Finland?s
SixDegrees
english language magazine
global
music
Finding its
centre in
Finland
Page 10
Melissa
Horn
Swedish sensitivity
Page 18
Gyöngyi
Kovács
The logistics of
humanitarian aid
Page 8
Issue 1/2014 www.6d.fi 30.1.2014?26.02.2014
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Starters
6
Issue 1 2014
Top 5
things on our
mind this month...
Siberia: The Simulator
?Freeze, mister! You?re going to Siberia!? When Finland was a Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire, many
of our convicts were sent to Siberia. The elements
have turned this around: the somewhat liquid-nitrogen-like temperatures in January are as if trying to
prove that Siberia really is a state of mind, not a place.
Cover your head whilst you have one!
Very few things give middle-aged Finns as much
agony as the sight of bare heads outdoors when
the mercury has dipped deep. I?m sure you believe
us without any exact statistical reference: having
parts of your head bitten by frost is harmful and
potentially dangerous ? even to a lethal extent in
extreme cases.
Let?s make ourselves lonely together
A riddle: What three-letter thing moves on four or
more wheels, has up to 35 people inside staring
into nothingness, sullen and dumb, and ploughs
through a Finnish morning slowly but steadily, stopping on the roadside at intervals? No, it?s not the
Salvation Army van, and probably not the ice cream
truck either.
Anyone for tennis? One on one?
The concept of ?love? will open up whole differently
for you when you take a love song (like ?I Want to
Know What Love Is? by Foreigner) and shift the
context from romance to tennis. One answer to the
above plea is ?try a round against Roger Federer?. Or
what about ?Love is in the Air?, ?Speak Softly Love? or
devastatingly ?The Greatest Love of All? ? that could
be yours truly. If you can?t hack it, then racket!
Starter pistols and biathlon ? enough Olympic recoil?
Russia?s Winter Games are approaching, but not
without dispute. At least the Hungarian and Slovenian Olympic Committees have reported about
receiving terrorist threats concerning the Games.
As if the athletes weren?t under enough pressure
already.?
Mika Oksanen
Word on the
street
Do you remember
your first kiss?
Nadja (17)
I was 13 years old when I first kissed a boy. I
remember it was at a bus stop and he held my
hand kindly and said, ?hello beautiful?. It was very
romantic, he travelled 150 kilometres to meet me.
We first met on Facebook and kept in touch. Now,
we are just friends.
Teemu (31)
I do not remember exactly, I know I kissed
someone when I was 2 or 3 years old. However,
the first time I really remember I kissed someone
when I was 14 years old. I had my first girlfriend
and I was very shy those days.
Monica (35)
I went to visit my relative in ?Viña Alemana? (Chile)
and I had a crash on a boy since the previous
summer holidays. For this second year I was
invited to his birthday party, we were dancing and
then he asked me to go outside, then he hugged
me and try to kiss me but I rejected him because I
did not know how to do it. Then he said that it was
ok and he would teach me, and it just happened.
Hilda (23)
The time I remember was when I was about 12
years old. He was the cutest boy in the class and I
think after that we started to date.
Compiled by Lia Legama Ruiz.
Snail
mail p
rice
hikes
Mika Oksanen
At the turn of the year, postal prices increased in Finland. For
example, it now costs 90 cents to send a 2nd class letter, so the price
is up by 20 per cent from last year. Itella, the service provider, has
quoted declining service use as the reason for increasing prices.
And so, doesn?t the price rise only accelerate the decline in the use
of conventional mail?
?To put prices in perspective, an average Finnish household
annually spends some 30 euro for postal services ? made up of
two package deliveries and then letters ? compared with about
700 euro spent on digital communications such as phone lines
and broadband,? explains Ulla Seppälä, Vice President for
Itella?s Consumer Services and Retail Network. ?On average,
the rise translates into 2 to 3 euro per home on the annual
level.?
?Even if we had retained the former pricing, this would not
have slowed down the pace of digitalisation in communications.
Although Finland lags somewhat behind her Nordic counterparts
in this, we are now at the beginning of a rapid decline in the use of
conventional mail; by 2020 the volumes are expected to be half of
what they are now.?
How is it that postal prices are the same for all parts of the
country?
?Delivering a letter to the countryside can be many times more
expensive compared with urban areas. But legislation states that
the prices of mail deliveries to consumers must be the same for any
region within a country, regardless of origin? or destination. On
the corporate side, regional pricing based more on actual expenses
is an opportunity that we haven?t used so far but have considered
for the future.?
Will the prices of parcel deliveries decline due to increased
volumes (up by a million last year)?
?Due to generally increasing costs, the prices cannot be
reduced. However, our service offering is diverse; our new parcel
points provide a more affordable alternative for price-conscious
customers. Parcels can be left at one parcel terminal and collected
at another.?
Prices aside, snail mail will not disappear in our time ? collectibles,
knitted socks, even stool samples will still require delivery.
Finnish After Dark
Learning the Finnish they don?t teach in school
David Brown and
Mimmu Takalo
Finnish: Pilkku
English Equivalent: Final orders, last call
Spend enough hours in a bar and you might notice the lights have started to dim. In this case literally, as the bar manager dims the
lights of a few moments to indicate what in England would be ?final orders, gentlemen?. A ?pilkku? is literally a comma, but in this
case the only pause comes in your drinking time.
?
?
?
Otetaanks vielä yhet!
Joo, mä käyn hakeen! Ei v***u! Pilkku tuli just.
Ei paniikia! Lähetään täältä! Mulla on kotona kylmässä mäyräkoira. Se on jatkot, jätkät!
?
?
?
Let?s have another round!
Sure, I?ll get them in. Oh, s**t! It?s final orders.
Don?t panic! Let?s go to my place ? I?ve got a cold slab. Time for the after party, guys!
Finnish After Dark, the book, is out now in stores.
Starters
7
SixDegrees
Finland to smoke
like Amsterdam?
Tell me about your
city...
?
Banks fight for
customers with
Mika Oksanen
Mika Oksanen
Our Supreme Administrative Court recently ruled that the Finnish
Cannabis Association?s application for official registration cannot
be rejected on the grounds of the association acting, as the Finnish
Associations Act words it, ?against good conduct? ? this had been
the fate of the previous such application in the 1990s.
Beyond imaginary visions exemplified by the provocative title,
what does this change actually entail, Kimmo Wilska, vice chair of
the Finnish Cannabis Association?
?The ruling does not portend any massive changes as such.
The association has always worked as usual, apart from certain
bureaucratic inconveniences, such as having to have the bank
account in the name of a person and not being able to secure a
fund-raising permit for soliciting donations from supporters.?
?The greater significance is that the ruling legitimises and
encourages genuine debate on cannabis depenalisation,
decriminalisation and legalisation, all of these former taboos.
It empowers drug policy dissidents, who can no longer be
marginalised for deviation from ?the official policy?. The decision
fortuitously coincides with the launch of legal marijuana in
Colorado for added media interest in Finland as well.?
Do you see an attitudinal change in Finland behind the court ruling?
?I was glad to see that it was a Finnish court ? not the European
Court of Justice ? that brought the Finnish authorities into line.
The court recognised that public debate on drug policy has opened
up considerably in Finland, with a greater acceptance of diversity
of points of view on the drug issue than before. Supporters of
the ?status quo? have had to get used to having their narcophobic
standpoints challenged. In a drug policy debate before the previous
Parliamentary elections, reps of many parties took a favourable
stance toward cannabis decriminalisation ? the fact that they could
do this is saying something.?
With the decision, Finland appears readier to ? ahem ? turn a new leaf.
AS banks shut down their quieter branches, the same time they are
forcefully boosting their e-services provision. Take Danske Bank?s
MobilePay, for example: with it, you can transmit money with your
mobile phone just by signing in on the app, keying in the sum and
the recipient?s phone number and clicking on Send.
?We launched MobilePay last December, making it available for
customers of all banks. It has taken off really well; to date, over
50,000 have downloaded it already,? says Teppo Havo, Danske
Bank?s Communication Manager in Finland.
Mobile banking is nothing new per se, but currently banks are
able to provide a much more comprehensive offering than before.
?Formerly, our mobile services were built up by stripping down
our online banking solutions and only leaving the most essential
services, so that it was possible to also use them with mobile phone
browsers ? if you had the patience for it,? Havo explains.
?Our current ?Mobiilipankki? ? the Finnish name implying it?s
only available in Finnish, but thus intuitive and visual, so you can
use it with very basic Finnish skills ? features not only the basic
functions but also payment of invoices by way of photographing
bar codes, a comprehensive investment section, personal economy
monitoring tools and a lot more,? Havo continues. ?You need a
smart phone (iPhone, Android or Windows), and to use all of the
services, you need to be a Danske Bank customer with an online
banking agreement in place with us.?
Corresponding or similar solutions are also available from other
banks ? as well as other players such as the Finnish operator Elisa.
The rapidly advancing digitalisation of banking services will also
incorporate social media as one of the platforms, in one way or
another. At least one Finnish bank is working on a prototype of a
talking robot to take care of basic dealings with customers.
This battle for business is one that continues to be fought
creatively.
How well do you know Valentine?s Day in Finnish?
1
2
1. rose
2. cupid
3
3. February
4
4. teddy bear
Cartagena
Pilar Díaz
Located in south-eastern
Spain, Cartagena is a
small city with a long
history. It was founded
more than 3,000 years
ago and since then it has
been an important spot for trade and the navy due to its strategic
position in the Mediterranean.
Thanks to its rich history, Cartagena has quite many monuments
worth seeing, including the Roman Theatre and other Roman
remains such as the House of Fortune, the Decumanus and
the Augusteum. It?s also nice walking around the city centre
and its narrow streets full of shops and cafés. Taking a break
from the sightseeing, one can have lunch for less than ten euros
in a tapas restaurant, where I would recommend ordering a
marinera or patatas bravas with tinto de verano (red wine with
lemon soda).
The best season for visiting Cartagena is spring, when you
can enjoy its warm weather ? which may feel like a hot summer
to northern tourists ? and relax on the beaches near the city.
During this time of the year you can also experience the Semana
Santa, a religious festival that turns the usual tranquillity of the
city into a vibrant and colourful event that everyone would love.
When walking through the streets of the city centre, visitors
can find the modernist buildings that make Cartagena one the
few Spanish cities that exemplify this kind of architecture. Some
of these stunning buildings are the Old City Hall, the Casino, the
Gran Hotel and the Palacio de Maestre, among others.
For those who enjoy nature, there are several mountains
that should be included in their visit. For instance, you can
go hiking to the Batería de Castillitos (the little castles fort), a
military building that was built in the early 1900s, which has a
resemblance of a group of small castles, as its name says. From
the peak you can enjoy a breathtaking view of the sea and the
surrounding mountains.
In regards to food, besides enjoying different tapas, you should
try fresh seafood on offer at some of the restaurants located in
Santa Lucía, a lively fishermen neighbourhood which is a few
minutes walk from the city centre.
So, if you are looking for a place where you can relax on
the beach, go hiking, discover the Roman history and relish
Mediterranean food? Cartagena is waiting for you!
5. heart
5
6. chocolate
7. friendship
6
8. arrow
Criminal case?
If you are on a low
income, you may get
free trial.
7
8
Valentine?s Day is being celebrated on 14 February.
Test your knowledge of Finnish vocabulary by using the local equivalent.
Puzzle by Eva Peltonen. Solutions on page 21.
We offer a wide range of legal services. Our legal specialities
include immigration law, criminal justice and family law.
Contact: Attorney-At-Law Asianajotoimisto Streng Ky
Linnankatu 2, 00160 Helsinki
Tel (09) 7269 6730, mob 040 565 8146
joonia.streng@icon.fi, www.strenglaki.fi
We Met
8
Issue 1 2014
Images: Tomas Whitehouse
A matter
of
logistics
Gyöngyi Kovács is helping Finland
lead the way in the research and
implementation of humanitarian aid
logistics.
James O?Sullivan
M
OST foreigners who come to Finland do so
out of work, out of love or out of looking
for a better life. Gyöngyi Kovács came
after tossing a coin. After it landed on the
side that favoured a holiday in Finland over New
Zealand, in 2000 Kovács toured around the country
from top to bottom, quickly realised she liked it and
decided to live here.
Within a handful of years, Kovács was lecturing
in humanitarian aid logistics at Hanken School of
Economics in Helsinki, and had helped establish
HUMLOG, the Humanitarian Logistics and Supply
Chain Research Institute based on campus. Given
the haphazard methods of organising the logistics of
providing aid in times of need, in the wake of the 2004
Indian Ocean Tsunami, the industry had seen some
much needed regulations put into place. Inched out have
been the multitasking types trying to cover all aspects
of the process, and in their place has come professional
logisticians to help coordinate efforts. HUMLOG
is now widely recognised as a hub of expertise and
information in the area, so why then exactly would
Kovács be hopeful of a time when logistics would not
be required when providing humanitarian aid?
SixDegrees sat down with the Budapest-born,
Austrian-raised logistician, to hear about this,
why researchers should stay away from the sites of
natural disasters and the interference of ?mom and
pop organisations?. Stepping into a conference room
at Hanken, she briefly attends to a colleague?s query
in Swedish. Once the matter is settled, she shuts the
door and takes a seat.
We Met
9
SixDegrees
You can speak Swedish?
I have to. I teach in Swedish, so of course. I didn?t
speak either of the national languages when I
first came here. By now I speak Finnish as well,
but not on the same level as Swedish. I learnt it
along the way.
How about the touted similarities between
Hungarian and Finnish, did they help with
learning the language?
I grew up in Austria, so my Hungarian is more of
a kitchen Hungarian. Definitely the grammar is
pretty much the same. I didn?t go to a Hungarian
school, so I wouldn?t have been able to make any
more parallels.
Actually, I was surprised when I visited
Budapest, I thought because of my Finnish I
would have a good grasp of what was being
said ? I didn?t understand a thing going on
around me.
My sister is a linguist and has different theories
why these two languages might be related.
None of them go back to vocabulary. It?s really
grammar and syntax. But you?d have to ask
her to get a better idea. There?s nothing in the
vocabulary that resembles one another, other
than in hunting and fishing.
