, yes.

00:04:26.201 --> 00:04:28.766
Eero Turka and Eero Grundström, both of them.

00:04:29.026 --> 00:04:33.735
They were my students in the beginning of 2000s.

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Erturka was having an exam that he was supposed to compose his own music for a group.

00:04:42.415 --> 00:04:44.841
And I suggested to him that, okay, why won't you...

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Instead of composing for a typical folk music group with fiddles and other typical folk instruments, why wouldn't you compose for a harmonica group?

00:04:55.271 --> 00:04:56.911
And that was how it started.

00:04:56.951 --> 00:05:14.848
Obviously Eero was the lead soloist because it was his exam and then the other Eero, Grundström, was chosen to be the second soloist and I had just recently bought a harmonetta by that time and I said, okay, I will learn to play the harmonetta and I'll be the chords.

00:05:15.247 --> 00:05:19.232
Then we We just needed to find the bass outside of Sibelius Academy.

00:05:19.252 --> 00:05:23.216
Of course, there was no one here in the house who played bass harmonica.

00:05:23.596 --> 00:05:23.836
Great.

00:05:23.896 --> 00:05:27.901
So you mentioned there that you play harmonetta yokels.

00:05:28.401 --> 00:05:34.067
So this is instead of a chord harmonica, which traditionally we'd seen a harmonica band.

00:05:34.127 --> 00:05:37.692
So we've talked about harmonettas before on the podcast.

00:05:37.711 --> 00:05:45.360
So aware of what they are, the fact that they're a sort of keyed instrument that allows us to play chords on a harmonica sort of sound.

00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:51.048
So that was the decision that, you know, you definitely don't play any chord harmonica, it's just the harmonetta as a chord, yeah?

00:05:51.548 --> 00:05:58.860
Yes, I think the chord harmonica, in my opinion, it's kind of a cubism instrument.

00:05:58.959 --> 00:06:08.334
The chords are only the basic formation, and to me, who is originally a keyboardist, they sound quite bad.

00:06:08.802 --> 00:06:12.187
you should be able to choose how you position your chords.

00:06:12.406 --> 00:06:16.192
So the normal chord harmonica was no question for me.

00:06:16.312 --> 00:06:20.096
I think it's not a very musical instrument, in my opinion.

00:06:20.918 --> 00:06:28.528
And harmonica is really the only harmonica that can produce the chords so that I can enjoy the sound of the chords.

00:06:30.091 --> 00:06:30.591
Fantastic.

00:06:30.632 --> 00:06:34.956
So we bring the other guys in and what you guys play.

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So Eero, tell us about yourself and what you play.

00:06:38.497 --> 00:06:57.153
I play diatonic and chromatic harmonicas and mostly I play like second voice and my specialty seems to be both playing second voice, playing low harmonicas and then arranging stuff.

00:06:57.826 --> 00:07:10.059
Normally Eero Turkka is the solist and I play something under it but in this new album I also play some leads more than before.

00:07:25.218 --> 00:07:27.420
Interesting that you play diatonic and chromatic.

00:07:27.480 --> 00:07:33.949
So we do get some diatonic in harmonica groups before, but it's not that usual to have diatonics in harmonica groups, is it?

00:07:35.110 --> 00:07:35.451
No,

00:07:36.312 --> 00:07:41.980
but also we use lots of combination of chromatic and diatonic.

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And that's where the many interesting sounds can come.

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When there's like diatonic solist with some bending and overbending and then low chromatic stuff.

00:07:55.009 --> 00:07:55.571
under it.

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That's my

00:07:57.293 --> 00:08:15.036
favourite sound on

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swang.

00:08:25.026 --> 00:08:27.988
some songs for this group.

00:08:28.189 --> 00:08:30.651
I'm actually the newest member of the group.

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Originally they had Basileino playing with them, but he chose to retire maybe a year or two ago.

00:08:39.818 --> 00:08:51.788
Gradually I've been coached to this position that I'm now, and I've been playing gigs with the band now for, what, almost two years.

00:08:52.350 --> 00:08:54.991
It's a Suzuki bass you play, I think, isn't it?

00:08:54.991 --> 00:09:01.958
yes yes Suzuki has has made it manufactured yes that's correct

00:09:02.220 --> 00:09:04.883
so did you play bass harmonica before you joined the group

00:09:05.202 --> 00:09:31.750
no before playing any gigs with them I practiced for a year because you know I'm not a harmonica player at all I'm a bass player and a wind instrument player and and they kind of figured out that well we might ask Tapani to join in I guess that's how it went because he plays bass, wind instruments, equals bass harmonica.

00:09:31.769 --> 00:09:32.190
Fantastic.

00:09:32.770 --> 00:09:35.373
So you play a normal stringed bass then?

00:09:36.173 --> 00:09:36.374
Yes.

00:09:36.594 --> 00:09:39.376
So how did that translate to moving to play a bass harmonica?

00:09:39.876 --> 00:09:48.684
In the beginning it was quite difficult, but eventually I'm slowly getting hold of it a little bit better.

00:09:49.745 --> 00:09:54.570
Do you find you can play the same bass lines on the bass harmonica, or do you have to approach it quite differently?

00:09:55.009 --> 00:09:56.231
It's a different approach.

