Finnish fiddler Arto Järvelä (JPP, etc) will be doing a West Coast tour in May alongside Finnish/American folk duo Kaivama: http://www.kaivama.com/shows.html
Nice to see they're doing a show here in Olympia, so if my wife decides that's how she'd like to spend her birthday then we will be in attendance.
Berlin-based clubnight Nordic By Nature has posted their latest mixtape for April/spring. To get the latest on their activities for the month, go here: http://www.nbnberlin.de/dates.html
"Worn out shoes" is the first song Lighthouse Project wrote for their new album "We are the wildflowers" and also the first song they are sharing. Said album will be officially released on April 25.
I wouldn't normally expect straight-up meat'n'potatoes death metal from , but here you go. Look for the band's upcoming self-titled discography CD to be released in the near future.
Disco Ensemble performs a new song, live in the studio. Look for the band to release a new record and hit this fall.
There's a new episode from Finnish live music video site Off the Record featuring the band Harmaja performing in an aquarium: http://offtherecord.fi/harmaja/
Can't say that I'm familiar with this act at all, but first impressions are quite good.
Hear a new track from Siinai off their forthcoming record "With Siinai: Heartbreaking bravery", due out April 17 via : http://siinai.tumblr.com/post/20167807494/new-song-from-the-forthcoming-album-with-siinai
Avant-garde Metal gives a short rundown of the new Beastmilk EP "Use your deluge": http://avantgarde-metal.com/content/beyond2.php?id=178
Personally, I think the record is killer and will likely be grabbing a copy in the not-so-distant future.
I had forgotten to keep up with Jaakko Laitinen & Väärä Raha since their self-titled debut passed through here back in late 2010, but I just received a copy of their latest, just-released record "Yö Rovaniemellä" and I'm glad to report that first impressions are just as positive as before. Obviously somewhat of an acquired taste you could say, but I really do love this sort of classic Finnish tango/dance music.
An old track from Hexvessel circa 2009 soon to be (re?) released on 7" to coincide with the band's appearence at Roadburn. More info here.
Just signed to . Kevin's new album will be out in September.
Can't say I'm crazy about the music, but it's cool to see a band team up with their local astronomical society to fight light pollution. Novel concept!
Pitchfork rightly praises the US release of Mirel Wagner's excellent self-titled album: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16427-mirel-wagner/
Finnish singer/songwriter Olavi Uusivirta is the latest artist to be featured on live music video site Off the Record: http://offtherecord.fi/olavi-uusivirta/