Hmm, I?m a bit rusty in that department.
Well, you would need to go and hunt and fish
there to see this.
Okay, that?s the next type of trip I need to
take then. Tell me about your background in
humanitarian aid. What first sparked your
interest?
Growing up in Austria at the time of the Yugoslav
Wars we had a great number of refugees in every
hotel and every village. Each person would be
integrated. I knew people from Kosovo and there
were always Hungarian refugees in Austria.
Then, when I was doing my PhD is supply chain
management and logistics, what interested me
was that if you look at any organisation that is
really quick and agile and fascinatingly mobile
in organising something, it?s a humanitarian
organisation. If you have a disaster occurring
anywhere, within 72 hours aid is arriving.
I felt that this is something to look at, and I
could learn from it. At the same time there were
a number of issues that could be performed better
in the supply chain as well. It was really from a
research interest. I was lucky as I knew a lot of
people in humanitarian organisations. I could
bounce ideas back and forth with them. They kept
on saying that logistics was the biggest problem.
Up to 80 per cent of their costs are logistical costs.
I wondered why anybody wasn?t looking into that,
to reach more people or make the mechanisms
more effective. That?s how it started.
Did you ever feel compelled to get in the
front line?
Yes and no. My projects are very hands-on. So, it?s
anything from looking at the healthcare systems
in Zimbabwe during the Cholera outbreak, to
looking at food security in Nepal. It?s always in
the field. I just came back from Kenya. There
was a nutrition and health supply chain project
there. In that sense, there is that kind of frontline
participation.
What I don?t do, and in a way every researcher
should also not be doing this, is be there after an
earthquake, or after a typhoon. You are kind of in
the way. It is one more person on the plane to fly
in. If you are not then really part of the team, then
don?t be there.
In terms of sharing your knowledge and
experience, tell me about HUMLOG.
Humlog grew out of something called the
HUMLOG group. There was an international
research group that we established here in
Hanken back in 2006. We had done some
humanitarian logistics research before that. A
number of researchers globally had came in,
and a number of humanitarian organisations as
well, and we had established a network. In the
beginning it was like a coordination effort. We
met a number of times per year; we looked at
different types of projects, what could be done. It
had gotten to a point where the networks felt that
we need more than this. We need a hub where we
can visit, where there is always someone there to
work on these issues, and has whatever it is that
you need.
?Y
our mission
is to make
yourself not
needed in
future.?
It was taken on by Hanken and the National
Defence University. They established the
HUMLOG Institute here, as it was easier to
establish something here in a university building
than in a defence building. We have our seminars
here, our doctoral students are on this floor
and we have frequent international researchers
coming in for visiting research reasons, doing
projects with us, all sorts of purposes. We get
requests from organisations for particular
research projects where they feel that there would
be a need to look a bit deeper into an issue.
We have a number of principles with our
research: it has to focus on something that
has an impact on the beneficiary, and serves
the beneficiary. It?s not just for humanitarian
organisations or for the government. It has to
have an impact on the ground. The research has
to be a bit more hands-on in general.
Also, we have a principle of the non-duplication
of efforts. It is a waste of time if two institutions
do exactly the same research project. In terms of
research this a relatively new field. Logistics have
always been there; 10 years ago it would be in the
hands of people who have a ?jack of all trades?
kind of thinking.
After the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004,
and the logistical problems encountered with
organising donations, there was a big reform in
the UN. With that came lots of questions like ?How
should we actually be doing this?? There?s a lot
of embedded knowledge in these organisations,
but at the same time there is such a high turnover
of staff that very often knowledge was not being
retained. Processes and policies needed to be
in place and really understand which logistical
principal should be applied when. And for what
purpose. That kind of research is relatively new.
When we started in 2004-5, there were only
two other institutions that had done anything
in humanitarian logistics research. Now it?s a big
global group.
It sounds like an exciting time.
It is. Now you start to see the impact of the work.
One of the projects we are trying to establish is an
impact assessment of one of the previous projects
we had; what did it change on the ground?
Do you enjoy what you do?
Yes, of course I enjoy what I do. [Laughs] Would
I be doing it otherwise? It is exciting. At the
moment I?m really boosted up because I just came
back from Kenya. I also know I have a stretch of
two months before the next field research comes
up, so I?m back to teaching. I hope to bring this
enthusiasm to the classroom.
How do students respond to your teachings?
Well, it?s a bit of a dual response. There are
some who don?t understand why we are doing
humanitarian logistics at a business school at
all. Then there is the other extreme that is super
excited about it. We have a lot of enthusiastic
people working in the field. We actually have
alumni that now work for humanitarian
organisations.
At the same time, most of the response is in
terms of doctoral students. We have a rather large
group of these focussing on humanitarian issues.
The HUMLOG Institute is quite well known right
now for its research. You get doctoral students all
over the world applying to become a member
here, which in a way is a bit unique. You don?t
get that in all of the universities and institutes in
Finland, so really we have a good response.
Is there some part of the logistics process
that gives you a buzz?
I enjoy it when people can actually think beyond
the sheer transportation and warehousing aspects
and have a view on supply chain management
overall. They can really have the link from raw
material supplies, to suppliers, all the way to the
end beneficiary; to have that kind of coordinated
thinking in a business context to the end
customer. The other thing that I enjoy is that
when in the field you have a working coordination
mechanism, humanitarian logisticians coming
together on a regular basis and coordinating and
exchanging ideas, then it works.
Unfortunately I see that it is very person
dependent. If two people have personal chemistry
they make it work. If they don?t they somehow
don?t make it work. It would be nice to develop a
mechanism that was a little less person-dependent.
When it works it gives you kick. You see that yes,
these organisations put their personal agendas
second and the agenda of actually serving the
beneficiary first, to do this together. They manage
to discuss that, well, you have better coverage in
this area, let?s think about it that way. Instead of
having the flag of your name first.
There is a lot of competition?
There?s a lot of competition in funding. There are,
of course, good and bad organisations. Ideally it
shouldn?t make a difference, and you should be able
to coordinate it anyway. The best organisations I
have seen are the ones where it?s not important; they
are about getting the job done. In that sense logistics
is a nice field to be in: getting the job done. That?s
what logisticians usually focus on.
Is every humanitarian aid situation
approached as being something new?
You should be able to implement learning
from previous situations. Also, logistically the
principles are the same. There is actually very
little variation. Even though in an earthquake
you have all of the rubble to take away, in a flood
you have all the mud to take away. Bridges are
typically down in a disaster, whether it?s a war
zone or an earthquake.
Logistically it?s pretty much the same way your
respond and what you need to do. Variations can
come with needs profiles. If you have a disaster
that is more of a medical disaster, the profile
might change. Typically after an earthquake
you have a different medical profile with all the
fractions and so forth, than in a meteorological
disaster, particularly it is more about waterborne
diseases you have to focus on. It changes what
items you should bring in. The item that is
needed first or second changes a little bit based
on the disaster profile, but not on whether it is in
the Philippines or Haiti.
Actually, the Philippines is a tricky situation
because it is a series of islands, and when you
have all of the ports being destroyed, how do you
access the islands? These kinds of issues.
Logistics has come along in leaps and
bounds since the 2004 tsunami, how do you
see it in another ten years?
A couple of things I foresee changing. One is
currently many of the big international NGOs
are implementing ERP systems (Enterprise
Response Planning), for their logistics and also
financial reporting. There are some systems
that would enable them to see each other?s
scheduling, stock levels and so forth. Now if
that would be really implemented on a broader
scale then organisations wouldn?t still go on
ordering items just because they don?t know it?s
coming in from another organisation. One of
the biggest struggles still is that too much of
the wrong stuff is sent in. Then you clog up the
airports, the warehouses around it. Nothing
else can move in until these things have been
removed. That kind of knowledge, if that was
more streamlined, would definitely be a huge
change in this field.
The professionalisation of logistics makes a
huge difference in what you do on the ground.
I really hope there are gong to be less ?mom
and pop? organisations who think that ?my
friend, or family is living in country x? and I
really now have to make my own organisation
to make sure they get something. Typically
these are the organisations that have absolutely
no understanding of logistical planning and
don?t understand that transportation costs
can be up to 60 per cent of total costs. Even
purchasing items in the country itself would be
so much cheaper. There are all kinds of global
understandings that the typical ?mom and pop?
organisation doesn?t have.
There are a number of other things that are
on the way, which I find exciting. Currently
there is an inter-agency group that has designed
standards for health kits. They are trying to make
sure that if you receive a package, regardless
from which organisation, you know what is
in the package and how to use it. A malaria kit
is the same, how many boxes it is, what is the
content. A field hospital is the same, a warehouse
is a warehouse. It should not matter if you are
working for the Norwegian Red Cross or WHO,
you receive the kit and you can implement it.
That will make a huge difference on the ground,
also considering the fluctuation of staff.
One more thing that is exciting is the elimination
of logistics, if that is possible in a way. I?m not
joking. You are not in this field to be forever
in this field. Your mission is to make yourself
not needed in future. When you implement a
programme the idea is that you implement it in a
way that the community or the government can
take over, and that kind of need will not come up
in future if possible, or be reduced.
Are there any other innovations?
A number of agencies are experimenting right
now with cash vouchers instead of bringing in
supplies. In most disaster areas, a vast population
that has for some reason lost its property and cannot
afford certain items and cannot buy them. Instead
of organising and bringing these in and deciding
which containers come from where, you can give
beneficiaries a cash voucher instead. This can be used
for anything from buying certain items in certain
supermarkets, to certain housing repair materials
from a particular supplier. This way the beneficiaries
have a choice. Now if they get a shampoo and they
don?t like it there is no other option.
With the cash voucher system you have a
choice. You buy from your local suppliers,
actually stimulate the local market, and eliminate
a lot of the logistical costs for bringing in the aid.
For me the question is at which point do you
need the aid, how much of it and for how long?
At which point could you already switch over to
cash vouchers? In which situations do you not
need to bring in anything? What kind of support?
That?s going to be something for the near future
to establish how this works.
Does this mean extra security is needed to
ensure they get into the right hands?
That?s why it?s usually vouchers and not direct
cash. The amount of security is a bit difficult to
establish because if you bring in food, how do
you make sure it is actually for those people who
need to be fed? It is the same question. There is not
really an added difference to it. If you give food to
a family, does ?father x? make sure that the children
are fed? Or does he sell it on the market? You have
the same problem with both.
But, at the end of the day, either way these
vouchers will still contribute to the local
market.
That?s the whole idea.
Date and Place of birth: 4 January 1977,
Budapest.
Family: Husband and two kids.
Education: PhD in logistics.
Humanitarian aid should? fill a gap, a need.
Logistics makes me feel? structured,
normal.
Disasters are? what we make them.
Finland is? a nice place to live in.
Lifestyle
10
Issue 1 2014
Jorma Airola
Inspiring rhythms from all over the world can be
found on our doorstep.
Maarit Kytoharju
?I?m looking at the possibility of
people?s voices who want to bring their
own culture to our audiences and the
possibility of how they can do it,? explains
Jaana-Maria Jukkara, director of the
music institute.
The GMC represents one arm of Finland?s
prestigious music institutes. These include
the Folk Music Institute in Kaustinen,
concentrating on the traditional folk music
of Finland, the Institute of Finland-Swedish
Traditional Music in Vaasa; the Finnish
Accordion Institute in Ikaalinen; and the
South Osthrobotnia and Rytmi-Instituutti
in Seinäjoki.
What distinguishes the GMC is its
long history working with foreign voices,
instruments and rhythms from worldly
migrants located in Finland. Perhaps their
best known venture has been the annual
Etnosoi! festival, a showcase for global
sounds.
?Each year we try to present artist or
cultures who basically are unknown here
still and could bring something new, which
very often comes from some types of
minorities,? Jukkara says.
The annual Ethnosoi!
festival is just one of the
many offerings of the
Global Music Centre.
Lia Lezama Ruiz
W
hile Finland is already renowned
on a global scale for various genres
of music, what about one day if it
were also to have a name for itself as a hub
for global sounds?
This may not be too distant a future.
Despite Finland not exactly being the
most heterogeneous country in Europe, the
increment of migrants here from different
places around the world continues to open
new paths towards the understanding of a
diversity of cultures.
Given the growth in the number of people
moving here from abroad in recent years,
it is inevitable that among the diversity of
cultures will reside a variety of musical
approaches. Helping to create opportunities
for audiences to hear these types of music is
the Global Music Centre (GMC).
Musical culture from around the world
Their discoveries is not confined to the
one event, however, with different activities
organised all around the year to provide a
platform for music from around the world
in Finland.
The GMC focuses on promoting
international cooperation by undertaking
formal research and studies, as well as
working with foreign musicians living in
Finland that seek to promote their own
music.
One significant contribution has come
from ?the most famous kantele player from
Tanzania?, Arnold Chiwalala, dubbed thus
after being nominated for Finland?s Best
Kantele Player of the Year in 2008.
?I learned how to play this instrument
here in Finland at the Sibelius Academy,?
he explains. ?In Tanzania, I played a string
instrument that the sound is more or less
similar, so I transferred the technique
of playing this Tanzanian traditional
instrument to the Finnish Kantele and
developed it further to invent my own style,
Chizentele.?
Chiwalala has noticed some similarities
and differences in the music from Tanzania
and Finland.
?Some Tanzanian folk rhythms can be
found in Finnish traditional folk music but
those rhythms are hidden there. They are in
the music but are not exposed.?
Since living in Finland, Chiwalala has
seen outside influences gradually seeping
into the musical soundscape.
?The Tanzanian traditional art form
(ngoma) doesn?t separate music, dance,
singing and drama. These elements are
in unity. So when I came to teach here,
I was teaching combination of those
elements to amateurs, school teachers and
professionals. Now, after some years, I can
see that Finnish people are combining those
elements: dance, singing, drama, theatre
and live music in their artistic expression.?
Open culture
At GMC, certain cultures, such as those
from Africa, appear to be more open and
active in promoting their own culture
and background. However, for some it
represents something reserved solely for
professionals, such as the Vietnamese
culture, for example.