00:09:57.513 --> 00:10:05.764
Things that are easy on normal bass are not necessarily easy at all for bass harmonica and vice versa.

00:10:06.264 --> 00:10:09.187
And so we'll see if we can get Eero Turco to speak.

00:10:09.347 --> 00:10:19.902
I probably wanted to add that besides normal blues harp kind of diatonic and chromatic harmonicas, we are using quite a lot of so-called double reed harmonicas.

00:10:20.258 --> 00:10:25.764
and a type of echo harp by Hodder and Comet, which is like an octave-tuned harp.

00:10:26.184 --> 00:10:37.197
And also, when we are playing with normal blues harps like diatonic, we are also using quite a lot of double stops, because you can play an interval like third or fourth, or you can play in octaves.

00:10:37.876 --> 00:10:47.864
Also, all this makes it more diverse sound-wise, because there are very different sounds like this diatonic double reed, harmonica stay accordion sounding

00:11:02.581 --> 00:11:21.225
You were all well I think all of you the Sibelius Academy as I say in in Finland there so you we are all there studying different instruments you know i appreciate that you know studying um harmonica at these institutions isn't always easy although yoko will get onto your your position there but you were all playing other instruments were you

00:11:22.307 --> 00:11:34.546
yes it's like all of us i think we played many different instruments besides harmonica i was always singing also but in slang we wanted to keep it instrumental so we don't include any other instruments

00:11:35.426 --> 00:11:41.513
Definitely, that's what we like here as well, a proper harmonica group, so that's great to hear, thanks Eero.

00:11:42.214 --> 00:11:58.513
So Jokko, just turning back to yourself, so I think I just mentioned there about studying the Sibelius Academy, so you I think did study the harmonica exclusively at the academy, and in fact I think you have a PhD in sort of harmonica studies, so what is it you've got exactly?

00:11:59.457 --> 00:12:07.629
Yes, I was the first to graduate as a master's bachelor from Sibelius Academy in the 1990s.

00:12:08.471 --> 00:12:11.115
First person to study harmonica and graduate.

00:12:11.155 --> 00:12:20.190
And then later, 2004 to 2007, I made artistic doctoral studies and a PhD.

00:12:21.153 --> 00:12:21.735
of music.

00:12:22.197 --> 00:12:25.528
So I made an artistic doctoral degree.

00:12:25.548 --> 00:12:43.375
In 2007 I graduated and I spent four years after the bachelor studies to really study harmonica and the possibilities of the instrument and made five concerts with different viewpoints to what you can do with harmonica.

00:12:43.856 --> 00:13:01.032
Yeah and Swang was kind of born at the same time so I used Swang as an experimental laboratory also that I brought in the new ideas that I found out when I was studying and so we could put them in practice quite soon that was very very good combination.

00:13:01.552 --> 00:13:01.851
Sure, yeah.

00:13:01.932 --> 00:13:06.998
And so the Sibelius Academy, obviously, again, the Sibelius is a Finnish composer.

00:13:07.038 --> 00:13:09.299
So is it sort of more classical based?

00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:14.686
You know, you're doing music reading or is it quite wide what's covered at the Sibelius Academy?

00:13:15.466 --> 00:13:17.188
There is different departments.

00:13:17.249 --> 00:13:24.475
There is definitely main, the biggest department is for the classical musicians and orchestra musicians.

00:13:24.636 --> 00:13:29.322
But there is jazz department, folk music department and music education department.

00:13:29.741 --> 00:13:48.241
And at least the folk music education is quite wide and you have a lot of opportunities you don't need to go one direct path but you are supposed to be creative and you are allowed to experiment so that's wonderful place to study and become an artist.

00:13:48.782 --> 00:14:03.938
Yeah fantastic so you all play I was going to say different instruments and so as the you know how's the harmonica group been in your career I take it you probably play in different bands and outfits so is Is the harmonica group quite a major thing for you?

00:14:03.999 --> 00:14:04.860
Is it a sideline?

00:14:05.061 --> 00:14:07.344
How important has it been over the last 20 years for you guys?

00:14:08.424 --> 00:14:17.977
At least for me, this is the main band in my musician's life that most of the concerts in my life I have had with Swang.

00:14:18.618 --> 00:14:27.269
We have such a special sound and a combination of persons that all the other bands, they are not so active and not so popular.

00:14:27.841 --> 00:14:30.865
So you played all around the world and had great success.

00:14:31.625 --> 00:14:32.586
So we'll get into that.

00:14:32.625 --> 00:14:37.110
But we should also mention an honorary member of yours, an associated member, I think you call it.

00:14:37.190 --> 00:14:41.774
It was Filip Gjers from Sweden, who I've had on the podcast before, and he's a great player.

00:14:41.913 --> 00:14:45.798
And I know, Joko, you've released an album with Filip, haven't you?

00:14:45.817 --> 00:14:47.818
So what's his role in the group?

00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:51.221
Filip jumps in if one of the heroes cannot.

00:14:51.842 --> 00:14:55.426
Filip is so talented that he can jump in either for Mr.

00:14:55.466 --> 00:14:56.706
Grundström or Mr.

00:14:56.746 --> 00:14:57.248
Turcka.

00:14:57.807 --> 00:15:00.993
He has been a stand-in guest for both of them.

00:15:01.352 --> 00:15:01.813
That's fantastic.

