Live Review: Johanna Juhola Reaktori at The Junction

By Robert Burnham-Rusk

Painting a story with their music, Johanna Juhola Reaktori whisk the audience away in an emotion fuelled, musical journey, that visits both comedy and tragedy.

Johanna Juhola Reaktori are a Finnish quartet who explore many different styles and genres throughout their lively set. The group mix elements of traditional folk and tango with electronic drum beats, conveying musical storytelling with a catchy dance vibe. Johanna describes the band’s sound as “Fantasy Tango” and played her song Fantasiatango at the 2007 Eurovision contest held in Finland, receiving well deserved recognition for her innovative music.

Unsure of exactly what I was about to witness from the genre defying quartet hailing from Helsinki, I took to my seat, excited. The house lights dimmed and a video of an old black and white film was projected on to the curtain at the back of the stage. The band bounded over to their instruments, in brightly coloured, cartoonlike outfits and one by one joined in with the music from the video. I soon realised that this wasn’t just simply a gig; it was an artistic performance, a show, an experience.

Q&A with Johanna Juhola

Q: Your music is described as blending the Buenos Aires tango halls with forest-dark Finnish landscapes. Can you explain how the tango came to Finland?

JJ: Tango came to Finland first time in the beginning of 19th century but it became popular not until the 60s. Finnish tango acquired influences from German marches and Russian romances on its way from Argentina and those were the ingredients of Finnish tango; melancholy and clear rhythm. There were a few very productive tango composers like Unto Mononen and Toivo Kärki and their tangos have become a symbol of Finnish melancholy and their tangos are still very popular and performed by many artists.

Q: Your music is an original blend of contemporary tango and inventive use of electronica – is it important to update the tradition?

JJ:. It's always important to update the tradition to keep it fresh and alive. But when I make music I don't think so much about updating anything, I just do what feels exciting to me. Tango is my great inspiration because of the great passion and big emotions, the drama and the melancholy. The feeling is more important than the style. Electronica is a great way to create images. When you use sounds that you can't associate to any instrument you start to create images in your own head and that's interesting. My electronica player Tumppi also plays for example vocal samples from Carlos Gardel and from a Finnish vocal group (Metro-tytöt) who were popular in the 50s. These kind of things create more ‘stories’ in the instrumental music.

Next ON TOUR: Johanna Juhola Reaktori

Eclectic & eccentric: Finnish tango from cheeky accordionist Johanna Juhola and her Reaktori band.
See here for tour dates & info.

Yiddish Twist Orchestra hit the road

Irresistible retro roots from London's East End: Yiddish Twist Orchestra are ready to charm audiences when they start their Making Tracks UK-wide tour next week. Check out the tour dates and mark your diaries!

Melingo on the road

Argentinian punk tango poet, Melingo, and his band Ramones del Tango, arrive in the UK tomorrow to start their first ever tour to the regions. Coming to a venue near you? Check out the tour dates.

What the audience said: Krar Collective

Get to see this band if you can! They are brilliant - and don't forget your dancing feet - they had the whole audience up and dancing at The Sage Gateshead on Sunday night.

We had a brilliant time last night. Come back to York soon!

Wonderful night in Bristol tonight. Thank you all.

It was an amazing transformation: 8 PM a grumpy group of people whinge-ing for seats, 10 PM the venue alive with movement, dance and music.

The instrumentation might be minimal, however the sound is anything but.  (...) trance-like, quivering and intense.

Loving @KrarCollective @mac_birmingham tonight. So hot!

Thankyou all so much for such a wonderful night out... I hope you can come back again soon!!! :)

Fantastic show by Krar Collective last night.

Brilliant gig at the Sage tonight, you have so much energy!! Thank you, and enjoy the rest of your tour :)

Live Review: Krar Collective at RichMix

By Julia Morris

Kicking off their Making Tracks tour in a whirlwind of Ethiopian song, krar grooves and fantastical dance moves, Krar Collective swept us up into an Addis-soaked night far removed from the streets of East London’s Rich Mix. Led by krar wizard Temesgen Taraken, former star pupil of Ethio-jazz legend Mulatu Astatke, this special album launch show saw the normal trio of krar, vocals and percussion expanded into a lineup that also featured saxophone, bass krar, dancers and guest vocalist.

After a haunting opening ballad from singer Genet Assefa, the band embarked on a rocking set, madly exchanging intricate rhythms and melodies to the deep beats of the kebero drums. Amharic popular songs were sounded in counterpoint to Ethio-jazz numbers from Addis’ 1960s/70s ‘Golden Years’ to weave a truly unique mesh of Ethiopian styles. This was all augmented by Temesgen’s electrifying performance on the krar, the ancient six-stringed Ethiopian lyre, fully showcasing his skills as he strummed driving riffs that would rival any rock guitarist.

Krar Collective open the new season

London-based Ethiopian trio Krar Collective are ready for the first Making Tracks tour this season, starting next week.

WMN to release Krar Colletive debut album

World Music Network is to release the  Krar Collective debut album, 'Ethiopia Super Krar'. The release date has been set for Sept 10, to coincide with the trio's Making Tracks tour in the UK in Sept/Oct 2012. Check out the label page here.

Making Tracks Season 3 announced!

The third season of Making Tracks kicks off in September with the funky Ethiopian roots of Krar Collective. Expect swinging grooves and soulful vocals -  full tour dates here. The season then moves on to bring more exciting concert tours across the UK with punk tango poet Melingo (November), brilliant retro roots from Yiddish Twist Orchestra (February) and closes with eclectic Finnish accordions from Johanna Juhola & Reaktori (April)