?When you look at the catalogue which
we have created, its gives you one picture of
the different people from around the world
residing in Finland,? Jukkara explains. ?You
sort of have to know this inter-background,
which not all of these acts would qualify
as ?professional? in the way it?s understood
in the Western world. The question is not
about ?professionalism?, the emphasis is on
the music.?
Additionally, the particular cultural
background of immigrants could also
affect the natural process of approaching
the music institute.
?Whereas one person might be very
comfortable with making the first contact
to come here, someone else really has to be
persuaded to be included in the info in the
catalogue? Jukkara observes. ?We are not
managing any of the bands. What we really
do is welcome foreigners to the country
who are musicians, professionals or semiprofessionals or they actively promote their
own culture through the music. We want to
help this process.?
Along with producing and releasing
various recordings and other publications,
the institute has been involved in different
projects around the world, including in
Africa, Asia and Cuba and with FinnoUgric peoples. Recently, they have been
working in a five-year project in Central
Asia, ?a very fruitful and lovely development
co-operation project in Tajikistan funded
by the Foreign Ministry?. In a nutshell, the
project intended to bring to the Central
Asian country ?knowledge of various
aspects of professional music making. For
example, through the sharing experience
and knowledge of musicians from Finland,
such as Pekko Käppi, Pia Rask, Pekka
Lehti and others?.
Future concerns
Despite being able to increasingly facilitate
this cultural exchange on both sides,
Jukkara raises political obstacles that may
inhibit this process in future.
?I?m trying to be so positive but at the
same time I?m very worried about the
politics in Finland,? she states. ?This country
has traditionally been rather a safe place
for everyone, also with quite moderate
differences between the richest and the
poorest, and an example for other countries.
This has been rapidly changing in the past
so-and-so many years, unfortunately. Social
and economical inequality is something
that we seriously need to be concerned
about. I truly believe that we need to keep
our borders open and welcome people in
general with different cultural backgrounds
because they also enrich our culture.?
?I would encourage Finnish people to
open their ears, eyes and hearts to different
cultures of the world in the same way they
do artistically; do the same with people and
you only can win.?
For Chiwalala, his long relationship with
this country has made him appreciate the
positive things here more than any other
negative aspect. ?People can work together;
it doesn?t matter if they are from different
backgrounds. What we offer to this culture
is creativity, foreign elements always bring
new ideas.?
www.globalmusic.fi
Lifestyle
Trend
Month
Info
Where can you get your
fix of global music?
Etnosoi!
Held annually in November, this festival may be the oldest
prominent focal point for promoting global music and it has
been organising by the Global Music Centre since 1988.
Etnosoi! has expanded country-wide partly due to the
partnership with Cultural Cooperation (Kultturiosuuskunta)
Uulu in Tampere
www.etnosoi.fi
World Village Festival
Held each May, downtown Helsinki fills with all manner of
international guests and cross-culture exchange. All five senses
are stimulated, with some of tastiest food on offer that the
Capital Region will see all year.
www.maailmakylassa.fi/english
Maa Ilmassa
Another spot where Helsinki?s residents could also enjoy a
glimpse of different countries is Maa Ilmassa club. Different
activities are organised here, offering different types of music
and performers from around the world.
www.catalysti.fi/events/maa-ilmassa-klubi
City of Helsinki Cultural Office
A variety of venues host different music from different countries
and encourages different multicultural groups throughout the
year to practice cultural activities. Among the venues you can
find some excellent global happenings: Annantalo, Caisa, Espa
Stage, Kanneltalo, Malmitalo, Savoy Theatre, Stoa and Vuosaari
House
www.hel.fi/hki/kulke/en/etusivu
Sibelius Academy
Frequently organises concerts, lectures and activities that
involve musicians coming from abroad and also migrants living
in Finland, as well as students.
www.siba.fi/en/whats-on
Kaustinen Folk Music Festival
The Folk Music Institute organise the Kaustinen Folk
Music Festival annually. This is one of the biggest festivals of
this type
in the Nordic area, and is well known worldwide. Over 100,000
people attend each year, along with more than 3,000 performers
from Finland and other countries.
www.kaustinen.net/en
Logomo, Turku
Turku?s cultural centre, offering global music on occasion.
www.logomo.fi/en
City of Tampere Cultural Affairs
The City of Tampere organises a number of culturally themed
events each year.
www.tampere.fi/english
Cultural Centre Valve, Oulu
Helps bring a number of culturally diverse musical events each
year to Oulu, including the Irish Festival of Oulu.
www.kulttuurivalve.fi/sivu/fi/english
Not on this list?
Let us know where we can find global music in Finland!
Contact: james@6d.fi
Arnold Chiwalala (centre) and his band.
The death of video
rentals & the era of
online renting/buying
James O?Sullivan
R
emembering to rewind your VHS tape before returning
it may be a thing of the distant past, but the humble movie
rental business is now facing more significant problems.
While downloading continues to steadily chew away
the profits of the music industry, the humble movie rental
business is haemorrhaging in similar circumstances.
Once a revolution in home entertainment, with innovations
in technology seeing people being able to take movies home
for the very first time in the 1980s, recent years have seen the
Internet taking precedence. A steady mix of downloading,
YouTube and the likes of Netflix have offered ease of use, along
with immediate access to a wide range of material missing at
your local physical store.
Thus the death knell has been ringing for the industry for
some time now. However, unlike many other parts of the
world, rental stores in Finland have been able to supplement
their business with irtokarkki, aka pick and mix candy. Taking
up a sizeable portion of the shop space, these various lockers
of goodies might just be the industy?s saviour, at least for the
time being until movie rental stores figure out their next move.
Meanwhile, your local library has also gotten in on the
digital act, offering a number of films that are available via
streaming ? at a price that can?t be beat.
Embracing the faith
The World Interfaith Harmony Week is
being celebrated in Finland.
James O?Sullivan
T
he first week of February is being observed as a World
Interfaith Harmony Week both globally and here in Finland.
Having been celebrated on a small scale from 2011, the event
seeks to become a permanent fixture on the Finnish calendar.
Organised by the Forum for Culture and Religion (FOKUS)
things tee off on Saturday 1 February at Helsinki?s Cultural Centre
Caisa, with an Interfaith ?market place?. Capping off the day is
a Sacred Music Concert, featuring Medieval Iberian songs, an
Eastern European Jewish Klezmer folk performance from Sheine
Ite and Marouf Majidi, performing sufi music from Western Iran.
Elsewhere, if Gregorian chanting is more your thing, then
Thursday 6 February at Helsinki?s Kallio Church offers Liturgical
music of the Middle Ages.
Monday 3 February sees a seminar, Peace Forum: Arab Spring,
Israeli Autumn, Palestinian Winter?, at the University of Helsinki.
Friday 7 February sees Buddhist Union, FOKUS and The Islamic
Council of Finland SINE coming together in A Gathering of
Cultures. Here one can find a calligraphy workshop, ethnofood,
Vietnamese dance and Bhajan music.
Meanwhile, events are not only being staged in the Capital
Region, with FOKUS organising a number which can also be found
in Joensuu and Turku.
For those more proficient in Finnish, a range of interesting
interfaith and intercultural events are being staged in the local
language, touching on aspects of comedy and God, business and
religion. Furthermore, the Baha?i and Christian perspectives will
also be shared through a number of events held in suomi.
Things round up with a free soup and dialogue event being held
at Kolmen Sepän patsas
in Helsinki.
Events are free and are
open to all.
World Interfaith Harmony
Week in Finland
1-7 February
yhteisymmarrysviikko.fi
11
SixDegrees
Society
13
SixDegrees
Column
Legal Immigrants
Minority Report
6D gets to know what it?s like to be a regular
immigrant in Finland.
SixDegrees takes a look at the ethnic
The culture of
entitlement
minorities here in Finland.
While companies may pay lip service to
the concepts of open communication
and transparency; the reality is often
The
Moroccans
unrecognisable from the vision.
During the past year, half a dozen Finnish organisations
have battled for headline space for all the wrong reasons.
While allegations of actual fraud or embezzlement are rare
in Finland, cases of dubious business ethics have become
commonplace.
Whether it is CEO?s paying peppercorn rents for
apartments furnished to their own lush designs, acquiring
sports cars via the largesse of the organisations they head
or simply voting themselves outrageous bonuses, Finnish
management culture is now darkly stained with graft.
?W
hile allegations of actual
fraud or embezzlement
are rare in Finland, cases of
dubious business ethics have
become commonplace.
Sarrah Kassem
David Gambarte moved here from Spain in January 2007
and lives with his wife in Espoo.
What do you do here in Finland?
I work as a partner sales manager in a Finnish software
company, and I do everything I like: I participate in the
literature circles organised in Helsinki, I have a radio
programme, I have amazing friends and a family and in
summer I often practice fly fishing.
When and how did you end up here?
I came first time in 2006 as an exchange student to do my
thesis at the University of Helsinki. After that I decided to
come back and I was lucky to find a work placement with
the Leonardo European program.
What startles me about these stories is that they take place
against a background of squeaky-clean business ethics,
apparently free of corruption, crime or greed. In a country
where the police do not take bribes and politicians do not
expect them to, what leads high-profile directors to stick
their hands in the cookie jar?
What do you like about Finland?
I like the way people here interiorise the seasons and their
importance and I like how the calm and silence is valued as
an essential part of life. I also like the deep forests with red
pines and I find absolutely spectacular how the Baltic Sea
freezes and how it is possible to have a walk on it in winter.
While each company and industry is unique, I wonder
whether Finnish management culture has been too
strongly molded by experiences in the military. While
most companies pay lip service to the concepts of open
communication, internal promotion and transparency; the
reality is often unrecognisable from the vision.
What do you like about the Finnish culture?
The get-togethers at somebody?s home where there are
always delicious pastries and coffee. The way Finns spend
their time in mökki: reading, going to the sauna and eating.
The sense of honesty and common welfare is something I
really respect. I also love the work of some Finnish writers
such as Sofi Oksanen and Riikka Pulkkinen.
Leaders surround themselves with a mute chorus of yes
men who are just smart enough to do what they are told.
Decision making is top-down and unquestioned; complaints
or suggestions from the lower reaches of the organisation
can be filed under ?I? for Ignored. The management team
operate in a vacuum that most employees are wise enough
not to fill.
There is also a very strong culture of entitlement. Directors
feel that after ten years of sitting in meetings they deserve
to have their rent paid, their cars upgraded and bonuses
quadrupled regardless of either the quality of their work or
their starting salary.
The people who pay for this are the rank-and-file ? the
people who work 60 hours a week and are paid for 40,
whose devotion to the company is unquestioning and
unappreciated. These are the people who are increasingly
laid off to pay for the gaffes of the people above them,
despite years of loyal service.
Finns work hard. They work long hours, they don?t complain
and they care about quality. They take responsibility for
the tasks assigned to them and do their best to ensure the
company achieves its goals. They are loyal and modest in
their demands for salary increases. They are team players.
Unfortunately, many work in organisations where there
is one culture for staff and another for senior management,
and where those two cultures are increasingly in direct
opposition. For Finland to be successful at both the business
and societal levels, I very much hope it is the culture of
everyday Finnish workers that wins the cultural war.
David Brown is a language consultant and journalist, regularly
covering stories in Africa, Asia & the Middle East. He has lived
in Finland for over 10 years.
What culture shocks did you experience when coming
to Finland?
The fact that you can get in the metro by just walking
through, because there are no turnstiles as there are in all
the metro stations in Spain.
Another cultural difference is that we Spaniards kiss and
hug when greeting, and touch when talking. Here kissing or
hugging when greeting is sort of embarrassing for some people.
Have you been able to settle and integrate into Finnish
society?
Yes and no. From my point of view, any citizen who respects
the law and pay taxes is an integrated one, but I also believe
the cultural and social integration comes when the person
speaks the languages of the country. Unfortunately, I only
speak some Finnish and no Swedish at all.
What are your worries?
I?m quite concerned about the situation of many people in
Spain and I struggle to not feel down many days when I read
news about things that are going on nowadays.
What are your future hopes and wishes for your life
here?
I want to keep enjoying life as I am doing now with people
I love and admire. My most important wish is to be a good
father when the time comes.
What is your favourite Finnish word?
Berliininmunkki. Just delicious and fun.
Contact james@6d.fi
if you?d like to share your
thoughts for a future issue.
While it is known that Moroccans are more likely to cross
the Mediterranean to set foot in France or Spain, around
3,000 Moroccans have nonetheless made their way up here
to Finland. For many, the only thing known about this
country back in Morocco was that it exists on the map.
Coming to Finland then seemed to be an adventure in
which to discover its land and culture.
The first noticeable wave of Moroccans arrived here
sometime around the 1960s. Finland presented an
opportunity to change and improve their economic and
social situation. This has lead many to pursue higher
education and obtain a master?s or Ph.D degree, start up
small businesses or search for a more stable career such as
a doctor or engineer. Such education and career choices
presented many opportunities for building friendships
with Finns. In fact, after living here for many years, some
Moroccans have also chosen to marry a Finnish partner.
Today, Moroccans are dispersed across Finland, as they
have settled in cities such as Turku, Oulu, Tampere and, of
course, the Capital Region. In fact, some Moroccans are also
part of a ?Moroccans in Finland? Facebook group in which
seasonal greetings are regularly sent out. It is easy to come
across these Moroccans in Helsinki, as they catch up in a
Moroccan-owned café at the Central Railway Station on
weekends or mingle in the Moroccan barbershop, where
most Arabs, Somalis and some Finns swing by for a quick
haircut.
The larger Moroccan community tends to come together
in the mosque, masjid, or to enjoy a meal during the holy
fasting month of Ramadan and religious occasions of Eid
AlAdha. A great place to experience a glimpse of Moroccan
culture in Finland would be the restaurant Marrakech
in Oulu. Its furniture was brought along all the way from
Morocco. Here anyone can enjoy some famous Moroccan
mint tea along with a delicious tagin. The first Saturday of
every month seems to be a popular night, as the restaurant
quickly fills up with customers that want to enjoy their
dinner as well as the exciting belly dancing.