00:15:01.833 --> 00:15:06.822
And you also got, I should mention as well, so Anne is your booking agent, an important part of the group as well, I'm sure.

00:15:06.861 --> 00:15:07.883
Yes.

00:15:08.403 --> 00:15:19.922
I don't know if we would still exist if there wouldn't be Anne Hofstadler, who has been maybe 16 years selling us concerts and being the one who tells that, OK, guys, go on and compose new music.

00:15:20.042 --> 00:15:21.104
We need a new CD.

00:15:21.985 --> 00:15:25.169
We call her Empress, Her Royal Highness.

00:15:25.953 --> 00:15:46.726
so we touched on there you know about the Sibelius Academy and again maybe classical and would you consider yourself you guys more from the folk tradition in the academy and what about when you you know you talked about you're all composing do you play from written scores you know do you write it out you know how do you approach that side of things it's a

00:15:47.086 --> 00:15:58.086
mixed this is From my bands, the one who use most scores, not every time and not every song, but lots of things are written.

00:15:58.446 --> 00:16:10.741
Like they are first maybe written, then we try it out and rewrite and then change things and learn and then play without the scores.

00:16:10.822 --> 00:16:24.326
But because roles are so different than other bands, you really have to think about arrangements and in many cases it's just practical to write

00:16:25.288 --> 00:16:33.958
I mean what about writing for you know sort of diatonics and and the harmonettas and things is that it's just something I guess you got used to over 20 years of doing it

00:16:34.899 --> 00:16:42.846
yeah we have systems like like for harmonetta you just write like Chord symbols plus rhythms.

00:16:43.668 --> 00:16:54.089
I write also the chords because I want to hear them from Sibelius software when I write how they may sound.

00:16:54.129 --> 00:16:58.576
But in practice Jouko plays from chord symbols.

00:16:59.169 --> 00:17:04.663
And for diatonics, I like to read them like they will be a C harp.

00:17:04.742 --> 00:17:12.862
So if I write for A major harp, it will read like C major in the score.

00:17:13.222 --> 00:17:14.305
I like to transpose.

00:17:14.365 --> 00:17:14.685
Yeah.

00:17:14.849 --> 00:17:50.416
turkka is better reading in both ways like transposing on the fly but yeah we write because we use lots of chromatics in different keys as well even though chromatic can be played in any keys but it sounds better in certain keys like usually the flat keys are both easier to play and sounds better like a flat e flat and so on so It's written like a transposed instrument, like saxophones or trumpets.

00:17:52.097 --> 00:17:53.479
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00:18:22.064 --> 00:18:45.518
have a question or need advice just drop Jonathan a line on sales at theharmonicacompany.com and he'll be happy to help the discount code and email address are also listed on the podcast page going back to how you formed I think you were saying earlier on Jocko that you were teaching the academy and the two of the guys joined so they were playing harmonica there

00:18:45.979 --> 00:18:59.046
yeah actually when I was doing the exam I was familiar with the harmonica band tradition, like because of Yoko introduced us to the harmonic cats, you know, American popular harmonica

00:18:59.125 --> 00:19:11.298
bands.

00:19:11.317 --> 00:19:19.965
The music, I was never really so big fan of that kind of music, like easy listening jazz and virtuoso showcase tricks.

00:19:20.258 --> 00:19:30.798
And actually finding harmonetta, I think it was very crucial because it has very nice and very rhythmic sound because you can make all the possible kind of harmonies.

00:19:45.185 --> 00:19:47.847
So what about the practicalities of you guys meeting?

00:19:47.887 --> 00:19:49.630
Are you all, are you based in Helsinki?

00:19:49.650 --> 00:19:54.034
Do you all live there and, you know, you're able to get together and practice or are you spread out?

00:19:54.673 --> 00:19:59.137
Just to say that I've been living almost like now 12 years in Bulgaria.

00:19:59.478 --> 00:19:59.818
Okay.

00:20:00.098 --> 00:20:08.286
Which makes it kind of complicated like seeing often but anyway, like the other guys also, they are busy all day even though we are living close to each other.

00:20:08.625 --> 00:20:30.107
So they're not always free so we strictly kind of before concerts we know that everybody repeats they rehearse their own material like the songs that and we agree about beforehand what we are going to play more or less by ourselves and then if needed usually when we make a new material for the new cd so then we make three four days spend

00:20:30.147 --> 00:20:42.500
some time together yeah yeah are you able to practice remotely i remember during the pandemic there was these claims some different software that they removed the lagging you were able to practice live but i don't think they were quite there no no

00:20:43.843 --> 00:20:45.464
that's nonsense yeah we don't have

00:20:46.066 --> 00:20:46.946
at least that kind of

00:20:47.086 --> 00:20:47.548
connections

00:20:47.607 --> 00:20:48.269
that we could use.

00:20:48.549 --> 00:21:00.609
So you practice your parts individually and then you get together before any concerts or when you're recording so that you're up to speed and you know so it works that way for you that's great and what about the the other three guys are you all based in the same place or you spread out?

00:21:01.392 --> 00:21:09.625
We are spread out I live half an hour outside of Helsinki Tapani lives in Helsinki and Eero lives more than half an hour from Helsinki.

