Bye

It's come time for us to say Moi moi to the Quaint North as we are packing our bags and moving way down South. Helsinki, we'll miss you! Bye for now.

Inspire

Here's something inspiring that we here at Quaint North stumbled upon: a one day festival developed for the sole purpose of encouraging people to live their dreams! The festival brings together people who are already doing what they always dreamt of to share their experiences of daring, be it owning a little coffee shop or being one of the leading fashion designers in the country. All this for the sake of inspiring those who are still in the dreaming phase. What a cool concept, we at least feel inspired already!

Inspire Festival
26 May @
Tulli & Pakkahuone, Katajanokka
www.idbminspire.org

Zebra and Snake

Here's a band that we've been meaning to post about for quite some time, and right now seems better than ever. This quirky electro-pop duo is made up of Tapio Viitasaari and Matti Ahopelto who make some interesting music under their alter-egos as Zebra and Snake. This pair deserves all the hype directed their way on the eve of their first full-length album Healing Music, due for release on 14 May. Zebra and Snake love synths and produce music that takes its influences from the golden days of that wonderful instrument – the 80s. Their sound is polished off with the deep vocals of Viitasaari. Zebra and Snake's new single Money in Heaven is released as a digital download on 7th May, listen to it here.

www.zebraandsnake.com

Recycling factory

The Cable Factory fills with all things ecological this weekend as the Recycling Factory event takes place for the third time. The event offers tips and advice for a sustainable lifestyle and ecological consuming. The programme boasts all sorts of DIY workshops, discussions, and even a fashion show. On top of all this, a bunch of lovely crafts, second hand clothes and other ecologcal goodies can be purchased here.

Recycling Factory @
The Cable Factory 5-6 May
www.kierratystehdas.fi

Gracias

Although we here Quaint North are not all that into hip hop, we'd like to introduce you to Gracias. He made an appearance a couple of years back with a single from his first EP named HKI, which is a nice ode to this city of ours. Since then, local hip hop lovers have held their breath in waiting for a full length album from this fellow – and in a couple of days the wait is over. His debut album Globe is due for release on 9 May and boasts 12 tracks that were put together with JTT. Gracias will step on stage at Flow Festival later this summer.

www.gracias.fi

 

HAFF

There's really no shortage of film festivals here in Helsinki, but can there ever be too many of them? We don't think so. Helsinki African Film Festival takes place in the beginning of May and brings a thought-provoking selection of contemporary African films to Finland. The festival draws attention to a side of Africa we rarely see, a continent filled with different cultures and wide-ranging issues.

HAFF @
Andorra & BioRex 2-6 May
www.haff.fi

Eva & Manu

There's something very heartwarming about Eva & Manu. This pair of gifted musicians travelled around Europe finding inspiration, working with local people on organic farms, and writing their first album. Along their travels they performed songs on the streets of different cities and recorded their journey with a blog. Now the folk-pop duo is making its way through Finland, stepping on the stage at different venues. What a pair of inspirational people!

Eva & Manu @
Korjaamo 28 April
www.evamanu.com

Nuojuva

We accidentally stumbled upon a Finnish music maker who was previously unknown to us. Olli Aarni produces some incredibly beautiful sounds under the name Nuojuva. Curiously enough, he has signed with Preservation, an Australian record label, which released his album Valot Kaukaa in February. This was the first album under the current name, but Aarni actually released his debut album Nuojuva Halava already in 2010 under the name Ous Mal. This is some very interesting stuff, best listened to with headphones on and eyes closed.

www.o-a.tumblr.com

AlppiTori

Nice new places just keep popping up in the city! We were happy to test out AlppiTori, the little sister of one of our favourite restaurants in Helsinki, Tori in Punavuori. AlppiTori opened up in the corner of Sturen- and Kirstinkatu just a few days ago. Things seemed to be still a bit in the making, but the restaurant already had a friendly feel and great food. You can expect to find the delicious burgers and meatballs that Tori is known for from here as well. Welcome to Alppila, Tori!

Ravintola AlppiTori
Kirstinkatu 15

Bon Jouni

Performing under the clever name Bon Jouni, Helsinki based singer-songwriter Jouni Pesola made his appearance last spring with the debut album A Beautiful Never-Ending Nothing. Bon Jouni's songs are heavily influenced by acoustic folk, but spiced with a touch of pop. His lyrics are filled with beautiful melancholy and the overall sound carries that special sense of Scandinavia. Catch him and a bunch of other talented local musicians at Kojaamo Folks Festival this weekend.