And so, if you do then find yourself to be a fan of
Moroccan culture after all, you can always take a trip across
the Mediterranean to the Maghrib and experience Morocco
for yourself!
Start your
weekend with
news in English
Why not add Helsinki Times
to your morning coffee!
Stay informed about news and current affairs in Finland
by subscribing to the weekly Helsinki Times.
To subscribe, e-mail subscribe@helsinkitimes.fi
Visit www.helsinkitimes.fi for a daily Finnish news update in English.
Feature
14
Issue 1 2014
people
to the
Citizens? initiatives are a relatively
new element in the fabric of Finnish
public
governance.
SixDegrees
looks into the democracy-extending
institution, its merits, and why some
have regarded it with suspicion.
Teemu Henriksson
A
RE YOU satisfied with the way the country is being run? Do you think that the politicians are at
the service of the people? Do you have faith in the Finnish political system?
Presumably, few people would answer to all of these questions with an unreserved ?yes?, even
if they have basic confidence in the Finnish decision-making processes. Yet the framework that
governs those processes is not set in stone, but keeps developing. A significant recent addition to it is
the system of citizens? initiatives.
Citizens? initiatives give the population a new, unprecedentedly direct way of affecting legislation
and bringing topics and propositions into the public debate. The law on citizens? initiatives came
into force in March 2012. Since then one initiative has gone through the full cycle of collecting the
required support and being deliberated upon by the Parliament; several others are in the pipeline to be
considered in the near future.
Although a new institution in Finland, internationally-speaking citizens? initiatives aren?t anything
new, as other types of comparable systems ? collecting support through petitions, aiming to change
laws or practices ? exist in other countries as well. But the Finnish system of citizens? initiatives stands
apart for two reasons: firstly, the state provides an online platform where initiatives can be presented
and through which the required signatures can be collected. Secondly, the scope within which new
laws can be proposed is notably vast, making citizens? initiatives a potentially powerful tool.
If you want to change Finnish legislation, here?s the procedure. The first step is writing an initiative,
including a bill or a proposal that a bill drafting process is started, and submitting it by entering it
into a form on Kansalaisaloite.fi, the website for citizens? initiatives. The site will forward the draft
to the Ministry of Justice for verification. If it is validated (meaning that the initiative is structured
appropriately, and is originated by a Finnish citizen entitled to vote), the initiative will appear on the
website.
This starts the process of collecting statements of support: from then on, the initiative has six months
to collect 50,000 signatures, from Finnish citizens entitled to vote, either online or on paper. If this
goal is reached, the initiative can be sent to the Finnish Population Register Centre, which verifies the
signatures.
If all is in order, the next stop for the initiative is the Parliament, which will process it the same
Feature
15
SixDegrees
The
successful
initiatives
so far
In order to be submitted to the
Parliament, an initiative has to
collect 50,000 signatures.
Banning fur farming: the first citizens? initiative to collect
50,000 signatures (69,381, to be precise) and to be
submitted to the Parliament (on 5 March 2013). The
Parliament rejected the bill on 19 June.
Abolishing Swedish as a mandatory school subject: the
initiative collected 62,158 signatures by its deadline of
4 September last year. It will likely be taken up at the
Parliament this spring.
Equal marriage law: collection of signatures ended on 19
September, with 164,069 signatures. The bill was submitted
to the Parliament in December last year.
Amending the law on energy certificates for buildings:
collected 61,361 signatures by 11 October. Will be processed
by the Parliament most likely this year.
Changing the copyright law: collection ended 23 July, with
51,974 signatures. The initiative was to be handed to the
Parliament on 26 November last year.
way it handles government bills. This means that the Parliament
can approve the initiative, send it to be amended, or reject it. Thus,
collecting the required support does not guarantee that the bill will
be implemented in the proposed form, or at all.
Getting the message across
The fact that citizens? initiatives are equal to the Government?s bills
in the eyes of the Parliament gives the institution a considerable
status. Initiatives can thus relate to any issue that concerns
legislation and is within the Parliament?s power, save international
agreements and budgetary issues. This is significantly more than
in most countries with similar systems. For example, in Italy you
can only propose cancelling an existing law, says Joonas Pekkanen,
Founder and President of the Open Ministry, an NGO that supports
the institution of citizens? initiatives.
While the fate of the Initiative for Equal Marriage Act
presented to Parliament last December hangs in the balance,
after gathering nearly 170,000 signatures, the first initiative to
reach the Parliament (and be rejected by it) aimed to ban fur
farming in Finland. Although this may raise some questions
about the significance of citizens? initiatives ? what is the
point of collecting signatures if the Parliament can ultimately
reject the proposed bill? ? Pekkanen says that it is too early to
draw conclusions on the potency of citizens? initiatives as an
institution based on one case.
Actually, according to Pekkanen the fact that the first initiative
was taken into the Parliament?s agenda was already a victory in
itself, being a vital precedent in establishing how citizens? initiatives
are processed. Nevertheless, in setting a model for the long term
what is important is the outcomes of the several subsequent
initiatives that are to be presented to the Parliament in the next few
months (see the adjacent list for more information).
It should be made clear that drafting and submitting an initiative
is only a relatively small step in the process ? it is the collection
of signatures that almost certainly requires the most work. For
an initiative to reach 50,000 signatures, simply posting it on the
website and then waiting for supporters to arrive is not enough, but
also coordinated, persistent campaigning is needed.
?Based on the experiences so far, informing people and
campaigning for the initiative are absolutely crucial in order to
reach the goal,? says Laura Nurminen, Project Manager at the
Ministry of Justice. The subject of the initiative also plays a part
in this: looking at the initiatives that have so far succeeded in
the collection of signatures, it seems clear that it is easier to get
support for the kinds of topics that have already been publicly and
repeatedly debated upon.
Nurminen explains this through the subjects? familiarity among
citizens: if there have been previous publicity campaigns on a given
subject, it?s likely to be easier to put together a substantial amount
of people to work on the campaign. Moreover, if the public already
knows about the issue, people may have already thought about their
own views on the matter. Conversely, if the topic is not familiar to
the mainstream public, the campaign has to make particular efforts
in informing citizens and the media of it. ?It?s not impossible, but
it requires more work.?
Indeed, one of the initiatives that will be on the Parliament?s
agenda soon concerns a change in the regulation of house energy
performance certificates. As the issue lacks the kind of media
attention that, for example, same-sex marriage or abolishing
mandatory Swedish at school receive, the coordinators behind
the initiative say that they put their most campaign efforts in
communicating the reasoning behind the initiative.
?We reached out to people online, through social media, and
through our membership magazine,? says Kaija Savolainen,
Executive Director at the Finnish House Owners? Association.
?Our advantage are our over 75,000 members, and our 261 local
associations did a great deal of legwork in collecting support
and informing people about the issue. It also helped that various
organisations and a group of celebrities endorsed our initiative.?
Legislation 2.0
Pekkanen points out that apart from the energy certificate initiative,
what initiatives that have so far been successful have in common
is that they all relate to topics that for one reason or another
are politically difficult for political parties to endorse. Citizens?
initiatives make it possible for such topics with widespread public
support to reach the Parliament.
What also distinguishes the initiative on energy certificates is that
it seeks to correct a single grievance that concerns a detail of a law.
?It?s interesting that citizens? initiatives are used in this manner ?
that they allow the ?collective mind? to correct what are perceived
as errors in legislation. It?s imaginable that citizens? initiatives are
later used more generally in this manner, to correct anomalies in
legislation,? Pekkanen says, drawing up a parallel with software
development: when a ?bug? is observed in the law, the system
permits fixing it through a popular initiative.
Before conjuring possible futures for citizens? initiatives, however,
it needs to establish itself as a reliable tool so that citizens perceive
its value. When the initiative for equal marriage law reached its goal
of 50,000 signatures within 24 hours last spring, a year after the
law on citizens? initiatives had passed, some concern was voiced
from the ranks of politicians over the recently created system. For
The following initiatives tried but failed to collect enough
support, reaching 20,000-32,000 signatures: banning energy
drinks for below 16-year-olds, referendum on Finland?s EU
membership, legalising use and possession of cannabis and
an initiative on basic income.
example Anne Holmlund from the National Coalition questioned
publicly the system of citizens? initiatives, worrying that it allows
citizens to use a fast lane in taking issues directly to the Parliament.
Elsewhere, Parliamentary Secretary Seppo Tiitinen stressed that
the government has the primary role of proposing new legislations,
validated by elections, and new methods of sending bills to the
Parliament risk undermining this.
Pekkanen estimates that such views arise from the fact that
citizens? initiatives break for the first time the monopoly that
decision-makers have had in drawing their agenda. He points out,
however, that the Parliament still has an important role as it accepts
or rejects proposals. Otherwise 50,000 people could use the system
to purely advance their own interests, without regard to the bigger
picture. Overall, it takes time for new practices to be tried and
established. ?It?s been positive that so far people have participated
by supporting these first initiatives, and that there has been lively
discussion about them in the media,? he says.
In the end, although the stated goal behind initiatives may be a
change in legislation, another aim may of course be to get publicity
as part of a wider campaign around an issue. ?I?ve understood that
the people behind the initiative to ban fur farming were pleased
with the results, even if the initiative was rejected at the Parliament,?
Nurminen says. ?They were satisfied that it at least was discussed at
the Parliament, and contributed to the societal debate on the topic,
and might thus bring about changes in a longer run.?
Therein lies what seems to be the main quality of citizens?
initiatives: although they do not guarantee a change in legislation,
at the very least they encourage citizen participation around
societal and political issues and give the public a means to make
their voices heard. If it turns out that none of the initiatives that are
handed to the Parliament for consideration bring about changes,
the credibility of the institution may be at stake. But at least for
now, an initiative, coupled with a popular movement, is a force to
be reckoned with.
16
Tastebuds
Issue 1 2014
Tres
tasty
A feast of flavour
descends on
Punavuori.
Text Tania Nathan, images Kai Kuusisto.
Somewhere in the upper echelons of Punavuori, high up on
Annankatu there is an ambitious and delicious piece of history
being remade. Tres Bones, a restaurant, bar and club founded by
a trio of friends with a passion for kooky tunes, great fusion food
and cocktails is quietly remaking history. Resting on the ashes of
the famous clubbing landmark Lost and Found, Tres Bones is no
hack job, but an ambitious undertaking with attention to detail that
lets you know immediately that this is a restaurant that knows what
its doing. From the scuffed tiled floors to the mismatched design
chairs, to the open kitchen where the bread (including gluten-free
options) is baked in house daily plus the eclectic mix of tunes
played designed to keep you guessing (?90s R&B and trip-hop
anybody?), everything at Tres Bones has the taste of its founders
stamped on it. Even the impossibly young yet knowledgeable wait
staff are kitted out in Helsinki-cool Makia-sponsored flannel shirts
and trainers. This is not your corner kebab shop kids.
Tres Bones was founded by a trio of friends, Tapio, Patrick and
Heppu who had always dreamed about having their own place that
would be a good combination of their passions for great music,
eclectic food and a club ? a must with such a historical party mantle
coming with the place.
Commencing gingerly
The evening starts with a recommendation from the bar, a Ginger
martini. Sharp with a hit of sweetness, I?m told that one of the finishing
touches was a whipped egg white, giving it a creamy mouth feel plus a
romantic foamy cap. As I sip I ask restaurant manager Tiina Hettula
why this restaurant, why here and why now and she sums it up thus:
?Our concept for the place is simple ? eat, drink, party.? And simplicity
is good. The restaurant opened its doors a short three months ago, but
even on a Wednesday evening there is a quiet buzz and good-sized
crowd filling the main dining area.
The starters come thick and fast ? a seafood platter first featuring
fat ribbons of salmon in teriyaki sauce, octopus, king prawns,
herring crowned with a feathery green frond of baby carrot and
a breaded slice of pike perch atop a tangle of peppery cabbage
?slaw. All of it is excellent, but the octopus was a clear standout ?
Tres Bones offers a restaurant,
bar and club, all housed under
the same roof in Helsinki.
tender and melting and almost Carpaccio-like. Another starter is
a perfectly crisp breaded nugget of sweetbread, a bold choice from
the kitchen to feature offal, but cooked with a deftness and paired
with a ?seaweed tapanede and shiso and broccoli.? The sweetbread
itself is gorgeously rich and goes perfectly with its crisp breaded
exterior. The sourness of the shiso jelly and umami of the seaweed
tapanede work well together and the freshness of the barely poached
broccoli offer a nice textural difference, which was appreciated. The
wine paired with these starters was an excellent pinot gris made by
Evelyn Fraser of New Zealand, touted as ?one of the most famous
wine makers in the world?. Its sweetness and creamy notes balance
the richness of the seafood and sets the tone for our mains to come.
Tasty in the main
A tasting of some of the main courses is next up: the ?Vegetables
- Ansi Hellen? and ?Lamb pattie?, made with Ahvenanmaan lamb,
with a ring of calamari, zucchini salad, lentil mash and bonito aioli,
and ?Fried file of pike perch?, with mussel liquor jus, celery greens,
mushrooms, cabbage and apple. The ?Ansi Hellen vegetables?
features oven roasted cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, which are
rather generously salted and on a bed of masala-spiced potatoes
and a buttermilk dressing, as well as wilted spinach leaves. It is tasty
and simple.
The lamb pattie has perfect grill marks and is plump and juicy, a
good sign the kitchen has not manhandled the proteins to an early
death. The bonito aioli and lentil mash are savoury and excellent
accompaniments though the calamari feels a little out of place in
the dish. Is it there as a cheeky reminder of the seafood influences
in the dish? A sartorial garnish? A nod to the ?70s? Either way, it is
eaten thoughtfully. Tasty, whatever the reason was. The pike perch
is beautifully cooked, crisp with proteins, but sadly was a touch
salty. Perhaps with just a misjudged pinch of such, it does not stand
up to the other nice things already sampled. Oh well. The wines
paired with the mains are a Rose, which was truly excellent, and a
lovely Portugese red, by Filipa Pato ? ?Vino tinto?.
Fun Finn
food fact:
Wondering how many
litres of milk are drunk per
capita on average in
Finland each year?