00:21:10.114 --> 00:21:17.286
But that's great that you're able to keep the group going for 20 years and you're pretty spread out, especially with the era you're being in Bulgaria, as you say.

00:21:17.326 --> 00:21:26.840
So there's hope for other people then to form groups, you think, and you've managed to do it over all that time and keep it together, even though you don't live on the same

00:21:26.921 --> 00:21:27.481
street, right?

00:21:28.022 --> 00:21:31.888
Yes, and we have had this special, I think, called the band camps.

00:21:32.009 --> 00:21:35.555
When we start to make new music, we come to my studio.

00:21:36.056 --> 00:21:36.998
I have a studio...

00:21:37.442 --> 00:21:44.355
at my house and we come there for a week and practice and create new music and then we have another week to record.

00:21:44.494 --> 00:21:48.402
So we spend a lot of time when it's time to do something new.

00:21:49.644 --> 00:21:50.866
So let's get into the music then.

00:21:50.886 --> 00:22:10.864
So I read a good description from Joko from you about about the roots of Finnish music, and it lies between the East and the West, kind of melancholic Russian and kind of more cheerful Swedish, and it's in the middle of those, and then you kind of get this minor tonality with wistfulness, reading the description here.

00:22:10.903 --> 00:22:15.367
So, yeah, tell us about that approach to music that you have there in Finland.

00:22:16.067 --> 00:22:20.311
The keys, like, there are more minor keys, definitely, like in Finland.

00:22:21.093 --> 00:22:34.469
In folk music, a long time they produced only for Finland the kind of echo double reed harmonica that you turn over so there's you have on one side minor on the other side there's parallel major

00:22:34.945 --> 00:22:36.847
We'll have a look through your albums.

00:22:37.048 --> 00:22:44.037
And so, as I said earlier on, you've released 10 albums over the last 20 years and covering lots of grounds.

00:22:44.718 --> 00:22:49.644
Some things that have come out which pick on that Finnish approach to music.

00:22:49.723 --> 00:22:52.788
So, first of all, we're talking about Sibelius.

00:22:52.867 --> 00:22:58.994
So you produced an album of Sibelius's music, which celebrated his 150th birthday.

00:22:59.015 --> 00:23:22.795
Sibelius So that was quite a big task for you guys, right, to take on your sort of national composer and to do it on harmonica, because you wanted to do it well, right, and to do it justice.

00:23:23.695 --> 00:23:24.016
Oh, yes.

00:23:24.396 --> 00:23:26.539
But we had an earlier experience.

00:23:26.700 --> 00:23:30.285
We made also a tribute to Chopin.

00:23:36.614 --> 00:23:36.733
Chopin.

00:23:42.594 --> 00:24:29.730
that was the first time we tried to arrange classical music and we learned a lot of this transcribing piano music for harmonicas so Sibelius was a natural next step but it was very interesting I and Eero Grundström we made the arrangements and at least I just had the whole orchestra score in front of me and I was trying to imagine which are the most crucial parts I can deliver with four harmonicas out of the work and still make it function as meant by Mr Sibelius himself and I think we succeeded and the audience seems to love some of the versions of swang

00:24:29.770 --> 00:24:42.272
so yeah so exactly that's when you play to the classical audiences for example this sibelius music that's um it's well received right and they uh you're representing the the harmonica well in this uh more serious setting

00:24:42.817 --> 00:24:58.309
It's actually, it doesn't have to be serious, because I think especially when you play harmonica with classical music, there's a little bit of unintended comics in there, because it's like the sound can't be the same as a symphony orchestra.

00:24:58.657 --> 00:25:03.627
but also maybe that's why we have tried these sidesteps to classical music.

00:25:03.867 --> 00:25:07.756
We have done it with composers that actually took a lot from folk music.

00:25:08.017 --> 00:25:12.826
Like Chopin was very inspired from Polish folk music and Mazurkas.

00:25:26.178 --> 00:25:31.486
Also Sibelius studied a lot of Finnish runo singing and Karelian dances.

00:25:31.826 --> 00:25:34.128
So it's not completely only classical.

00:25:34.309 --> 00:25:39.297
So maybe the harmonica brings these classical composers back closer to folk music.

00:25:39.557 --> 00:25:45.965
Our interpretation, because we are not classical musicians in the first place, so we tend to make everything sound like dance music.

00:25:46.307 --> 00:25:50.192
And of course the great tradition of harmonica groups is to be very easy entertainers.

00:25:50.873 --> 00:25:51.453
Yeah, yeah.

00:25:51.682 --> 00:26:03.957
exactly and it's like it's allowed to smile you know it doesn't have to be serious it's like we can play seriously without being comedic but still like enjoying the and admitting the funny part of it.

00:26:04.498 --> 00:26:05.058
Yeah.

00:26:05.078 --> 00:26:07.323
You guys have got kind of crazy hairstyles and things.

00:26:07.443 --> 00:26:11.971
Are they just for the act or do you always have your hairstyles like that?

00:26:11.991 --> 00:26:15.096
No, it's funny because I think it's very natural.

00:26:15.458 --> 00:26:18.343
Everybody decides how they cut their own hair.

00:26:18.683 --> 00:26:23.192
But now it's kind of funny because when you're looking 20 years, more or less the same.

00:26:23.251 --> 00:26:26.136
So you want something interesting to...

