UUSIKUU - Vintage Sounds of Finland

**Cast**
Laura Ryhänen — Vocals
Mikko Kuisma — Violin, Vocals
Norbert Bremes — Accordion
James Geier — Guitar

**Uusikuu**
A Nordic August evening, everyone brings treats, and in a cheerful gathering, we enjoy the warm summer night. Uusikuu invites us to a wild mix of musical bites under the Northern Lights with the Finnish singer and composer Laura Ryhänen and her sixth album "Piknik" (release February 2025, Nordic Notes). This is about overflowing joy of life, infectious rhythms, deep emotions, passion, ecstasy, romance, and drama. Finland has been named the happiest country in the world for the seventh time. What is Finnish happiness, Onni? Cheerfulness, subtle humor, quirky anecdotes. But silence and quiet moments also count.

Uusikuu (New Moon) embarked in 2006 with the ambitious goal of breathing new life into traditional Finnish tango. The lively world music quintet has nothing to do with the typical melancholic tango mood (or the knitted hat). The small orchestra, which describes its style as "Vintage Sounds of Finland," pays homage to the traditional Finnish entertainment music of the 1930s to 1960s on its albums. The five do not want to stand still but even venture briefly into the fabulous 70s and 80s. And since Uusikuu are huge fans of the Eurovision Song Contest, references to the legendary music competition are a must.

On a Uusikuu picnic evening, dancing in a mystical nightclub liberates a girl from the red-light district, making her strong, brave, and independent. We get to know Lempi, the shy young criminal by passion, who serves her murderous sparkling wine in the infectious Jenkka rhythm. And the remorseful bank robber tries to rid himself of his guilty conscience by sailing on a soothing Bossa Nova wave.

Some of the songs in the program are penned by Uusikuu, while the remaining tracks entertain with a skillful mix of fun old Humppas, heartfelt Finntangos, and cult Swing. Laura Ryhänen reveals herself as a big admirer of the legendary Spanish Eurovision disco duo Baccara and their 70s mega-hit "Yes Sir, I Can Boogie." "My cousin and I have been ardent Baccara fans since childhood. My mother even sewed us stage costumes. Now we both have identical Baccara tattoos," Laura confesses with a wink.

Uusikuu's picnic basket also contains a portion of Nordic Noir, for example, their version of the classic "Summer Wine" by Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra, titled "Kotiviini." In Germany, there is also the version by HIM frontman Ville Valo and Natalia Avelon.

With their skillful mix of fiery tangos, dreamy waltzes, cheeky Jenkkas, fun Humppas, and light-footed swing sounds, Uusikuu has long invited their audience to dance. The critics are also impressed: the band was nominated for the world music award "Eiserner Eversteiner" in 2022. In December 2023, Uusikuu was awarded the German Rock & Pop Prize 2023 in the category "Best World Music Album" for their previous album "Karuselli."

Welcome to Uusikuu's musical picnic, where happiness is served in bites and everyone is warmly invited to sing along with all their hearts!