Iskelma: Popular Music of Finland

The Iskelma (it is coined directly from the German word Schlager, which means hit), is a traditional Finnish word for a light famous lyre, Georg Malmsten began his career in the year 1930. After the World War II and the pre-rock music period, such names as tapio Rautavaara or Olavi Virta for instance, were among the most famous male composer stars in Finland, and Toivo Karki and Rein Helismaa most well-known song-writers. Such foreign musical such as tango would find their domestic audience as their Finnish appropriates, Laila Kinnunen, Brita Koivunen, Annikki Tahti and Vieno Kekkeonen were some of the most acclaimed Finnish chanteuse of this time. From the late 1960s, Irwin Gooddman (also known as Anti-Hammarberg) combining the iskelma and the protest lyres, would gain fame with the humorous sounds penned by Vexi Salmi, and would become one of the most laborious writer of the lyrics, also other Finnish artist like Juha Watta Vainio was another well-known song-writer, known not only for Finnish versions of several international hits but also for his own songs and being a performer in his own right. In the year 1970, hugely successful Finnhits compilation records of the different musicians would continue in the iskelma tradition, also the rural-flavoured humppa would prove to be a successful difference in iskelma, later on parodied by the group Elakelaiset.

source of picture: wolfguenterthiel.blogspot.com

Other well-known Finnish iskelma singers are among all Katri Helena, Danny (also known as Ikka Lipsanen), Eino Gron, Marion Rung, Erkk Junkkarine, Fredi, Tapani Kansa, Frederik (aka IIkka Sysimetsa), Matti & Teppo, Kirka (aka kirill Babitzin) and Kikka Siren. The annual Eurovision Song Contest has been passionately accompanied in Finland and willingly participates by the composers voted to the contest by the national juries, and was finally successful in the year 2006 with the melodic heavy rock band Lordi.

Like the Finnish music in general, iskelma is written mostly in minor, although to this rule there are several exceptions, the songs have a distinguishable Finnish flavor that is somewhat related to Russian and Italian songs and accords although Scandinavian and Anglo-American influence can also be heard.

Also iskelma music is mostly and really dance music, this is mostly if not merely performed on dancing stages and halls spread around the country, the best known and perhaps most beloved and respected, though not most performed or danced kind of dances, is the tango. A clear indication of this is that the annual Finnish contest for the iskelma musicians is named as Tangomarkkinat which means the Tango Market place, several superstars of the current iskelma have won this competition and this is the major spectacle in Finland, even to some extent comparable with the San Remo Festival in Italy.

Iskelma is mainly non-urban music and this is the greatest fame and it is situated to the countryside and smaller cities, the folk has accordion being the major instrument in iskelma music and this is still in section playing, but has in most cases been replaced by guitar, synthesizer, and electric piano. These with percuss, electric bass and occasional use of saxophone form the basic instrumentation of iskelma.