00:26:26.721 --> 00:26:31.009
and to be at least experimenting with your hairstyle.

00:26:31.028 --> 00:26:43.648
And do you do anything else particularly to entertain like the old, you know, the classic harmonica groups, you know, the sort of tricks and show things they would do, like running around to the other side and all these things that you see on those old videos?

00:26:46.432 --> 00:26:46.953
Not really.

00:26:46.973 --> 00:26:50.358
We try to avoid that.

00:26:51.280 --> 00:26:53.825
We, of course, the things we use...

00:26:54.817 --> 00:27:06.507
Of course we get all the low-hanging fruits when it comes to impressive sounding things from harmonica, but we have no need to show off.

00:27:07.509 --> 00:27:56.211
And it's funny that actually audience has no clue about what is easy and what is difficult because sometimes playing the melody the whole melody like expressively play all the notes is the hard part and then you can do something that is extremely easy sometimes it's vice versa but our main goal is to play the music not the harmonica so we approach it like for example with classical music Sometimes it's impossible to play all the fast notes what composer composed but we extract the main melody and then play that as good as we can and that's the thing and no one misses the fast notes.

00:27:56.432 --> 00:28:03.203
Sometimes we can add like we did when we did this Harry Potter music, Hedwig's theme.

00:28:20.268 --> 00:28:34.922
Here is the example if you want to hear from harmonica perspective how to avoid playing impossible notes but still play very, very fast and impressive notes that are easier from harmonica.

00:28:35.262 --> 00:28:45.076
So there's lots of thinking, thinking behind, but our impressiveness is in different place than these traditional tricks.

00:28:45.698 --> 00:28:53.551
yeah sure so your first album came out in 2005 which you called spang and you got dance ribbons finish folk balkan beats on there

00:28:53.592 --> 00:29:05.232
so

00:29:07.490 --> 00:29:09.613
So how do you think you've evolved over the years?

00:29:09.692 --> 00:29:12.276
Have you got a lot better?

00:29:12.497 --> 00:29:15.339
What have you done to improve your repertoire?

00:29:15.361 --> 00:29:16.060
What do you think?

00:29:17.103 --> 00:29:25.693
It's funny that the basics of swang kind of accidentally formed from the very first album.

00:29:26.515 --> 00:29:38.451
Like things like Balkan music, tango, then something completely different, then some Finnish traditional rootsy folk music.

00:29:38.992 --> 00:29:45.286
But when we start to evolve from there, we of course got lot better players.

00:29:45.586 --> 00:29:55.067
Jouko did all his research with playing techniques, with doctoral exams and we picked up all the information and rehearsed.

00:29:55.367 --> 00:29:57.993
Then we learned to play as a group.

00:29:58.369 --> 00:30:08.262
not only rhythmic music, but also more classical rubatos, accelerandos, diminuendos, retardandos, and so on.

00:30:09.644 --> 00:30:12.548
So, yeah, it's expanded a lot.

00:30:13.810 --> 00:30:16.714
So you mentioned a few different styles, so you play various different styles.

00:30:16.755 --> 00:30:18.938
So you mentioned tango, so we should mention this.

00:30:18.978 --> 00:30:25.487
So tango apparently has a special place in the hearts of Finnish people, so you released an album of tango music.

00:30:25.507 --> 00:30:26.167
TANGO MUSIC

00:30:28.609 --> 00:30:33.213
Thank you.

00:30:42.337 --> 00:30:48.553
Tell us about Finnish tango and your album playing tango music, which you also have on pretty much all your albums, Jek.

00:30:48.814 --> 00:30:51.881
Well, the tango has a special position in Finnish culture.

00:30:52.121 --> 00:31:00.421
It came here about 100 years ago, like to other countries in Europe, and Finnish people really loved tango.

00:31:01.218 --> 00:31:28.450
and especially after wartime it really popular among the dancing audiences all around the country and there was big tango singer stars and they developed a very feelings type of melancholy minor melodies tangos and the lyrics were very emotional and the golden era of tango was maybe from 1950s to end of 1970s even.

00:31:28.470 --> 00:31:35.842
Now it has been a little bit fading but still it has a big part in the Finnish music culture.

00:31:36.481 --> 00:31:40.250
So do you guys play, have you played to dances, you know, to tango dances?

00:31:40.932 --> 00:31:41.432
Not really.

00:31:41.472 --> 00:31:43.196
We haven't had an opportunity.

00:31:43.237 --> 00:31:48.607
We had performed with tango dancers in concert, but not played for dance.

00:32:06.018 --> 00:32:16.347
And then you did an album in 2020 called In Trad We Trust, which won the best album from the British Songlines magazine, which I think is a folk magazine here in Britain.

00:32:16.428 --> 00:32:21.534
So this was based around a lot of kind of Finnish folk music, was it?

00:32:22.914 --> 00:32:27.819
Yes, we wanted to make a theme album of only traditional tunes.

00:32:28.180 --> 00:32:33.885
Trad was a tribute to folk tradition of Finland and Scandinavia.

00:32:48.865 --> 00:33:20.837
And also it's like it's really known like how many different kind of folk music you have in Finland because the Eastern and Western traditions they are quite different and the instruments are very different also like the West Coast is lots of bands or musicians playing with accordion and fiddle but then in the Eastern tradition it was more like these old epic songs instruments like Kantele and Jouhikko that's also we wanted to try out how this kind of Completely different music with sound, with harmonicas.

