Kardemimmit – ‘Kardemimmit Live Special’ Review

What does Kardemimmit sound like?

Finnish folk built around sumptuous vocal arrangements and the delicate kantele.

The review of ‘Kardemimmit Live Special’ by Kardemimmit

Time flies when you are having fun, and with over 20 years of performing together, Finnish folk quartet Kardemimmit celebrate it with a live release. This collection features seven songs captured largely between 2019 and 2021, showcasing the quartet’s vocal capabilities and the kantele’s psaltery-like quality. You’d never guess that they were live because the performances are note perfect.

The opening two tracks are taken from studio live performances. ‘Myötätuuli – Tailwind’ and ‘Laulu päivälle – New Day’ feel like sister tracks with their elegant and folkloric arrangements. Both are like glistening jewels. Purposeful, delicate, and like angelic caresses on your ears, they showcase the gentle side of the band. ‘Juho ja Manti’ is utterly adorable because it was recorded at the Finnish National Radio in 2004. Back then, Kardemimmmit were 12-14-year-olds, and their youth is present in their voices. In this love ballad, their voices sound like a children’s choir, and have a doughy, ever so slightly less refined delivery. When compared to the other performances, you can hear that each voice has matured, allowing the arrangement to become more layered.

We then move into a collection of live tracks from 2019.

‘Hius heliä – Fair Hair’ leans into something more pagan-folk-like with dramatic chants punctuating more delicate solo moments. There are moments where different vocalists take on different vocal lines that overlap and create a ritualistic witchiness. I’m reminded of a softer version of The Voices of Bulgaria. ‘Lasirakeet – Glass Hail’ is more chamber pop with jazz elements infused in as the quartet moves between softer solos and spiralling ascensions of notes and chords. The way Kardemimmit allows their tracks to build into climactic moments of satisfying europhoria live is superb. ‘Tulikipuna – Origin of Fire’ kicks off with an excellent introduction about the roots of the song about Finnish happiness, or melancholy. After some excellent Nordic dry humour, the track effortlessly skips along at a relentless pace. Folk singing at a syllabic pace that’d rival most rappers, the quartet stay in unison and casts a bewitching lightning spell on the listener. Equal parts impressive and comedically manic, it’s a joy to hear, before ending in a witchy vocal chant. ‘Angoli Borbala’ closes out with a sad Hungarian folk ballad. “We’re Finnish… Everybody dies”, they joke, before displaying their tongue rolling expertise in a tense and dramatic display that embodies all the cinema of Eastern European folk.

Across these seven tracks, I was taken aback at how Kardemimmit’s voices can switch from angelic and ethereal to powerful and guttural from track to track. They shapeshift in form and grace in real time, and are utterly captivating to listen to. I love that the live banter is kept in, as it shows more of their character behind the songs. I can imagine them being a laugh at the bar afterwards! It’s whetted my appetite to catch them live in person in the future. Here’s to another 20 years of Finnish folk excellence. There’s nothing else quite like Kardemimmit out there.

Recommended track: Tulikipuna – Origin of Fire

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