Just desserts
The desserts are an eclectic parsnip ?cake? served with orange
blossom water ice cream and the very odd sounding cucumber and
lychee dessert. The parsnip cake is a spicy and almost Christmassy
confection and goes pleasantly with the floral ice cream while
the cucumber dessert, which shouldn?t work, does. The fresh
astringency of the cucumber plays well with the yogurt and bits
of meringue that dot the bowl, and swirls of lychee granite give a
sweet crunch to the dish. The dessert comes with a peppery gin
- thyme yogurt drink, which was an interesting contrast to the
mellowness of the flavours.
Tres Bones
Annankatu 6
Helsinki
Mon - Thu: 11:30 - 00:00
Fri: 11:30 - 04:00
Sat: 17:00 - 04:00
tel. 045 164 7064
http://tresbones.fi/
Answer:
130 litres
SixDegrees
Q&A
17
SixDegrees
Juho Kuva
André Noël
Chaker
Speaking up for Finland.
James O?Sullivan
C
anadian André Noël Chaker likes to keep busy. Since
arriving in Finland in 1992 from Montréal, he has worked as
a teacher, lawyer, singer, Senior Advisor to the President at the
Finnish lottery and author.
Recent years have seen him add more feathers to his crowded cap.
After his book, The Finnish Miracle, a theory about Finnishness
and success, was released in 2011, its positive response saw him
set out on the speakers? circuit. And so, last year Speakers Forum?s
Speaker of the Year award would make itself comfortable on his
mantelpiece.
How was 2013 for you?
I had a magic year last year. I did 104 speeches; 95 per cent of which
were in Finnish. It is my fifth tongue. When I first came here 20
years ago, I thought I?d never be able to speak Finnish; it was too
hard. I love languages but I thought I would only learn enough to
get by. Then, when I proposed to my second wife, she told me, ´If
you want to have a life here, the kind of life you want to have, you
are going to have to speak Finnish. From now on we will only speak
Finnish.?
I then became a director of the Finnish national lottery, the most
nationalistic company you could imagine. I wrote The Finnish
Miracle, which is one of the most sold business books in Finland
last year. It?s a happy message about Finland and Finnishness. But
it is also perceived to be a very realistic one since Finns don?t like
anything that isn?t intrinsically rational. Nevertheless, it?s positive
and, perhaps in some parts, inspiring. I?ll have to get you a copy of
it; it can make your life better.
Why is that?
I thought I knew a lot about Finland; I was 17 years into Finland
when I started writing The Finnish Miracle. Writing this book
made me appreciate and understand this country even more, and
therefore value it more. There are a lot of redeeming features about
this country that people here won?t tell you. They can?t see it, or
diminish their achievements and good sides.They like to emphasise
and exaggerate the challenges they face here. It?s a national sport:
over realism. We tend to be more optimistic in North America.
Here, they tend to overationalise things, not giving things or people
the praise they deserve.
When you take a more honest and perhaps more constructive
view on Finland, it?s actually a really cool place to live. We need
immigrants here as 600,000 people are leaving the workforce in the
next seven years. You do the math. We are going to need people
working longer and people starting to work earlier. We are going
to need more immigrants, otherwise this country is going to have
a hard time.
Why do you think you have done this 104 times, and been
dubbed Speaker of the Year?
I have a broad spectrum of understanding of the culture, given
my 22 years here. I have read a massive amount of success-related
literature in English, Finnish, French and been involved in many
different industries such as the technology industry, the sports
industry and the cultural industry of this country; I have made
records here. I have been involved in many different aspects of life.
The fact that I?m not originally from here, gives me a licence to
say things that they can?t or won?t say about themselves. I?m able to
verbalise these things. I think most Finns find this touching and
inspiring and it triggers a lot of blockage points opening for them
to relate to their world, business and country in a different way. I
use 50 per cent raw data, science, everything I know. Then I use
a lot of entertainment ?tools?. I?m probably the only guy who can
get 4,000 Finns to stand up, hold each other and sing We Are the
Champions. This happened at the Nordic Business Forum last year.
I thoroughly use my experience
as an entertainer and singer.
My claim to fame in this
country is that I am the only
guy with Top 10 hits on the
radio in these three languages:
Finnish, English and French.
I know the entertainment
industry. I believe my speeches
are engaging pieces of
?infotainment?, which nobody
else does here. I?m powerfully
myself out there, I?m authentic.
It?s also a message that needed
to be heard now, when things
are not so easy.
How have you responded to
more negative responses to
your speeches?
[long pause] It?s hard for me to
read negative feedback. I try
to learn from it. At the Nordic
Business Forum they had
1,200 people giving feedback
on speakers. 87 per cent of the
people were of the opinion I
was very good or excellent. Still,
I had 5 per cent truly believe
I was terrible, that I didn?t belong there. They thought that my
message was naïve or that I was too arrogant, too North American.
You?ll always rub some people up the wrong way. If you are afraid of
that, you should just stay home. If it stays that way, within the 5-10
per cent margin, I can easily take it. When I start to get 50 per cent
of people telling me to stay home, then I?ll have to think about it. It?s
funny to read this feedback because usually you can only be either
naïve or arrogant ? not both.
?T
Chaker is no stranger to the stage, having
made a total of 104 speeches last year.
here are a lot of redeeming features of this
country that people here won?t tell you.?
What would be naïve about your style in their eyes?
Optimism is sometimes perceived as a naïve perspective for a
hardcore, ultra rational, super Lutheran person. ?Life is hard. Life
is difficult. Life is gloomy. You?d better just live with that fact, and
start working hard.? That?s an extreme form of Lutheranism. ?Life
is not nice, you can?t go on like that. It is naïve to think that life
is nice, to have hope, for everybody to be happy and successful.
It?s completely naïve. We all have to suffer, some more than others.
That?s the human condition: suffering. Anything we can score
above that is just a bonus. Don?t make people believe that they can
succeed. Not everyone can succeed. That?s naïve.?
You can make people?s life better. It?s bullshit to think that it?s
naïve. I don?t even debate those things; you can believe what you
want. I speak to people who want to listen to me. I?m not going to
twist anyone?s arm. C?est la vie.
The Prime Minster recently voiced concerns that the negative
attitude of Finns is detrimental to the country?s development.
Do you agree with this?
He?s absolutely right. It partly stems from the culture. People are
not trained to think optimistically. They are trained to think very
rationally. That obvious strength can and does become a weakness,
when you over rationalise things. It means you are only processing
existing data. You are not processing intuitive data, opportunities
that don?t yet exist. Your possibilities are confined to what is known,
with no impact on what is not known, which can be very good.
Overprocessing the past and what we have now is wasted energy.
It creates negative energy and outcomes to simply repeat, ?Oh my
God our pie is shrinking?. Instead of saying ?The pie is humongous
out there, how are we going to get a bigger part of it?? That has a
lot to do with attitude and different ways of thinking. That?s what I
tried to put in my book. You have all these strengths that need to be
leveraged to create greater self-confidence. You don?t have to start
taking risks in the same way as the Icelanders or the Americans
do, but you can shift yourself up a few notches in order to create
these kinds of new opportunities. It requires a shift in thinking.
The Prime Minister is completely right about this.
Having been here so long, would you ever head back to
Montréal?
When you are somewhere for 20 years, you become somewhat of
a local person, in my case a ?new Finn?. I am now a Finnish citizen
as well as a Canadian citizen. I praise this country as my adopted
parent, without rejecting my natural parents and home country. It?s
great to have two homes, and I feel fortunate that way. You should
go where your heart and life take you. That?s where you?ll be the
happiest.
Even if that?s away from poutine?
Poutine! I could have some once a year and that?s more than
enough. [laughs]
?
Chaker first came to Finland in 1992 from Canada
to work at the University of Jyväskylä.
?
He is lawyer.
?
He has had Top 10 musical hits in three languages
in Finland (Finnish, English and French).
?
His book The Finnish Miracle was published in
2011.
?
He was awarded the Speaker?s Forum Speaker of
the Year title for 2012.
Reviews
19
SixDegrees
Forthcoming flicks
Pointing at the screen
James O?Sullivan
O
Mustachioed Matthew McConaughey primes himself for awards season in Dallas Buyers Club.
12 Years a Slave (K16)
Steve McQueen?s third film arrives upon a colossal wave of positive word of mouth, and some 10 Oscar
nominations to boot. Here Chiwetel Ejifor takes the lead as a free black man in 1840s America, who
soon finds himself sold into slavery by two white men. Based on a true story the film has been lauded
by critics, seen as the ultimate in white guilt by cynics and even had its promotional posters scrutinized in Italy, when images of co-stars Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender overshadowed that of Ejifor.
Regardless, after the mild disappointment of Scorsese?s bloated Wolf of Wall Street, it appears as if the
first great film of the year is finally here.
Premieres 24 January
Dallas Buyers Club (K16)
Continuing with his purple patch of credible roles that has long erased memories of his tepid rom-com
past, here Texas? favourite son Matthew McConaughey helps tell the story of Ron Woodroof, a Texas
electrician who was diagnosed as being HIV-positive in 1986. What?s an alpha male player to do when
given 30 days to live? Devoting his life to providing fellow HIV patients with non-FDA-approved drugs
and supplements is his calling, in the midst of an era when doctors were still getting a grip on the
devastating disease. Having dropped 20 kilos and picking up a swag of critics awards already for his
performance, after this cinemagoers can turn their gaze in the direction of his forthcoming starring role
in Christopher Nolan?s Interstellar later this year.
Premieres 31 January
Her (K12)
Just in case the start of the year hasn?t had enough strong flicks to entertain the throngs, along come
the latest from Spike Jonze, director of Being John Malkovich, among others. Oh, and a Jackass alumni
to boot. Anyway, here Joaquin Phoenix?s lonely writer falls in love with his computer?s highly advanced
operating system. In a case of Siri gone wild, the perceptive software soon adopts the name Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), and sets about slowly bringing him our man Phoenix back out from under
his shell. Encouraging him to start dating again, and joining him everywhere he goes, things begin to
grow intimate. An unusual set of circumstances it may be, but nothing in comparison to the fact that
Phoenix?s high-waisted slacks of a bygone era of fashion nightmares have inexplicably caught on again
in the fashion world.
Premieres 7 February
The LEGO Movie (7)
Rounding out the month, keep an eye out for this animated flick that appears to be infinitely better
than it sounds. A lowly Lego figure (voiced by Chris Pratt) joins a group intent on battling an evil force
after a case of mistaken identity. From the filmmakers behind Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and
co-director Chris McKay (Robot Chicken), the impressive likes of Will Arnett, Elizabeth Banks, Morgan
Freeman, Will Ferrell and Liam Neeson head up the rest of the voice cast.
Premieres 14 February
NCE again, the 13th annual DocPoint
is kicking the year off in film festivals.
Presenting the best Finnish and
international documentaries of the year,
the festival lands once again in the Capital
Region from 28 January until 2 February.
With a programme packed with over 100
films, seminars, lectures,
workshops and concerts
are also on the bill. From
its humble beginnings, the
numbers in attendance
each year are in the vicinity
of 30,000.
Films on offer traverse a
variety of genres. A range of
sporting flicks are on offer
for our entertainment and
education. The Armstrong
Lie, arrives in a timely
fashion, following the rise
and fall of cyclist Lance
Armstrong and his dopingstained career.
At the other end of the
age scale, The Optimists
tells the tale of a Norwegian
women?s volleyball team
for seniors. Time to refresh
their skills, as these ladies haven?t played a
match in 30 years.
Metal fans will get a kick out of Mission
to Lars, as two siblings hope to help their
brother Tom meet Metallica drummer Lars
Ulrich. What makes their journey all the
more remarkable is that Tom has autism.
Elsewhere, ABBA fans can get a kick out of
the sing-along version of ABBA ? The Movie,
and punters can become acquainted with
backup singers in 20 Feet From Stardom,
Elsewhere, the festival takes a look at energy
production, family albums, borderlines,
landescapes, new Finnish films, local student
films and action. The main guest of the
festival is award-winning documentary film
maker Kim Longinotto.
Check out the festival website for more info!
DocPoint lifts its glass to ABBA.
DocPoint
Helsinki Documentary
Film Festival 2014
28 January-2 February
http://docpoint.info/en
Hannu Seppälä
Feeling
yellow
James O?Sullivan
B
ASED on the classic short story by
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, written in
1892, Yellow Wallpaper is premiering
at TEHDAS Teatteri, Turku, on Thursday 30
January.
With performances stretching through
February and March, the play tells the story of
a woman who is unable to fulfill her role as wife
and mother in the traditional sense. Forced to
undergo psychological treatment and give up
her life?s passion of writing, will she break free of
society?s shackles?
?The play?s working group is international,?
explains producer Salla Hänninen. ?Director
Ricardo Marin is Mexican-American,
choreographer Taja Savina is Russian, and
actress Sofia Molin is Finland-Swedish.?
With the trio having met in St. Petersburg
where they studied, now they find themselves
collaborating in Finland. However, their future
plans do not end at creating performances
suomeksi.
?They also wish to perform the play later
in other languages than Finnish, including
Swedish, English and Russian, and in other
countries as well,? Hänninen explains.