00:33:20.877 --> 00:33:32.574
Can you imitate the harmonica?

00:33:36.993 --> 00:33:41.377
Yeah, and so a lot of them, as we've said, are composed by yourselves.

00:33:41.417 --> 00:33:50.748
Obviously, you played some music of Chopin and Sibelius and some traditional, but you're applying the harmonica approach to these and then composing some of your own songs too.

00:33:51.669 --> 00:33:51.929
Yes.

00:33:52.369 --> 00:33:56.733
Well, we played together for such a long time and we have composers from each of us.

00:33:57.153 --> 00:33:59.817
So you learn a lot from your colleagues.

00:34:00.217 --> 00:34:04.321
Like playing, learning Erg Rostram's compositions like...

00:34:04.930 --> 00:34:05.912
It's really useful.

00:34:06.352 --> 00:34:16.688
When I'm learning those tunes and playing them, I know, okay, he used this and this kind of double stops with chromatic harmonica, for example.

00:34:17.349 --> 00:34:24.402
And then you can use the same tools or same methods to learn about harmonica.

00:34:24.461 --> 00:34:26.264
So next time you can try it out with your own

00:34:26.304 --> 00:34:26.826
composers.

00:34:27.347 --> 00:34:31.934
That's how all the members of the band, they're kind of teaching me a lot.

00:34:32.514 --> 00:34:39.739
Your latest album has come out this year, 2024, it's Spangol Nouveau, which is celebrating your 20 years together.

00:34:55.233 --> 00:34:56.456
Tell us about this album.

00:34:56.657 --> 00:34:57.878
You've been touring around.

00:34:58.099 --> 00:34:58.740
Very present.

00:34:58.760 --> 00:35:03.550
We so far played the material two times in Germany and one time in Finland so far.

00:35:03.789 --> 00:35:09.019
In concert, some of the tunes we actually tried out before we were in Japan in January.

00:35:09.079 --> 00:35:10.842
So we tried out one tune there.

00:35:18.722 --> 00:35:38.650
Svango Nuovo has kind of double meaning because as a band we are renewed ourselves with Tapani Baristin's bass so it's kind of second incarnation of the band.

00:35:42.273 --> 00:35:47.880
hey

00:35:48.360 --> 00:35:59.512
everybody you're listening to neil warren's harmonica happy hour podcast sponsored by tom halcheck and blue moon harmonicas out of clearwater florida the best in custom

00:36:07.521 --> 00:36:15.632
Another interesting project you've had is you've had the Svangfonia, which is, were you playing with a classical orchestra?

00:36:16.092 --> 00:36:17.936
Yes, that's very interesting.

00:36:20.139 --> 00:36:31.614
So we wanted to try what could an orchestra bring more to our compositions, and this idea got some attention.

00:36:31.969 --> 00:36:59.168
boost and finally we ended up two years ago we started to play with Finnish symphony orchestras music of swang and some Finnish tangos and a small orchestra and actually this year we are going to do the same thing in Germany and that will be interesting we have a Finnish conductor traveling with us who knows our music and who can guide the symphony orchestra players how to survive the rhythmical aspect of our music

00:37:00.385 --> 00:37:03.909
Great, so you'll be doing some concerts in Germany with this orchestra?

00:37:04.989 --> 00:37:06.891
It will be next November.

00:37:06.931 --> 00:37:12.757
We have one gig in Württemberg in Germany that we perform with the local symphony orchestra.

00:37:13.177 --> 00:37:19.463
Several of your albums are on a German label, Galileo Music, so you've got a connection into Germany.

00:37:22.086 --> 00:37:26.610
Yes, I think we have mainly been playing in German-speaking countries.

00:37:26.731 --> 00:37:37.523
Most of our gigs have been in Germany, And then, yeah, it was natural to pick up a German label.

00:37:38.273 --> 00:37:39.795
about 10 years ago.

00:37:39.815 --> 00:37:40.016
Great

00:37:40.036 --> 00:37:40.576
stuff, yeah.

00:37:40.976 --> 00:37:47.782
So talking about your gigs and the gigs you play through the years, do you do like two sets, three sets, or do you just tend to do one set?

00:37:48.001 --> 00:37:50.465
How do you break up with it being a harmonica group?

00:37:51.105 --> 00:38:04.195
Normally they are like two sets in a concert house, sometimes one long set, but basically we can play the whole evening and be interesting for the whole concert.

00:38:05.097 --> 00:38:08.199
And so how many gigs do you generally get?

00:38:08.239 --> 00:38:10.704
You know, you've been very busy through the years.

00:38:10.764 --> 00:38:12.427
You know, is it just the occasional gig?

00:38:12.507 --> 00:38:14.532
You know, how popular and busy have you been?

00:38:14.893 --> 00:38:16.655
Oh, the best years have been that we...

00:38:17.016 --> 00:38:22.106
I think best year we had was close to 70 concerts in one year.

00:38:22.186 --> 00:38:26.876
But typically, I would say that before COVID times, we had something...

00:38:27.873 --> 00:38:29.695
from 30 to 50 between that.

