MAIJA AS

COMPOSER & LYRICIST

Maija’s composing method is based on using improvisation as a tool. She often records bits of singing or lyrics on her phone and later picks out the most interesting of them to work on further. She continues improvising on these snippets over and over again and lets the music find its path. She also records these improvisations and analyzes them to develop the compositions further. In her compositions Maija uses a lot of different kinds of riffs which she weaves together as polyrhythmic grooves.

Maija uses her concerts as a playground to develop her compositions and lyrics further: she tries out the new ideas and performs tunes even before giving them a more definite form. Her improvisation skills and her improvisatory method of composing give her the freedom to experiment, challenge and create in the moment. The tunes constantly develop, even after recording sessions, during live performances which are always different. 

The lyrics of Maija’s solo material are written by her either from scratch or by using traditional texts as a source of inspiration and basis. She is familiar with the finno-ugric runosong tradition and its language as well as the newer Finnish traditional styles of lyrics and metre. The topics of her songs are derived from real life – either from her own life or of perceptions of what she sees around her. She tells these stories through her music as a part of the continuum of tradition, but with a distinct voice of her own.

Maija’s deep roots in Finnish folk music are always present as a source of inspiration in both her music and her lyrics. She uses tradition as one of the tools to create her music, but doesn’t restrict herself to it. The end result of her compositions can be anything from pop to cinematic music as she combines impressions and moods from everything and anything she encounters.

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SOLO RELEASES

Maija has released two solo albums by German label Nordic Notes: Raivopyörä (The Whirl of Rage) in March 2017 and Menneet (The Past) in May 2022. Both of them have been noted and praised worldwide. The albums have distinct themes that all the songs revolve around.

Raivopyörä deals with the fates of women: the stories of challenging relationships, domestic violence and child-brides are unflinchingly portrayed, but there is also joy, consolation, hope and the mystery of young love to be celebrated. 

Menneet album tells stories of courage, meaningful meetings, of personal space and seeing one’s boundaries; about the things that prevent us from being free, and those that hold us back; facing and dealing with the things that stop us from pursuing our dreams and doing the things we enjoy. 

While working on the Menneet album Maija took a step towards being a singer-songwriter without losing her strong roots in tradition and drew influences from folk music, indie pop and film scores to the music. 

BANDS & PROJECTS

Besides her solo career Maija constantly works on multiple projects of many genres with musicians internationally. In projects such as Okra Playground and Maija Kauhanen & Johannes Geworkian Hellman she creates music and lyrics in collaboration with other artists. In the shorter live and studio projects she composes, improvises and creates her own parts for the music others have created, usually without a written score. Her music also inspires other artists worldwide and she is nowadays also sought after as a composer.

INSTRUMENTS & TECHNIQUES

Maija is known for her ability to play all her instruments and sing simultaneously - all manually without the help of loopers. She can improvise on any of the instrument she plays while continuing to play the others expertly. This liberty and skill to change the tunes at a whim has astonished both the audiences and fellow musicians alike. Maija has always had to use her imagination with playing due to technical challenges,  as she only has nine fingers to use. The loss of her left little finger – in an accident at the age of one – made most other instruments impossible to play as a child. This has inspired her to constantly develop new ways of playing.

SELF-TAUGHT PERCUSSIONIST

Maija added percussion instruments to her solo set in 2009 while studying at Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. She is mainly self-taught percussionist, finding her inspiration for percussions from live performances of other artists. The instruments she uses are collected from different parts of the world, each one having a unique story to tell. The basis of her percussion set consists of a kick drum, different shakers, cymbals and wind bells. The latest additions to the set are enamel pots and bowls, silver plates, metal muffin tins, trays and assorted kitchen utensils, all collected from flea markets.

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KANTELE – FINNISH STRING INSTRUMENT

Maija plays all sizes and different models of the Finnish kantele from five-string kantele to a full chromatic 39-string concert kantele. Her main instrument is a 23-string Saarijärven kantele with seven bass strings and sixteen melody strings. Maija's main inspiration for kantele playing are the rural music traditions of Finland and Karelia which are seamlessly integrated in her music. She plays the Saarijärven kantele with its old and rare traditional playing technique by using a tiny wooden stick as a pick.

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THE ORIGIN OF MAIJA'S KANTELE

Maija's kanteles are built by her father, luthier Kari Kauhanen. Kari's initial inspiration for building musical instruments came when Maija and her siblings started playing music at an early age in the 1990's. Together Maija and Kari innovate, design and build new kantele models at Maija's childhood home in Järvenpää in Southern Finland. The instruments are of the highest quality and always made with the musicians' needs in mind.

PRIZES & HIGHLIGHTS

Maija Kauhanen has won several prestigious prizes. As the latest acclaim for her solo career she was awarded the Nordic Council Music Prize 2023. In 2024 she was chosen as the Alumni of the Year of the University of the Arts Helsinki.

In 2017 she won a Critics’ Spurs prize by the The Finnish Critics’ Association for “the best artistic breakthrough of the year”, “The Newcomer of the Year” Award in Finnish Ethno Awards and the prestigious Emma Award for the Best Ethno Album of the Year.

Maija is the first Finnish artist who has ever performed in the Womex Official Selection two times in a row: 2016 with Okra Playground and 2017 as a solo artist. She has been awarded in kantele and folk music competitions: Maija won the International Solo Kantele Competition in Helsinki 2011 and shared the second prize of Nord´11 Competition in Sälen, Sweden.

Since 2015 she also holds a Master of Music degree from the Department of Folk Music of Sibelius Academy, The University of Arts in Helsinki.

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HIGHLIGHTS

Over the past few years Maija has toured solo in over 30 countries around Europe, Asia and America.

She has visited many major festivals, including Celtic Connections, FOCUS Wales and WOMAD in UK, Folk Alliance International in Canada, Il Festival de Músicas del Mundo in Colombia, Etnosur Festival in Spain, Locarno Folk in Switzerland, Hudba Sveta Zilina in Slovakia, Urkult Folkfest in Sweden, Tønder Festival in Denmark, EthnoPort Poznan in Poland and World Cultures Festival in Hong Kong.