The winners of the Etno-Espa song contest have been chosen. The author of the folk song of the future is Aleksi Taipale, who hides behind the stage name Taui. The jury chose “Härnähenkien Polska” as the winner of the Kansanlaulu 2050 competition out of 48 entries. The winning song will be performed at the opening ceremony of Etno-Espa on the Espa stage on 5 August 2024.
Etno-Espa, together with the Finnish Music Creators Association and the Finnish Literary Society, organised a song competition with the theme “Kansanlaulu 2050”. Songs for the competition were collected during the month of May. The jury consisted of musicologist, a founding member of Etno-Espa and member of the board Riikka Hiltunen (chair of the jury), musicologist and musician Pauliina Lerche, chair of the board of the Finnish Music Creators Association, and Risto Blomster, archivist and docent at the Finnish Literary Society. The jury received the pieces anonymously. The works will be rewarded with cash prizes (€1200, €500 and €300).
The winner of the competition was “Härnähenkien polska”. The song was written by Aleksi Taipale, who has released experimental electronic pop music in Finnish under the artist name Taui and also plays in a band called Teini-ikä. Read more about the artist here.
The runner-up was Ida Elina, whose song “Pohjolan kaiut” is a praise of nature and forests, in which a mother sings of old to make the forests grow tall and the bears and wolves to protect them.
Third was the song “Marjut” by Dänkki Briha, a band that just released their debut album and who, in their own words, makes “ethnofuturistic anti-folk”, combining Kalevala poetry and rap aesthetics. For more information on the authors and the selection criteria, see the end of the press release.
The winning song will be performed live at the opening ceremony of Etno-Espa on Monday 5 August 2024. The opening ceremony will also feature the 20th anniversary of the harmonica ensemble Sväng, last seen at Etno-Espa in the first year of the event in 2005.
Etno-Espa’s opening ceremony on the Espa stage on Monday 5.8.2024
17.00 Folk Song 2050 competition winners will be awarded, live with the winner Taui: “Härnähenkien polska”
17.30 Sväng
Songs to be awarded in the competition
- “Härnähenkien polska”. Composition, lyrics, arrangement, production Taui (Aleksi Taipale)
- “Pohjolan kaiut”. Composition & lyrics: Ida Elina (Päivi Kujanen). Arrangement: Ida Elina & Tuomas Aukio. Recorded and mixed byTuomas Aukio
- “Marjut”. Performer: Dänkki Briha
Composition. Juho Liira, Manu Penttilä
Lyrics Trad. / Juho Liira
Arrangement Manu Penttilä, Juho Liira, Matias Kontula
Production: Manu Penttilä
Interview requests:
Chair of the jury Riikka Hiltunen,
riikka.hiltunen@gmail.com, +358 50 3579 222