00:38:30.356 --> 00:38:32.717
And after COVID, it has been a lot worse.

00:38:32.818 --> 00:38:34.079
So it's kind of sad.

00:38:34.760 --> 00:38:45.009
You've also played and appeared on the BBC's Jules Holland's New Year's Eve at Houtenay, which is, you know, the New Year's Eve TV program, music program here in the UK.

00:38:45.588 --> 00:38:46.590
So there's a video of that.

00:38:46.610 --> 00:38:47.710
I'll put a link on.

00:38:47.751 --> 00:38:50.673
So, yeah, was that a highlight for you, appearing on that TV show?

00:38:50.693 --> 00:38:53.356
I think it was a highlight of TV appearances.

00:38:53.615 --> 00:38:54.536
And visibility.

00:38:54.757 --> 00:38:57.719
And also kind of funny, you know, I remember there was...

00:38:57.840 --> 00:39:05.987
And then

00:39:06.007 --> 00:39:06.847
you've toured all around.

00:39:06.887 --> 00:39:10.371
You mentioned that you dropped in earlier on that you played in Japan earlier this year.

00:39:10.391 --> 00:39:15.315
You've also played in obviously around Europe, but also in the USA, Mexico and even China.

00:39:15.356 --> 00:39:17.838
So you've toured around these different countries.

00:39:17.858 --> 00:39:25.485
Yes, exotic places, Mexico and Japan and China are the most far away places.

00:39:26.945 --> 00:39:36.213
yeah fantastic yeah and are these generally you know well you've been to various festivals where you're normally playing are these harmonica based festivals or are they different sorts of festivals

00:39:36.233 --> 00:40:00.882
actually we try to well not really try to avoid but we don't think too much about the harmonica scene that doesn't give us bread or living we are aiming to be make music for normal music audiences and then we have the surprise of being making music on harmonicas but once maybe be to Trosingen Harmonica Festival, yes.

00:40:01.324 --> 00:40:05.916
And I don't know if there have been any other harmonica events after that.

00:40:22.177 --> 00:40:24.119
You've won various musical awards.

00:40:24.139 --> 00:40:26.001
You won Artist of the Year in 2019.

00:40:26.021 --> 00:40:29.224
This is a Helsinki award.

00:40:29.304 --> 00:40:36.030
And as I mentioned, this British Songlines magazine, you won the 2020, one of the albums of the year for that.

00:40:36.230 --> 00:40:39.432
And also the Nordic Council Music Prize.

00:40:39.472 --> 00:40:41.295
So you got yourself some music awards there as well.

00:40:41.315 --> 00:40:43.657
You got some trophies on the mantelpiece.

00:40:43.896 --> 00:40:46.398
Yeah, actually, we didn't win the Nordic Council.

00:40:46.458 --> 00:40:50.001
We were just nominated, yes, but we didn't win that.

00:40:50.041 --> 00:40:57.648
But yes, we have some I don't know if it has been really a big beneficial thing for us.

00:40:57.829 --> 00:41:07.358
Anyway, I think the main thing is that if you get people to your concerts and then they will come again, that is something more important.

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.000
.

00:41:21.025 --> 00:41:26.510
A question I ask each time then is if you had 10 minutes to practice, what would you spend that 10 minutes doing?

00:41:26.570 --> 00:41:32.737
So if you can focus this maybe as a harmonica band, what are the important critical things to practice as a harmonica band together?

00:41:32.757 --> 00:41:32.777
I

00:41:33.737 --> 00:41:45.128
think one thing is what kind of role it comes with playing is just to find your common timing and being able to hear each other well enough.

00:41:45.208 --> 00:42:11.914
For that in slang, actually, we are quite lucky because everybody except me are very good in audio techniques and we've been improving like our sound also that way so we have a rack where we have every song has kind of there's always right balance and it's very hard to screw up the guys are so professional so they can tell what to do and just give their lines out.

00:42:12.195 --> 00:42:21.463
But we have ear monitors, which make it very much easier for us so that every individual player can adjust the balance that he wants to hear.

00:42:21.483 --> 00:42:27.329
This is very personal, like somebody wants to have more bass, somebody wants to hear very clearly the chord.

00:42:27.929 --> 00:42:29.931
So for this, it really helps.

00:42:30.733 --> 00:42:37.559
Because many times it's quite complex and you really have to have a common groove together.

00:42:37.579 --> 00:42:39.862
It just needs playing together

00:42:40.641 --> 00:42:49.313
I've seen various ear monitors, and I think you can get some quite cheap ones, but I think it seems to be that unless they really block the sound out, then, you know, they don't work that well.

00:42:49.333 --> 00:42:51.878
So have you got quite expensive ear monitors so that works well?

00:42:52.097 --> 00:42:59.869
Yeah, it's just investment, actually, because, like, you don't want to suffer for bad ear monitors.

00:42:59.989 --> 00:43:01.630
Yeah.

00:43:01.650 --> 00:43:04.474
Yeah, it's important to get good ones in there, I think, yeah.

00:43:04.775 --> 00:43:05.797
Yeah.

00:43:05.876 --> 00:43:09.222
Sometimes, like, I miss personally because I play also, like...

