ANTTI JÄRVELÄ BUILDS ON A RICH FIDDLER TRADITION TO RENEW FOLK MUSIC Multi-instrumentalist Antti Järvelä, 28, is best known as the figurehead of the ensemble Frigg, but he plays with a number of other bands too, including the famous JPP. He is also a composer, an arranger and a teacher. Frigg is an interesting melting pot of folk music styles. Its Finnish members are Alina, Esko and Antti Järvelä, Tuomas Logrén and Petri Prauda. Their tradition, stemming from Kaustinen in Finland, is joined by the Trøndelag tradition from Norway, represented by Gjermund and Einar Olav Larsen. American and Irish folk music also features strongly in their music. Frigg has toured America and Europe frequently, most recently doing a six-week tour of the USA. Antti Järvelä can be heard in a completely different style of bass playing in the band Jason muuttaa taivaaseen (‘Jason moves to heaven’). JMT plays rock music with leanings towards pop, perhaps even progressive rock; a comparison might be found with Radiohead. Grandfather Johannes pointed the way Antti Järvelä is from a nationally famous family of fiddlers in Kaustinen and has lived with music all his life. “The ideal thing is to be taught through the traditional master-apprentice method,” Antti says. But in recent decades only a few people have been fortunate enough to have a tradition conveyed directly from one generation to another. I was enormously lucky in that I learned the traditional style and tunes from my grandfather. My uncle, Mauno Järvelä, also gave invaluable support to myself and other young musicians in the Kaustinen area.” Learning by schottisch Antti Järvelä matriculated from the music-oriented upper secondary school in Kaustinen in 1997 and then entered the Department of Folk Music at the Sibelius Academy. “After a fumbling beginning, I discovered that I had ended up studying in a place where there was limitless potential for being a musician and for joining other talented young musicians. I played in many bands, and the genesis of Frigg dates back to that time.” Antti Järvelä has subsequently been a teacher at the Sibelius Academy and the Kokkola Conservatory. “In fiddler music, rhythm is the key. Wedding musicians from Kaustinen were much sought-after in their day, being known for their excellent ‘beat’, which is why fiddlers from Kaustinen often travelled far and wide to play at weddings, sometimes for days at a time. Scarcely any of them read music; the repertoire was learned by ear, one musician from another, which is why musical communication was an essential part of learning the trade.” “Fiddler music was originally all about dancing, and that is why musicians must know and feel the rhythm. This is, in my view, the most difficult thing to convey when teaching.” Tradition must re-invent itself Antti wishes that he had more time for composing: “I need peace to write entire pieces. I do not write as much music when I am touring.” Antti describes his music thus: “My pieces tend to be either highly energetic or highly sentimental. There is very little in between.” When he writes arrangements, he tailors them to the need at hand. “I write down the ideas and write the arrangement out immediately if I am thinking of a specific ensemble or a specific sound.” Antti Järvelä has a clear view of the future of folk music. “I feel that in order to survive, folk music must not shut itself off from other music. While it is important to convey the tradition and styles of making music, it is also important for the tradition to be able to re-invent itself and adapt just like everything else in the world around us. We must not forget that the fiddlers of old were learning new things all the time, irrespective of nationality. Many traditional tunes migrated far from their origins with roaming fiddlers, changing along the way according to the musicians playing them and the occasions on which they were played.” Pasi Lyytikäinen, 2007 Translation: Jaakko Mäntyjärvi Photos: Maarit Kytöharju