Yellow Wallpaper
30 January
2,6,7,9 February
19,26,28 March
Tickets ?12/20
Game review January
Nick Barlow
Gran Turismo 6 (PS3)
GT6 is likely to go down in history as one of the most satisfying of the series? installments and a fine way to say adios to the PS3. Gran Turismo has always been about
simulation rather than arcade-style theatrics, and needless to say the same philosophy holds true here. However, what this also means is that they?ve stuck with a fairly
tried-and-true formula that isn?t going to include many shocks to fans. On the plus side there is an amazing array of hot-looking cars available to unlock and drive (even
though most of them sound like they?re farting their way around the track, and some cars handle appallingly). There?s a decent range of events and the car physics and
handling have generally been improved over GT5. On the negative side damage modelling is missing and many cars seem not to have interiors. The A.I. is really rather
poor, with no jockeying for position and a bizarre feeling that the computer controlled cars have simply been programmed to finish in a certain order. Truth be told it
starts to feel a bit sim-lite after a few hours, and not in fact the ?real? driving simulator we were promised. However the myriad of improvements over the previous game
more-or-less make up for it. 8/10
TEHDAS Teatteri
Itäinen Rantakatu
64, Turku
Out&See
SixDegrees
Greater Helsinki
20
Issue 1 2014
Music _ Clubs
30 Jan. Hans On The Bass // ?A
relaxed soundtrack for the great
moments in life.? Korjaamo Culture
Factory, Töölönkatu 51 B. Tickets
?15/20. www.korjaamo.fi
30 Jan. Son Lux (USA) // Orchestral
pop/experimental hip-hop/electronic
minimalism/trip hop. Kuudes Linja,
Hämeentie 13. Tickets ?11.50.
www.kuudeslinja.com
30 Jan. Kvelertak (NOR) // Metal.
Nosturi, Telakkakatu 8. Tickets
?25/26.50. www.elmu.fi
30 Jan. UK Subs (UK), T.V. Smith (UK)
// Punk. Tavastia, Urho Kekkosen
katu 4-6. Tickets ?15.50/16.
www.tavastiaklubi.fi
31 Jan. Melissa Horn (SWE) // Folk pop.
Savoy Theatre, Kasarmikatu 46-48.
Tickets ?32. www.savoyteatteri.fi
31 Jan. Honey B & The T-Bones //
Bar Loose, Annankatu 21. Tickets
?7.50/8. www.barloose.com
31 Jan. Blake, Red Eleven, Bad
Mood Hudson // Virgin Oil Co.,
Mannerheimintie 5. Tickets ?11.50.
www.virginoil.fi
31 Jan. Kantri-Mikko & Paskavarpaat,
Serial Humpers, N.A.D. // Folk/rock/
country/blues. Semifinal, Urho
Kekkosen katu 4-6. Tickets ?6.50.
www.semifinal.fi
31 Jan. Katin Gaala // KC/MD Mafia,
Aivovuoto, Asa, Laineen Kasperi,
Yona, Jontti&Shaka etc. Tavastia,
Urho Kekkosen katu 4-6. Tickets
?11.50/12. www.tavastiaklubi.fi
31 Jan. Laura Sippola // Like Lullabyvideo concert. Stoa, Turunlinnantie
1. Tickets ?9/13. www.stoa.fi
31 Jan. Dj Hyperactive (USA) //
Kuudes Linja, Hämeentie 13. Tickets
?9. www.kuudeslinja.com
1 Feb. The Soundstrippers //
Grunge and folk. Semifinal, Urho
Kekkosen katu 4 ? 6. Tickets ?7.50.
www.semifinal.fi
1 Feb. Tuomo // Soul. Tavastia,
Urho Kekkosen katu 4-6. Tickets
?13.50/14. www.tavastiaklubi.fi
1 Feb. Black Lizard // Indie rock. Bar
Loose, Annankatu 21. Tickets ?7/9.
www.barloose.com
1 Feb. Johan Hörlen Quartet // Jazz.
Koko Jazz Club, Hämeentie 3.
Tickets ?15/20. www.kokojazz.fi
1 Feb. Barbaro Fines Y Su Orquesta
Mayimbe (PER) // Son and timba.
Korjaamo
Culture
Factory,
Töölönkatu 51 B. Tickets ?38-50.
www.korjaamo.fi
1 Feb. Ulver (NOR) // Dark
experimental electronic music.
Savoy Theatre, Kasarmikatu 46-48.
Tickets ?35. www.savoyteatteri.fi
1 Feb. Reggae Snowsplash 2014 //
Jukka Poika, Punky Reggae Band,
Plookie (USA), Polkuharmonix, The
Levitators Band etc. Old Student
House, Mannerheimintie 3. Tickets
?19.50. www.vanha.fi
2 Feb. Oruc Guvenc & Tumata //
Musical journey through Anatolia
and Middle-Asia. Savoy Theatre,
Kasarmikatu 46-48. Tickets ?40.
www.savoyteatteri.fi
3 Feb. Nina Persson (SWE) // Solo
gig from The Cardigans vocalist.
Tavastia, Urho Kekkosen katu 4-6.
Tickets ?39. www.tavastiaklubi.fi
5 Feb. UMO & Jimi Tenor // UMO
& unique multi-instrumentalist.
Tavastia, Urho Kekkosen katu 4-6.
Tickets ?24/25. www.tavastiaklubi.fi
6 Feb. Junnu Aaltonen Quartet // Jazz.
Koko Jazz Club, Hämeentie 3. Tickets
?11.50/16.50. www.kokojazz.fi
6 Feb. Gold Panda (UK) // Electro.
Adams, Erottajankatu 15-17. Tickets
?15. www.ravintolaadams.fi
6 & 7 Feb. Jenni Vartiainen //
Pop. Tavastia, Urho Kekkosen
katu 4-6. Tickets ?21.50/22.
www.tavastiaklubi.fi
7 Feb. Funky Awards // Roope Salminen
By Anna-Maija Lappi
& Koirat, Dalindéo, Dolla Lova. Virgin
Oil Co., Mannerheimintie 5. Tickets
?14.50/15. www.virginoil.fi
7 Feb. 1994 Club // Barefoot Brothers,
Black Aura. Bar Loose, Annankatu 21.
Tickets ?8.50/9. www.barloose.com
7 Feb. Ratface, Final Assault,
Tukkanuotta // Hardcore. Semifinal,
Urho Kekkosen katu 4-6. Tickets
?8.50. www.semifinal.fi
7 Feb. Shade Empire, Wolfheart //
Metal. On The Rocks, Mikonkatu 15.
Tickets ?10/12. www.ontherocks.fi
8 Feb. Fanfare Ciocarlia (ROM) //
Energetic and furious Balkan rhythms.
Savoy Theatre, Kasarmikatu 46-48.
Tickets ?36/45. www.savoyteatteri.fi
8 Feb. Anders Jormin // Jazz. Koko
Jazz Club, Hämeentie 3. Tickets
?10/15. www.kokojazz.fi
8 Feb. Mygrain // Metal. Bar Loose,
Annankatu 21. Tickets ?8/10.
www.barloose.com
8 Feb. Pariisin Kevät, Odd Hugo
(EST) // Pop. Nosturi, Telakkakatu 8.
Tickets ?17. www.elmu.fi
8 Feb. We Love The 90`s Helsinki
// Scandinavian dance hits from
the ?90s. The Cable Factory,
Tallberginkatu 1. Tickets ?41-91.50.
8 Feb. Juha Tapio // Pop. Tavastia,
Urho Kekkosen katu 4-6. Tickets
?22. www.tavastiaklubi.fi
8 Feb. Hopeajärvi // Rock. Semifinal,
Urho Kekkosen katu 4 ? 6. Tickets
?5. www.semifinal.fi
8 Feb. Rockabilly Heavyweight
Tournament Vol. 3 // Crazy Cavan n?
The Rythm Rockers (UK), Johnny
Legend (USA), Miki Lamarr. Virgin
Oil Co., Mannerheimintie 5. Tickets
?29/33. www.virginoil.fi
13 Feb. Andy Cairns (IRE) //
Therapy?´s guitarist. On The
Rocks, Mikonkatu 15. Tickets ?13.
www.ontherocks.fi
13 Feb. Jussi Lehtonen Quartet //
Jazz. Koko Jazz Club, Hämeentie 3.
Tickets ?10/15. www.kokojazz.fi
13 Feb. Daphni (CAN) // Electro
project of Canadian musician Daniel
Snaith, best known under his Caribou
moniker. Ääniwalli, Pälkäneentie 13.
Tickets ?15.
13 Feb. Dave Lindholm, Antero
Lindgren // Singer-songwriters.
Tavastia, Urho Kekkosen katu 4-6.
Tickets ?12/14. www.tavastiaklubi.fi
13 Feb. Truckfighters (SWE) // Desert/
stoner rock. Nosturi, Telakkakatu 8.
Tickets ?15. www.elmu.fi
14 Feb. Scandinavian Music Group //
Pop. Sello Hall, Soittoniekanaukio 1A.
Tickets ?27.50/28. www.sellosali.fi
14 Feb. We Love Helsinki
ystävänpäivätanssit // Valentine´s
Day Dance. Korjaamo Culture
Factory, Töölönkatu 51 B. Tickets
?13/15. www.korjaamo.fi
14 Feb. Eevil Stöö, DJ Kriddlokk &
Koksukoo, Lieminen, Jontti & Shaka //
Rap. Virgin Oil Co., Mannerheimintie
5. Tickets ?8/10. www.virginoil.fi
14 Feb. Jarkko Martikainen ja Luotetut
Miehet, Laura Moisio // Folk/pop.
Tavastia, Urho Kekkosen katu 4-6.
Tickets ?12/15. www.tavastiaklubi.fi
15 Feb. Stereo 8000, Penniles //
Garage rock. Bar Loose, Annankatu
21. Tickets ?9/11. www.barloose.com
15 Feb. Nicole // Metal. On The
Rocks, Mikonkatu 15. Tickets
?8/10. www.ontherocks.fi
15 Feb. DJ JamJam (UK), DJ Dalo,
DJ GoodBlood // Afrobeats. Nosturi,
Telakkakatu 8. Tickets ?12.
www.elmu.fi
15 Feb. Haloo Helsinki! // Pop. Virgin
Oil Co., Mannerheimintie 5. Tickets
?16/18. www.virginoil.fi
16 Feb. Bonobo (UK) // Enchanting
electro. Tavastia, Urho Kekkosen
katu 4-6. Tickets ?29/30. www.
tavastiaklubi.fi
18 Feb. Shining (NOR) // Progressive
metal. Tavastia, Urho Kekkosen
katu
4-6.
Tickets
?15/17.
www.tavastiaklubi.fi
20 Feb. Wiljam Suvanne Quartet
// Koko Jazz Club, Hämeentie 3.
Tickets ?10/15. www.kokojazz.fi
20 Feb. Shamanviolin with Áilu
Gaup // Music Centre, Camerata.
Mannerheimintie
13.
Tickets
?6.50/12.50/17.50. www.musiikkitalo.fi
21 Feb. Korpiklaani + supports
// Folk metal. Virgin Oil Co.,
Mannerheimintie 5. Tickets ?14/16.
www.virginoil.fi
21 Feb. AlaValA, Amusia // Pop/rock.
Semifinal, Urho Kekkosen katu 4 ?
6. Tickets ?6. www.semifinal.fi
21 Feb. Poisonblack, Beast (SWE)
// Heavy rock. Tavastia, Urho
Kekkosen katu 4-6. Tickets ?13/15.
www.tavastiaklubi.fi
22 Feb. Nolla nolla nolla // Punk. Bar
Loose, Annankatu 21. Tickets ?6/8.
www.barloose.com
22 Feb. Zamorano // Rock. Semifinal,
Urho Kekkosen katu 4 ? 6. Tickets
?5. www.semifinal.fi
22 Feb. Psychic TV / PTV3 (USA/
UK) // From early industrial and acid
house to psychedelic glam rock and
noise punk. Tavastia, Urho Kekkosen
katu 4-6. Tickets ?30/33. www.
tavastiaklubi.fi
24 Feb. Frank Turner & The Sleeping
Souls (UK) // Folk punk. Nosturi,
Telakkakatu 8. Tickets ?18/22.
www.elmu.fi
26 Feb. Cola & Jimmu (Nicole Willis &
Jimi Tenor), Haunted by Hallucinations
// Bar Loose, Annankatu 21. Tickets
?7/9. www.barloose.com
26. Feb. Within Temptation (NLD)
// World tour opening concert. The
Cable Factory, Tallberginkatu 1.
Tickets ?48-115.
26 Feb. UMO & Kurt Elling // Top jazz
vocalist. Savoy Theatre, Kasarmikatu
46-48.
Tickets
?33 /38.
www.savoyteatteri.fi
Theatre _ Dance
30 Jan.-1 Feb. Joona Halonen: Straight
// Abstract and humoristically serious
playing field for six male dancers.
Zodiak - Center for New Dance,
Tallberginkatu 1B. Tickets ?14/22.
www.zodiak.fi
30 Jan.-27 Feb. Leo? Janá?ek:
Jen?fa // Finnish top soprano Karita
Mattila as the young conflict-torn
Jen?fa. Finnish National Opera,
Helsinginkatu 58. Tickets ?37-125.
www.opera.fi
30 Jan.-21 Feb. Jyrki Karttunen:
Youth and Freedom // Dream-like dive
into the world of emotions. Helsinki
City Theatre, Pieni Näyttämö.
Eläintarhantie 5. Tickets ?18-29.
www.hkt.fi
31 Jan.-20 Feb. W. A. Mozart:
Don Giovanni // A beloved opera
about the notorious legend of Don
Juan. Finnish National Opera,
Helsinginkatu 58. Tickets ?15-91.
www.opera.fi
1 Feb. Balanchine-Forsythe-Kylián:
Bella Figura // Triple bill featuring
works by three world-famous
choreographers. Finnish National
Opera, Helsinginkatu 58. Tickets
?15-91. www.opera.fi
4-9 Feb. Side Step Festival 2014
// Contemporary dance festival.
Zodiak - Center for New Dance,
Tallberginkatu
1B.
Tickets
?15/25/37. www.zodiak.fi
5-9 Feb. Kallo Collective: Members
of our limbs // Finnish delicacy of
clownery. Cirko, Kaasutehtaankatu 1.
Tickets ?17.50/22.50. www.cirko.fi
7-15
Feb.
Arja
Raatikainen:
Musta Laatikko (?Black Box?) //
Contemporary dance piece for four
female dancers. Stoa, Turunlinnantie
1. Tickets ?15/25. www.stoa.fi
12-15 Feb. Red Pearl - women?s clown
festival // World-renowned female
clowns. www.hurjaruuth.fi
13.-15 Feb. Pepa Plana (ESP):
Penèlope // Cheerful clownery
from Spain. Espoo City Theatre,
Louhisali, Kulttuuriaukio 2. Tickets
?15/25/30. www.espoonteatteri.fi
15 Feb. Guadalupe Torres: Acuérdate
cuando entonces... // Top flamenCo.