00:43:09.985 --> 00:43:50.402
harmonica elsewhere like as a soloist so when you play the blues for example I really like the like 58 like a hand mic because you play differently like you can use your hands more freely if you have a stand but for the practicality reasons in slang we have this practical hand mic that you can which is very small you can hold it inside your hand and it leaves some freedom for the using hands but not so much like I mean the wow wow way that usually the blues have players when you play acoustic so this is you can do it so good

00:43:51.623 --> 00:44:04.878
yeah so that brings us nicely on to the last section we talked through the gear so picking up on the microphones as you say Eero so you're using handheld microphones mainly aren't you you don't use microphones on a stand

00:44:05.177 --> 00:44:39.253
actually I use sometimes because with this two-sided harmonicas I need to turn them which is kind of you asked about the tricks like actually this is some kind of trick that I'm doing basically because I'm many times playing these double reach harmonicas which is two harmonicas on different sides and it's very traditional folk harmonica players in Finland they love to turn the harmonica around because it looks way more difficult than it actually is But there is, of course, like it's kind of showcasing.

00:44:39.795 --> 00:44:46.784
But for this, I can't do it with this wire mic inside my hand because it will be very complex.

00:44:48.208 --> 00:44:53.516
And Sipani, on the bass harmonica, I think you use one of the Suzuki ones, do you, on the bass harmonica?

00:44:54.657 --> 00:44:55.398
Yes, yes.

00:44:56.280 --> 00:44:57.581
That's what it is on the...

00:44:57.858 --> 00:46:11.864
it's actually old one that Jouko had I think he had one extra just to be on the sure side that if Basileno's similar microphone would fail at some point which it didn't obviously and so I ended up purchasing it from him yes it's very good mic actually I think it's probably the only way to make the bass harmonica in a way that really the bass of the bass harmonica comes out effectively enough but well there's also this one downside that it's also very sensitive which means that it feeds back very easily so that's actually probably one of the biggest reasons that that SWAN uses in air monitoring rather than the more common wedges on stage because immediately if you put it in a wedge it starts to feed up feedback that there's no No cure for that, really.

00:46:11.884 --> 00:46:16.496
But with that microphone, I have been really, really satisfied.

00:46:16.596 --> 00:46:24.958
It really changes the whole thing when you hear yourself in that sense, that you realize that this is really a bass.

00:46:25.186 --> 00:46:36.344
Because actually, if you play bass harmonica acoustically, well, it is actually quite surprisingly quiet, quiet instrument in a way.

00:46:37.186 --> 00:46:47.722
And especially if you want to have a decent tone out of it, you don't want to blow too force, as you may understand.

00:46:47.762 --> 00:46:51.889
And so you don't actually...

00:46:52.193 --> 00:47:09.501
especially from the position when you play, the sound goes out and all of a sudden when you really start to hear it decently, it really makes much more sense to do the lines that are written or otherwise played by bass.

00:47:22.914 --> 00:47:28.661
I own a bass harmonica myself, and not that I'm great on it, but I've played it through the years.

00:47:29.081 --> 00:47:31.164
Like you say, it's quite a quiet instrument, isn't it?

00:47:31.184 --> 00:47:36.530
Whenever I've tried to play it in public using an acoustic microphone on a stand, it never picks it up very well.

00:47:36.550 --> 00:47:41.996
So I think, as you say, you need that sort of dedicated microphone, that kind of built-in as you're using, don't you?

00:47:42.538 --> 00:47:42.797
Yes,

00:47:42.938 --> 00:47:43.820
I totally agree.

00:47:43.840 --> 00:47:46.041
They're not cheap, those microphones, though, are they?

00:47:46.061 --> 00:47:47.063
But well worth it.

00:47:47.583 --> 00:47:48.846
Well worth it, I'd say.

00:47:49.378 --> 00:47:51.501
And what about what do you use?

00:47:51.541 --> 00:47:53.065
Are you always playing into the PA?

00:47:53.105 --> 00:47:54.728
Do you use amplifiers?

00:47:54.847 --> 00:47:56.632
What sort of sound systems do you use?

00:47:57.773 --> 00:48:00.077
We normally have PA always.

00:48:00.119 --> 00:48:07.492
Since we play in concert houses and stuff, we have this rack where we process the sound.

00:48:07.994 --> 00:48:12.382
There is preamp and then we do the basic preamping.

00:48:12.833 --> 00:49:53.018
processing with main stage software so it's easy to switch even between the parts of the songs so we can have reverb on some part of song and then no reverb on other part and we consider the microphone quite integral part of the sound since we always play with microphones and we rehearse with microphones and we don't aim for acoustic sound but kind of like not natural but little bit supernatural sound so thinking how can it be even better than the acoustic sound and mainly it means using when you play to close microphone you get this extra boost this low mid frequencies that sounds warmer than the actual acoustic thing and we take a full benefit of that sound so harmonicas can sound little bit bigger and more warm than they actually are But no, we don't have amplifiers since we have to tour with everything to go to that 24 kilos that you are allowed to bring.

00:49:53.059 --> 00:49:58.385
So there's no space for any extra equipment.

00:49:58.505 --> 00:50:04.652
And we are quite fine if we want to use like traditional overdrive sounds.

00:50:05.173 --> 00:50:06.936
You can do it with software.

00:50:07.335 --> 00:50:08.338
It's not the same.

00:50:08.898 --> 00:50:11.840

Svang interview

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