Teija Niku: hetkessä
Ääniä Records released accordionist Teija Niku’s third solo album ‘Hetkessä’ on June 12, 2019. In the Finnish language, ‘hetkessä’ has two somewhat contrasting definitions: ‘to be in the moment’ and ‘happening in seconds’. These meanings characterize both Niku’s artistic persona and her working methods, which intermixed to create this unique album.
‘Hetkessä’ was born purely out of an artist’s personal need to create new music without deadlines or externally dictated terms, instead relying strongly on intuition. Experimenting with a wide range of registers, dynamics, technical possibilities and spontaneous improvisations, the inspiration for this new music was formed. At the center of the resulting material lies the accordion’s expressive power combined with Niku’s musical idiom.
The majority of the album’s material was composed and arranged by Niku in autumn 2018. With the addition of a few solo versions of earlier compositions, she self-recorded the completed album at her studio in Töölö, Helsinki.
‘Hetkessä’ was born purely out of an artist’s personal need to create new music without deadlines or externally dictated terms, instead relying strongly on intuition. Experimenting with a wide range of registers, dynamics, technical possibilities and spontaneous improvisations, the inspiration for this new music was formed. At the center of the resulting material lies the accordion’s expressive power combined with Niku’s musical idiom.
The majority of the album’s material was composed and arranged by Niku in autumn 2018. With the addition of a few solo versions of earlier compositions, she self-recorded the completed album at her studio in Töölö, Helsinki.
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World Music Charts Europe #13 in November 2019
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Selected performances
12 tours + individual concerts in the USA since 2010 / several bands
Vienna International Accordion Festival, Vienna, Austria / solo
Celtic Connections, Glasgow, Scotland / international women's accordion project Accordionesse
Helsinki Music Centre / Teija Niku's composition concert 'Memento'
Lotus World Music & Arts Festival, Bloomington, IN / Aallotar
Beethoven & Banjos cross-genre festival, Upper Peninsula of Michigan / Aallotar
Sounds of the North Festival, Gdansk, Poland / Aallotar
Folkelarm showcase Oslo, Norway / Aallotar
Folk Alliance International official showcase, Kansas City, USA / Aallotar
Akkordeonale tour with all together 34 concerts in Germany, Austria & Switzerland
Haapavesi Folk Music Festival / several
Kaustinen Folk Music Festival / several
Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis, MN / several
Vienna International Accordion Festival, Vienna, Austria / solo
Celtic Connections, Glasgow, Scotland / international women's accordion project Accordionesse
Helsinki Music Centre / Teija Niku's composition concert 'Memento'
Lotus World Music & Arts Festival, Bloomington, IN / Aallotar
Beethoven & Banjos cross-genre festival, Upper Peninsula of Michigan / Aallotar
Sounds of the North Festival, Gdansk, Poland / Aallotar
Folkelarm showcase Oslo, Norway / Aallotar
Folk Alliance International official showcase, Kansas City, USA / Aallotar
Akkordeonale tour with all together 34 concerts in Germany, Austria & Switzerland
Haapavesi Folk Music Festival / several
Kaustinen Folk Music Festival / several
Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis, MN / several