Savoy Theatre, Kasarmikatu 46-48.
Tickets ?33/40. www.flamenCo.fi
21, 22 & 26 Feb. Javier Torres:
Beauty and the Beast // Ballet version
of the charming fairy tale. Finnish
National Opera, Helsinginkatu 58.
Tickets ?24-115. www.opera.fi
From 26 Feb. Hanna Pajala-Assefa:
History of a Love // A duet based
on movement and rhythm by the
artist couple choreographer Hanna
Pajala-Assefa and musician Abdissa
?Mamba? Assefa. Kanneltalo,
Klaneettitie 5. Tickets ?9/13. www.
kanneltalo.fi
From 26 Feb. Agit-Cirk: Blood Under
Fingernails // A meld of classical
scripted clownery and animation.
Cirko, Kaasutehtaankatu 1. Tickets
?17.50/22.50. www.cirko.fi
Phile Deprez
Exhibitions
Until 2 Feb. Transformation: Towards
a Sustainable Future // How to
you build or renovate your home
to balance human needs with the
demands of ecological sustainability?
Museum of Finnish Architecture,
Kasarmikatu 24. Tickets ?0/3/6.
www.mfa.fi
From 7 Feb. Ars Fennica 2014
// Exhibition by the 2014 Ars
Fennica candidates - IC -98
(Patrik Söderlund and Visa
Suonpää), Riitta Ikonen, Tellervo
Kalleinen and Oliver KochtaKalleinen, Leena Nio and Pauliina
Turakka
Purhonen.
Kiasma,
Mannerheiminaukio 2. Tickets
?0/8/10. www.kiasma.fi
Until 9 Feb. On the Shores of the
Lake // Exhibition dedicated to the
fascinating artist community that
lived on the shores of Lake Tuusula
at the turn of 20th century. Ateneum
Art Museum, Kaivokatu 2. Tickets
?0/10/12. www.ateneum.fi
Until 2 Mar. Rafael Wardi //
Retrospective exhibition of painter
Rafael Wardi. Ateneum Art Museum,
Kaivokatu 2. Tickets ?0/10/12.
www.ateneum.fi
Until 2 Mar. Esko Männikkö: Time Flies
// The long-awaited retrospective
includes both classic works and new
photographs. Kunsthalle Helsinki,
Nervanderinkatu 3. Tickets ?0/6/9.
www.taidehalli.fi
Until 3 Mar. Dorothée Smith //
French artist?s melancholy and
haze images exploring the themes
of absence and presence. The
Finnish Museum of Photography,
Tallberginkatu 1 G. Tickets ?0/5/8.
www.valokuvataiteenmuseo.fi
Un til 3 Mar. Tuija Lind s t r öm :
In T he Be ginning T her e Wa s
Ever y thing / / The retrospective
exhibition takes the viewer on a
journey through Tuija Lindström?s
career, from the 1980s blackand-white vintage prints to the
large, colourful works from the
2010s. The Finnish Museum
of Photography, Tallberginkatu
1
G.
T i c ke t s
?0 /5/ 8.
w w w.valokuvataiteenmuseo.fi
From 26 Feb. Designer of the
Everyday ? Rudolf Steiner // Nearly
400 objects, from artworks to
furniture and scale models. EMMA
? Espoo Museum of Modern Art,
Ahertajantie 5. Tickets ?0/10/12.
www.emma.museum
Until 11 May. Henrik Vibskov // A
pioneer of contemporary Danish
fashion design and a boundless
inventor.
Design
Museum,
Korkeavuorenkatu 23. Tickets
?0/5/8/10. www.designmuseum.fi
4-9 Feb. Side Step Festival 2014 // Zodiak - Center for New Dance,
Tallberginkatu 1B. Tickets ?15/25/37. www.zodiak.fi
Encounters between
generations
The Side Step Festival comes again to bring on stage today?s
most interesting contemporary dance performances and choreographers. This year, the festival programme can be seen as
a dialogue where movement is created by encounters between
different generations ? both in and between the performances.
The other focus of the festival is the strong presence of nonprofessionals as performers and dancers in contemporary dance
productions.
The pieces chosen for the festival manifest their creators? generations? relationship to existence. The performances, from Martin
Nachbar´s Repeater, a duet for the choreographer himself and
his father, to Ugo Dehaes´ GIRLS, a bright and refreshingly serious piece performed by eight 10 to 14 year-old girls, feature the
commonly shared moments of human life and bring on stage
people with all their strengths and vulnerabilities.
The theme of generations is also approached from the viewpoint
of dance history: how do the previous artistic generations affect
contemporary dance and performing arts of today?
Out&See Tampere
21
SixDegrees
By Jutta Vetter
Music _ Clubs
..
..
APPLICATION PERIOD
7 Jan?12 Feb 2014
> Energy and Environmental Technology
> International Business
> Media and Arts
30 Jan. ?Yo-Talo, Kauppakatu 10.
Tickets ?10/15. www.yo-talo.fi, www.blueslovers.org/tb2014.html
Talviblues 2014
(Winter Blues 2014)
Talviblues 2014 is a new festival especially focusing on up and
coming local blues talents and their blues melodies. This atmospheric winter music event is being organised for the first time
now, bringing together blues fans from near and far during the
coldest Finnish midwinter time, and actually replacing the BluesLovers organisation?s traditional Klubiblues event. The evening?s
performers include names such as Muddy Husky, Blues Funnel
as well as Houserockin? Fenders, a blues band originally founded
all the way back in 1985, now making their comeback after more
than a decade. The doors will be opened at 19:00, music starts a
20:00. A total must for all blues enthusiasts!
Theatre _ Dance
6 Feb. JadaJada Improv // Improv in
English, starting at 20:00. Irish Bar
O?Connell?s, Rautatienkatu 24. Free
entry. www.oconnells.fi
20 Feb. Comedy O?Connell?s // Standup in English, starting at 20:00.
Irish Bar O?Connell?s, Rautatienkatu
24. Free entry. www.oconnells.fi
Exhibitions
Until 11 Feb. Art by Sanni Seppä //
Art exhibiton. Mältinranta Artcenter
(studio), Kuninkaankatu 2. Free
ent r y.
ht tp : / / t a mp e r e en taiteilijaseura.fi/en/
Until 11 Feb. Art by Katja Härkki
// Art exhibiton. Mältinranta
Artcenter (gallery), Kuninkaankatu
2. Free entry. http://tampereentaiteilijaseura.fi/en/
Until 28 Feb. They Left 150 Years
Ago (Jason De Bose) // North
American Theme Week, with photo
exhibition. Galleria Emil, Keskustori
4. Free entry. www.tampere.fi/
kult tuu rip alv elu t / to imipis te e t /
galleriaemil.html
Permanent exhibition Moominvalley
// The unique and internationally
renowned Moominvalley is a
museum devoted to the original
moomin themed works of Tove
Jan.sson. Tampere Art Museum
Moominvalley, Puutarhakatu 34. For
more information and ticket prices,
see www.muumilaakso.tampere.fi/
en/
Permanent
exhibition
Media
Museum Rupriikki // This museum?s
exhibitions portray the history of
mass communications, and the role
of the media in our everyday lives.
Media Museum Rupriikki, Väinö
Linnan aukio 13. Free entry. http://
rupriikki.tampere.fi/in-english/
Others
31 Jan. Food Gallery // A surprise
buffet with a selection of Tampere
Hall?s finest specialties. Tampere
Hall (Café Soolo), Yliopistonkatu 55.
Tickets ?25, including a presentation
of the menu. www.tampere-talo.fi
8-9 Feb. Wedding Fair // The 20th
anniversary of the traditional
Wedding Fair in Tampere is here!
Tampere Hall, Yliopistonkatu 55.
Tickets ?12. www.tampere-talo.fi,
www.tampereenhaamessut.com
The event listings in the Out&See sections
are based on the available information at
the time of printing the issue. SixDegrees
is not responsible for possible changes,
mistakes, cancellations or lack of information
concerning the events mentioned.
www.tamk.fi
Crossword
solutions
1. ruusu
2. amoriini
3. helmikuu
4. nalle
5. sydän
6. suklaa
4102
-3102
7. ystävyys
8. nuoli
scovery
of Di
Joy
30 Jan. Sonata Arctica // Fifteen
years after their debut album
Ecliptica, Sonata Arctica are still
performing to sold out crowds!
Tampere Hall (Main Auditorium),
Yliopistonkatu 55. Tickets starting
from ?34. www.tampere-talo.fi
30 Jan. Cool Quartet // Jazz music in
the heart of the city centre. Paapan
Kapakka, Koskikatu 9. Free entry.
www.paapankapakka.fi
31 Jan. Shade Empire & Wolfheart
// Live music, showtime at 23:00.
Yo-Talo, Kauppakatu 10. Tickets
?10/12. www.yo-talo.fi
31 Feb. Cowerpoint // Live music,
showtime at 00:15. Rock & Kitchen
Jack the Rooster, Satakunnankatu 13
B. Free entry. www.jacktherooster.fi
31 Jan. Paappas Group // Jazz music
in the heart of the city centre.
Paapan Kapakka, Koskikatu 9. Free
entry. www.paapankpakka.fi
1 Feb. Suvi Isotalo // Record release
gig. Telakka, Tullikamarin aukio 3.
Tickets ?6. www.telakka.eu
1 Feb. Mob 47 (SWE) // Live music,
also by Perikato, Kylmä Sota,
Foreseen and Parasiitti. Vastavirtaklubi, Pispalan valtatie 39. Free
entry. www.vastavirta.net
1 Feb. UK Subs // Support by TV Smith
and Punk Lurex. Klubi, Tullikamarin
aukio 2. Tickets starting from ?13.
www.klubi.net
5 Feb. Bravade & Co // Reflections of
the past and present. Flute music
concert with dance performances.
Tampere Hall (Small Auditorium),
Yliopistonkatu 55. Tickets starting
from ?18/23. www.tampere-talo.fi
5 Feb. Sound & Fury // Record release
gig. Telakka, Tullikamarin aukio 3.
Tickets ?12. www.telakka.eu
6 Feb. Samae Koskinen // Solo
gig with supporting act. Telakka,
Tullikamarin aukio 3. Tickets ?6.
www.telakka.eu
7 Feb. Club O?Gaea presents: Stereo
8000 // Stereo 8000 is Anssi 8000
and Maria Stereo, a local punk
rock couple. Irish Bar O?Connell?s,
Rautatienkatu 24. Free entry. www.
oconnells.fi
7 Feb. Live Acoustic Night // The
Skandinistas play ska, rock steady
& reggae. DJ Eetu. Gastropub Soho,
Otavalankatu 10. Free entry. www.
gastropub.net/soho/
7-8 Feb. Valoa Festival 2014// Two
days filled with music, at various
venues. For more information and
ticket prices, see www.valoafestival.
fi
14 Feb. Modtown // Music by DJ
Hatethepolice. Gastropub Soho,
Otavalankatu 10. Free entry. www.
gastropub.net/soho/
22 Feb. Walking Bass // Music by
DJ Balttikoira. Gastropub Soho,
Otavalankatu 10. Free entry. www.
gastropub.net/soho/
22 Feb. Renaissance Concert // Live
music by Mama Africa (SEN), Hilton
Marowa (ZIM) with band Gondwana
feat. Kazumi Tanaka, Dinea Bodibe,
Sofy Vastamaa & Daddy Ous. Klubi,
Tullikamarin aukio 2. Tickets ?6.
www.klubi.net
Ringa Manner
Out&See Oulu
22
Issue 1 2014
By James O?Sullivan
By Anski Auramo
Music _ Clubs
24 Jan. Back 2 Mad (Bassoradio)
w/ Tryambaka (PT) & FuG // Things
get all psytrance artist with special
world-class guest from Portugal.
Club 45 Special, Saaristonkatu 12.
Tickets ?11/13. www.45special.com
25 Jan. Shade Empire, Wolfheart
// Local symphonic black metal.
Nuclear Nightclub, Uusikatu 23.
Tickets ?12/14. www.nuclear.fi
28 Jan. Salsa Party // Every Tuesday,
Never Grow Old is turned into a
tiny Cuba, where the dance floor is
taken over by salsa dancers starting
at 8 pm. Everybody, from beginners
to experts, is welcome. Never Grow
Old, Hallituskatu 17. Free Entrance.
www.ngo.fi
31 Jan. Suvi Teräsniska // Local
iskelmä.
Nightclub
Tähti,
Pakkahuoneenkatu 19. Tickets ?15.
www.nightclubtahti.fi
4 Feb. Salsa Party // Every Tuesday,
Never Grow Old is turned into a
tiny Cuba, where the dance floor is
taken over by salsa dancers starting
at 8 pm. Everybody, from beginners
to experts, is welcome. Never Grow
Old, Hallituskatu 17. Free Entrance.
www.ngo.fi
6 Feb. Von Hertzen Brothers // Brother
in prog hit the stage once again.
Club 45 Special, Saaristonkatu 12.
Tickets ?12. www.45special.com
7 Feb. Medeia, Clock Paradox //
Death metal showcase from local
outfits. Nuclear Nightclub, Uusikatu
23. Tickets ?12/14. www.nuclear.fi
8 Feb. Tuomas Henrikin Jeesuksen
Kristuksen Bändin // Album launch.
Nuclear Nightclub, Uusikatu 23.
Tickets ?10. www.nuclear.fi
13 Feb. Ystävien kanssa // Alina
Pogostkina on violin and conductor
Johannes Gustavsson perfrom
works from Nielsen and Sibelius.
Oulu Music Centre, Madetojan sali,
Lintulammentie 1-3. Tickets ?8-24.
www.oulusinfonia.fi
20 Feb. Vuodenajat Vaihtuvat //
Malin Broman on violin performs
pieces from Vivaldi and T?aikovski.
