Animagios
Animagios is a Finnish multimedia art concept set in a magical world called Animagios, created by Santte Salonen, Joni Stein and Erika Hammarberg.
In Animagios, everyone has their own soul-character, which is molded by one’s temperament, personality and identity. It evolves through one’s experiences and self-reflection. The mind, and our shared struggle for its well-being, is the central thread of the expansive Animagios project.
Ystäväni Tsizik (2024)
Photos by Jani Snellman
Music from Animagios (2020)
Animagios has gotten grants from the Kone Foundation, the Helsinki Music Centre Foundation, the association Föreningen Konstsamfundet and the Arts Promotion Center Finland (Corona Support).
Salonen & Stein
Santte Salonen (Soprano Saxophone) & Joni Stein (Piano). Photo by Mikko Malmivaara.
The composer duo Salonen & Stein writes music that takes the listener on tonal excursions, where different dances, styles, and topics from the 18th century to the present are spinned together into a multifaceted program. Their sources of inspiration range from Nordic folk dances and tango music to musicals and Japanese anime. With their duo line-up, they present a colorful selection of works arranged for soprano saxophone and piano.
Currently Salonen and Stein are composing the Suite for soprano Piia Komsi and string orchestra.
Salonen & Stein has gotten grants from the Finnish Music Foundation (MES) and Georg Malmstén -säätiö.
Ritva Nero
”This music is clearly made for dancing – but in what way? That is for the listener to decide: one can dance Finnish and Karelian folk dances with their familiar steps to this music or listen to the metal sounds and make a mosh pit out of it.”
– Tove Djupsjöbacka / Finnish Music Quarterly
Emilia Lajunen (Nyckelharpa), Petri Prauda (Finnish Bagpipes), Santte Salonen (Soprano Saxophone), Patrik Fält (Drums) & Jani Snellman (Electric Bass). Photo by Tiia Öhman.
Ritva Nero is a Finnish headbanging folk group formed in 2017. The music of the band could be described as Party Metal Folk. Lead instruments played in the band are Soprano Saxophone, Finnish Bagpipes and Nyckelharpa, complimented by a rock style Bass and metal music style Drums. Folk dance tunes are cleverly combined with the metal tradition of our time in a contemporary manner.
Ritva Nero has performed on several major stages at European folk music festivals: Kaustinen Folk Music Festival (FI), Haapavesi Folk Music Festival (FI), Nordischer Klang (GER), Korrö Festival (SWE), Guinness Irish Festival (CH) and Sommelo Folk Music Festival (FI).
Band’s debut album Immortal Tradition was released in 2022 by 
Santte Salonen (composer, band leader) and Erika Hammarberg (lyricist) have gotten a grant from the Kone Foundation to create Ritva Nero’s second album.
Barlast
”Proportionality in harmony and disharmony, density and scarcity, loudness and silence is the key to the alchemy of Barlast’s sound.”
– Balazs Weyer / Finnish Music Quarterly
Minna Koskenlahti (Percussion & Flutes), Philip Holm (Double Bass), Heikki Hänninen (Guitars) & Santte Salonen (Woodwinds). Photo by Ruusa Johansson.
Barlast is a playful laboratory of musical communication and expression. The Finnish ensemble’s music is a blend of Nordic folk music, contemporary music, jazz and art rock. Barlast’s music has been described as a spectral wonder – a fusion that might sound difficult on paper but in fact is easy and captivating to listen to.
Since its foundation in 2016, Barlast has released four albums and performed in clubs, festivals and showcase festivals around Europe and Japan. Currently the group is working on training AI algorithms to imitate traditional Finnish-Swedish singing and herding calls. The automatically generated vocals are incorporated in their new music.
Barlast has gotten grants from the Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, the Scandinavia-Japan Sasakawa Foundation, the Finnish Music Foundation, the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Tre Smeder foundation.
Verna Kylmänen (Accordion) & Santte Salonen (Soprano Saxophone). Photo by Carolina Stenbäck.
Sysmä-projekti is a music project and concert programme that focuses on the folk music tradition collected from Sysmä and the surrounding areas. Verna Kylmänen (accordion) and Santte Salonen (soprano saxophone) create and perform repertoire based on archive material and tell stories about fiddlers and other traditional folk musicians (pelimanni) who played in the area.
Read Salonen’s blog text about the project published by the Kalevala Society Foundation: Sysmä-projektissa mikrohistorialliset johtolangat luovuuden lähteenä
Sysmä-projekti has gotten grants from the Häme Regional Fund of The Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Kalevala Society Foundation.