Värttinä

Värttinä (pronounced VAR - tin - a, meaning spindle) is touted as an early progenitor of "New Finnish Folk." The group was founded by Sari Kaasinen in 1983 as a women's choir to sing peasant songs. Eventually, she stripped the group down to a female vocal quartet backed by an instrumental folk-rock sextet.

Well-known in the European world music community, 1996 marks the group's first Canadian dates, having toured the U.S. in 1993 and 1995. Albums have charted in Billboard magazine and landed on SPIN magazines Top 10 World Albums for 1993.

Their 1995 album, Aitara, features mostly original work -- largely by Kaasinen. Reviews describe the music as "instead of the stoic fatalism that marks most folk music, these songs burst with the energy and high expectations of women who accept no limitations."