Oulu Music Centre, Madetojan sali,
Lintulammentie 1-3. Tickets ?10-13.
www.oulusinfonia.fi
21 Feb. Yölintu // Schlager from Pori.
Nightclub Tähti, Pakkahuoneenkatu
19. Tickets ?15. www.nightclubtahti.fi
21 Feb. Santa Cruz, Severe // A
burst of Finnish hard rock. Nuclear
Nightclub, Uusikatu 23. Tickets ?9.
www.nuclear.fi
22 Feb. Jenni Vartiainen // Local
pop star returns. Nightclub Tähti,
Pakkahuoneenkatu 19. Tickets ?24.
www.nightclubtahti.fi
Exhibitions
Opening 25 Jan. Tapani Kokko ?
Kummitustalo // Inspired wood
sculptures and paitings. Oulu
Live Nation
31 Jan. Club 45 Special, Saaristonkatu 12. Tickets ?12/14.
www.45special.com
Imperial State Electric (SWE),
Heavy Tiger
Latest rock outfit from Nicke Andersson, the former frontman of
The Hellacopters. Having formed after the demise of the hugely
popular garage rock outfit, the band?s self titled debut in 2010
was met with praise. Sophomore effort Pop War won over critics
with its power pop.
Reptile Brain Music, their third full-length dropped last year.
Promising a revolving door of line-up members, the one constant
throughout this latest jounrey promises to be the brilliance of Andersson and his penchant for catchy hooks.
Museum of Art, Kasarmitie 7. Tickets
?0-3. www.ouka.fi/taidemuseo
Opening 25 Jan. Aki Roukala ? Leena
// Intimate photograåhic portrait of
a friend dying of breat cancer. Oulu
Museum of Art, Kasarmitie 7. Tickets
?0-3. www.ouka.fi/taidemuseo/
Until 30 Jan. Olli Joki - Lidia Joki,
Father and daughter // Paintings.
Neliö-galleria, asemakatu 37. Free
Entrance. www.neliogalleria.com
Until 2 Feb. Jussi Ranta: MAALAUKSIA
(KANTOJA STUBBAR STUMPS ???) //
Exhibition. Galleria 5, Hallituskatu
5. Free Entrance. http://galleria5.
artoulu.fi
2-23 Feb. Huumorinkukkia // Group
exhibiton of paintings and sculptures.
Neliö-galleria, asemakatu 37. Free
Entrance. www.neliogalleria.com
Sports
21 Jan. Kärpät ? HIFK // National Ice
Hockey League. Oulu Energia Areena,
Out&See Jyväskylä
20 Feb. Stammtisch // Traditional
exchange student party Stammtisch
at the Student village bar Rentukka.
Party is organised by the Erasmus
Student Network and The Student
Union of the University of Jyväskylä.
Ravintola Rentukka, Taitoniekantie 9.
Tickets ?2/1. www.rentukka.fi
24 Jan. Shade Empire, Wolfheart
// Local symphonic black metal.
Lutakko, Schaumaninkatu 3. Tickets
?10/7. www.jelmu.net
24 Jan. Patti Smith tribute // Tip of
the hat to one of music?s greatest.
Poppari, Puistokatu 2-4. Tickets
?5/3. www.jazz-bar.com
24 Jan. Ron Jeremy Big Band // Porn
king-inspired party band. Poppari,
Puistokatu 2-4. Tickets ?8/6. www.
jazz-bar.com
25 Jan. St.Marcus bluesband // Blues
rock from one of Finland?s oldest
bands. Poppari, Puistokatu 2-4.
Tickets ?7. www.jazz-bar.com
29 Jan. North River Ensemble // Fresh
jazz sounds. Poppari, Puistokatu 2-4.
Tickets ?5/3. www.jazz-bar.com
29 Jan. Kvelertak (NOR), Spiders
(SWE) // Hard rock from Norway and
Sweden. Lutakko, Schaumaninkatu
Out&See Turku
3. Tickets ?24/20 www.jelmu.net
31 Jan. Dirty Deeds Indeed //
Showcases
the
three-chord
tunesmith of Bon Scott?s AC/DC.
Red Neck, Asemakatu 7. Tickets ?6.
www.punaniska.com
7 Feb. Bob Marley?s 69th Birthday Party
// Celebration of the reggae legend.
Ravintola Rentukka, Taitoniekantie 9.
Free. www.rentukka.fi
7 Feb. Mustasch (SWE), Flesh Roxon
// Quality hard rock from Sweden.
Hard rock from Norway and Sweden.
Lutakko, Schaumaninkatu 3. Tickets
?26/25 www.jelmu.net
12 Feb. Sonata Arctica // Local metal
legends take the stage. Lutakko,
Schaumaninkatu 3. Tickets ?24/23
www.jelmu.net
13 Feb. KVR & Mopo Jazzliiton
kiertue // Local jazz on tour. Poppari,
Puistokatu 2-4. Tickets ?12/10.
www.jazz-bar.com
14 Feb. Unkind, Wound
// Local metal and sludge purveyors
top the bill. Todellisuuden mestari.
Musta Kynnys, Hannikaisenkatu 16.
Tickets TBA. www.mustakynnys.com
20 Feb. Equally Stupid // International
trio celebrate the release of the
Teuvo Pakkalankatu 11. Tickets
?7.50-21. www.oulunkarpat.fi
28 Jan. Kärpät ? SaiPa // National Ice
Hockey League. Oulu Energia Areena,
Teuvo Pakkalankatu 11. Tickets
?7.50-21. www.oulunkarpat.fi
1 Feb. Kärpät ? KalPa // National Ice
Hockey League. Oulu Energia Areena,
Teuvo Pakkalankatu 11. Tickets
?7.50-21. www.oulunkarpat.fi
8 Feb. Kärpät ? Jokerit // National Ice
Hockey League. Oulu Energia Areena,
Teuvo Pakkalankatu 11. Tickets
?7.50-21. www.oulunkarpat.fi
11 Feb. Kärpät ? Tappara // National
Ice Hockey League. Oulu Energia
Areena, Teuvo Pakkalankatu 11.
Tickets ?7.50-21. www.oulunkarpat.fi
The event listings in the Out&See
sections are based on the available
information at the time of printing the
issue. SixDegrees is not responsible
for possible changes, mistakes,
cancellations or lack of information
concerning the events mentioned.
Music _ Clubs
31 Jan. DJs Luutnantti Suola and
Jan.ne Laurila // Two DJs playing a
wide variety of genres. Bar Kuka,
Linnankatu 17. Admission free.
www.barkuka.fi
31 Jan. UK Subs (UK), TV Smith
(UK) and Yleislakko // A night with
three punk rock bands. Klubi (LIVE),
Humalistonkatu 8. Tickets ?13/15.
www.klubi.net
31 Jan. Metallihelvetti 100v! //
Metal band night with Cannibal
Accident, Inferia, Virulent Blessing
and Atretic Intestine. Klubi (ILTA),
Humalistonkatu 8. Tickets ?8/14.
www.klubi.net
31 Jan. Klubi?s Punkrock High Friday
Night Partee // This DJ night is
dedicated to the more underground
subgenres of music. DJ TBA.
Klubi (KOLO), Humalistonkatu 8.
Admission free. www.klubi.net
1. Feb. Kaikukasti 10 years! // The
ten year anniversary concert of a
?proggae? band that mixes reggae
and progressive music. Klubi
(LIVE), Humalistonkatu 8. Tickets
?7. www.klubi.net
1 Feb. Melissa Horn (SWE) // One
of Sweden?s greatest musicians
performs songs that communicate
the deepest truths of relationships.
Logomo, KöydenpunoJan.katu 14.
Tickets ?41,50. www.logomo.fi
2 Feb. Vi3 (SWE) // A cover band
with a wide repertoire gives a lively
and eventful performance. Apollo
Nightclub,
Humalistonkatu
6.
Tickets ?8. www.nightclub.fi
4 Feb. Mustasch (SWE) // A
performance by a heavy metal band
fronted by Ralf Gyllenhammar. Klubi
(LIVE), Humalistonkatu 8. Tickets
?28/29. www.klubi.net
7 Feb. and 8 Feb. TrrTrrTrr! // A pop
rocking cover band that borrows your
favourite tunes from three decades
back and adds a new flavour to
them. Apollo, Humalistonkatu 6.
Tickets ?6/8. www.nightclub.fi
8 Feb. Metallihelvetti vol. 18 //
Heavy metal band night with Shade
Empire, Wolfheart and Immergo.
Klubi (ILTA), Humalistonkatu 8.
Tickets ?11/13. www.klubi.net
14 Feb. Rock&Roll Sensation //
This ?80s cover band combines
expert showmanship to professional
performing. Apollo, Humalistonkatu
6. Tickets ?6. www.nightclub.fi
14 Feb. Finntroll // A performance by
one of Finland?s leading folk metal
bands. Klubi (LIVE), Humalistonkatu
8. Tickets ?13/15. www.klubi.net
15 Feb. Blake (UK) // This vocal
group is known as the ?band who
formed on Facebook?. Klubi (ILTA),
Humalistonkatu 8. Tickets ?8/10.
www.klubi.net
21 Feb. The New Tigers, Black Twig
and Delay Trees // A pop band night.
Klubi (ILTA), Humalistonkatu 8.
Tickets ?7/10. www.klubi.net
Vesa Ranta
15 Feb. Logomo, KöydenpunoJan.katu 14. www.logomo.fi
Tickets: ?27.50/32.50/35
Kovasetti Presents:
Sonata Arctica
This legendary Finnish power metal band from Kemi is celebrating its 15 years in the music business since the release of their
debut album Ecliptica back in 1999. On this tour of Finland and
Latin-America, the band plays extended gigs including songs
from the bands entire catalogue of seven studio albums, as well
as giving a taste of the upcoming album Pariah?s Child. Originally
created as a hard rock band, Sonata Arctica is known for mixing
symphonic and progressive metal elements into their music.
26 Feb. Movements Beauty Company:
Jorma Uotinen Voila! // This legendary
Finnish dancer sings the dramatic songs
of Edith Piaf and Marlene Dietrich.
Logomo, KöydenpunoJan.katu 14.
Tickets ?32,50. www.logomo.fi
Theatre _ Dance
31 Jan. and 1 Feb. Orkesteri ? The
Everlast // The story of a band that
tries to make a living by playing
at weddings. Directed by Jan.ne
Reinikainen. Turku City Theatre,
Itäinen Rantakatu 14. Tickets ?37.
www.teatteri.turku.fi
Première 5 Feb. Poika // A drama
about fatherhood, parenthood and
love, shadowed by fear of loss.
Directed by Petra Lähde and Miska
Kaukonen. Linnateatteri, Linnankatu
31. Tickets ?23/29. linnateatteri.fi
14 Feb. V-Day, Vagina Monologues
// These monologues are based
on interviews of over 200 women
and performed by actresses. Turku
City Theatre, Itäinen Rantakatu 14.
Tickets ?28. www.teatteri.turku.fi
Others
31 Jan. ? 2 Feb. Building and
Decorating Fair // This fair offers
inspiration and tips on how to
renovate and redecorate your home.
Presented by Teuvo Loman and
Saija Palin. Turku Fair and Congress
Center, Messukentänkatu 9-13.
turunmessukeskus.fi
The event listings in the Out&See
sections are based on the available
information at the time of printing the
issue. SixDegrees is not responsible
for possible changes, mistakes,
cancellations or lack of information
concerning the events mentioned.
By James O?Sullivan
full-length. Poppari, Puistokatu 2-4.
Tickets ?5/3. www.jazz-bar.com
20 Feb. The Brains (CAN), Flesh
Roxon, The Leopards // Canadian
faves top an impressive bill. Lutakko,
Schaumaninkatu 3. Tickets ?24/20
www.jelmu.net
Exhibitions
Until 6 April. SPACE_MAN_TECHNOLOGY_
ORDER// Works from Kaisa Lipponen,
Ron Nordström, Stefan Nyström, Sari
Palosaari, Thomas Westphal. Jyväskylä
Art Museum Holvi, Kauppatu 23.
Tickets ?4-6. Free entry on Fridays.
www.jyvaskyla.fi/taidemuseo
25 Jan. ? 12 Feb. Erik Schütte // Exhibition.
Galleria Becker, Seminaarinkatu 28.
Free entry. www.jkltaiteilijaseura.net/
galleria.htm
15 Feb. ? 5 Mar. Merja Nykänen// Exhibition.
Galleria Becker, Seminaarinkatu 28. Free
entry. www.jkltaiteilijaseura.net/galleria.
htm
Sports
25 Jan. JYP ? KalPa // National Ice
Hockey League. Synergia arena,
Rautpohjankatu 10. Tickets ?5-30.
www.jypliiga.fi
31 Jan. JYP ? HIFK // National Ice
Hockey League. Synergia arena,
Rautpohjankatu 10. Tickets ?5-30.
www.jypliiga.fi
7 Feb. Dec. JYP ? HPK // National
Ice Hockey League. Synergia arena,
Rautpohjankatu 10. Tickets ?5-30.
www.jypliiga.fi
11 Feb. JYP ? TPS // National Ice
Hockey League. Synergia arena,
Rautpohjankatu 10. Tickets ?5-30.
www.jypliiga.fi
15 Feb. Jan. JYP ? Lukko // National
Ice Hockey League. Synergia arena,
Rautpohjankatu 10. Tickets ?5-30.
www.jypliiga.fi
The event listings in the Out&See
sections are based on the available
information at the time of printing the
issue. SixDegrees is not responsible
for possible changes, mistakes,
cancellations or lack of information
concerning the events mentioned.
11 Dec. Lutakko, Schaumaninkatu 3. Tickets ?10/8. www.jelmu.net
Live Herring ?14
Bringing machines and robots together, this exhibition offers a
series of media art exhibitions.
The exhibition brings together works that deal with machines
and robots, and the human-like features of both. The exhibition
features works three artists from the media: Jinhee Kimi, Matti
Niinimäki and Lasse Ursin.
Kimi?s work, Fortune Telling Bird, is based on Chinese tradition,
incorporating the use of trained birds to foresee a prediction.
Niinimäki?s art is a pet shop store for robots, in which
mechanical pets are on display. Meanwhile, Ursin?s work sees
kinetic sculptures hanging from the ceiling, old umbrellas,
electric motors and chalks challenging the idea of authority.
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