The Silent Sunrise: Kardemimmit and "El Niin Hiljaa"

Our random song for today is by the Finnish band Kardemimmit, which is made up of four women who play the national instrument of Finland, called the kantele. The instrument comes in 15 and 38 string versions, and both types are present in their music. Founded in 1999 in a music school, the band plays original modern folk compositions steeped in tradition from Finland's various regions, and their styles include Finnish reki and ancient runo singing, 19th century dancing music, Perhonjokilaakso kantele playing styles and eastern Finnish archaic improvisation. They have released three albums. The band's name is that of a common spice used to sweeten, so Kardemimmit advertises themselves as Finland's Spice Girls. This song, El Niin Hiljaa, can be found on their 2009 album Kaisla, and on a bonus CD included with The Rough Guide to the Music of Scandinavia called Introducing Kardemimmit.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: http://www.kardemimmit.fi/