.: Set'akat

The trio is actualy one of the cores of the Finnish folk music as we know it today. Set'Akat is very unique group , mainly because it is a joint project of the founders of the most succesful Finnish folk group Varttina - sisters Sari and Mari Kaasinen - together on the same stage in the same band after more than ten years . The third ingredient is Karoiliina Kantelinen , who is a member of accapella group Ketsurat.

Set'Akat was born around Sari Kaasinen's work on her doctor's thesis for Sibelius Academy folk music department. The group - and the thesis - digs deep into Karelian (region on Finnish-Russian border) vocal traditions and especially in women's way of using music in their everyday life. The songs (all original compositions by Sari Kaasinen) take you through different eras and feelings on what it's been like to be a woman in ancient Karelian culture. There are lively parts of a young and wild girl, those of more domestic worries when the "mid-age crisis" kicks in, there are lullabys of a happy mom and prolonged wail when it seems that life has nothing else to offer but sorrow.

If you have been into Finnish folk music before, you could say that in a way this group gets back to the same roots where Värttinä left off. The core themes are life as a woman and different eras in her life. And of course the carelian outlook on life and the way of life in general, this sure isn't only about women or for women. Because in every story there's always the man too... All three ladies sing together and play kanteles - the Finnish national instruments.

The group name means "friends", "companions" or "mates for travelling" in the ancient Karelian language.