Bon Jouni @
Korjaamo Folks Festival 21 April
www.bonjouni.com

Good Life Coffee

The café scene of Helsinki just got a very nice new addition: Good Life Coffee popped up in Kallio and opened it's doors today. The café is run by a young coffee enthusiast Lauri Pipinen who really knows how to make a good brew, he even took home the Barista of the Year prize last year. To our happy surprise we found a flat white on the list, gave it a try and approved! The video below demonstrates Pipinen working his magic.

Good Life Coffee
Kolmas linja 17
www.goodlifecoffee.fi

Good Life Coffee from Balansia Films on Vimeo.

Bookies

This weekend we attended the ever so inspiring series of seminars on artist- and designer-led publishing. Hopefully we'll see a similar event here again soon. Meanwhile, there's still a chance to check out the two exhibitions linked to the event at Napa Gallery and Myymälä2, both run until 28 April.

Napa Gallery @
Eerikinkatu 1
www.napagalleria.wordpress.com

Myymälä2 @
Uudenmaankatu 23
www.myymala2.com

The Dø

The Dø is a brilliant Finnish/French indie-pop duo formed of Olivia Merilahti and Dan Levy. The pair met while recording music for a French film back in 2005 and ended up joining forces. Their first album A Mouthful was released in 2008 to great acclaim – it shot to the top of French charts as the first English language album to do so. Their second album Both Ways Open Jaws saw daylight in 2011. The Dø's sound comprises of experimental use of instruments topped up with Merilahti's unique voice. Over the years the duo has toured extensively around the world and lucky for us, is on the road again.

The Dø @
Tavastia 23 April
www.thedomusic.com

Artisokka Film Festival

The Artisokka Film Festival is organised annually during the spring and it gathers together some interesting films with a focus on women as filmmakers, directors and actresses. One of the most disturbingly intriguing flicks we want to catch this year is Lynne Ramsay's We Need to Talk About Kevin. See the entire festival programme here.

Artisokka Film Festival @
Bio Rex & Maxim 29 March - 1 April
www.artisokka.info

Sara Sayed

Sara Sayed is an up and coming singer-songwriter with a whole lot of soul. Originally from Helsinki, she now lives in London. Her self-titled debut album was released last spring and she's also the other half of the duo Rime. Equipped with a powerful voice and a ton of talent, we're bound to hear more about her in the future. Below is a taster of what she came up with at the Red Bull Music Academy.

Sara Sayed @
Korjaamo 7 April
www.sarasayed.com

IHME Days

It must be spring since the IHME Days are upon us! Organised yearly in March, the contemporary art festival offers a ton of wonders to marvel at. One of the works of art that we look forward to seeing is the interactive piece Shadowplay by Jaakko Niemelä. It is projected on the walls of the old bus station and Lasipalatsi in Kamppi and plays with the shadows of passers by. Check out the festival programme for more interesting stuff that takes place over the weekend!

IHME Days
23 - 25 March
www.ihmeproductions.fi

Cats on Fire

Cats on Fire is a brilliant Turku based band that creates charming music filled with beautiful lyrics and soft tones. They've been around since the start of the noughties and have established their place amidst the bands music-loving Finns proudly call their own. The group's third full-length album All Black Shirts to Me is due for release on 28 March, a taster of which you can listen to here.

Cats on Fire album release party @
Kuudeslinja 6 April
www.catsonfire.net

LCMDF

Sisters Emma and Mia Kemppainen produce fun and catchy electropop. The girls became known from the trio Le corps mince de Françoise a few years back, but have since lost a member along with a few letters in their name. They shot back to the hot list of music blogs last year with a release of their debut album as a duo Love & Nature. Emma & Mia reside in Berlin, but arrive to cherish us here in Helsinki with their sweet sounds very shortly.

LCMDF @
Korjaamo 7 March
www.lcmdf.com

LCMDF - Future Me OFFICIAL VIDEO from LCMDF on Vimeo.

Burning Hearts

The talented duo of Jessika Rapo and Henry Ojala joined forces back in 2006 forming a synth induced electro-pop band Burning Hearts. A few years later, with the release of their first album Aboa Sleeping 2009, the band entered the wide spread consciousness of music lovers both in its home country and abroad. Welcomed with open arms, the success of the album saw Burning Hearts tour around Europe.

The last we heard more of them was when the pair produced the beautiful four-song EP Into the Wilderness last summer. The dreamlike track by the same name spread around the internet and made it into the playlists of local radios.

Now there's more. Burning Hearts is just about to release a second full length album Extinctions. The album has already gathered praising reviews and we can't wait to get our hands on it! The new stuff can be heard live here in HKI very soon as well.

Burning Hearts @
Kuudeslinja 2 March
www.burningheartsmusic.com