Photos by @skempa65

PARKU is a new folk duo of TUOMAS ROUNAKARI and the accordeon Wizard ANTTI PAALANEN, of two Finnish men who did not find chanterelles in the forest…

PARKU’s debut concert was held on February 10th 2023 at Kulttuurikorjaamo in Kokkola, Finland and boy did the folks laugh!?! Video is edited from the clips that concert goes shared from the event.

Watch the video below.

Videos with the permission of kind concert goers: Anne Ohls, Esa and Paula Rauman and the host Robban Haggnäs!

More to come, stay tuned!

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On April 14th 2022, TUOMAS ROUNAKARI released his solo album “Bear Awakener”, available at https://rounakari.bandcamp.com!

Awakening the Bear is a symbol of succumbing to the greater forces of existence. Awakening a new energy while being more connected to the ancient. And first and foremost – opening to a dialogue with mythical entities and re-creating harmonious and long lasting relationships with our surroundings, including human and non-human beings, seen and unseen worlds.

The songs in this album are formed by Khanty, Mansi, Carelian and Finnish ancestors. They carry a resonance of those before us who were better equipped to collaborate with nature in a sustainable and self-sufficient way. Such songs have always been Tuomas’ best teachers.

“This is music that gods are listening to” said Pekko Käppi after having listened through the freshly finished mastered tracks.

The album coverart was created by Karolina Pärnänen.

“Bear Awakener” tracklisting:

1. First Morning
2. In the Land of the Bear
3. Man with a Bear’s Snout
4. Second Morning
5. Song of a Small Goose
6. Origin of the Bear
7. Third Morning
8. Bear Clan Girl
9. Man-observing-the-world
10. Roopeska’s Bear Hunt
11. Last Morning – Departure
    Running Time: 42,10 min.

“Bear Awakener” was recorded, mixed and mastered at the Verde Studio with the gear-wizard Mika Rintala. None of his modular synthesizers were used. All of the equipment used in recording was built by Mika – microphones, pre-amps, EQ and even the mixing console and electrostatic monitors.

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TUOMAS ROUNAKARI is an internationally acclaimed violinist, composer and ethnomusicologist from Finland. He is a one-man-band blending violin, vocals and stomping with ankle-bells. In his performance he enters various trance-states. In this album he will also be playing a traditional Khanty instrument called Ning-juh.

Tuomas is inspired by different forms of dialogue; man and nature, the seen and the unseen world, ancient and future. His first solo album Shamanviolin was a result of ethnomusicological studies of the earliest 20th century wax-cylinder recordings from Siberia. These studies have also led to many collaborations with indigenous artists. He is one of the few artists who have actually returned their art to native communities for evaluation and development.

Tuomas Rounakari solo performance has been selected to: World Cultures Festival in Hong Kong (2019), Arctic Arts Summit (2019), Nordiskt Ljus Festival in Sweden (2022), Festspillene Helgeland in Norway (2021), Nuuk Nordik Festival in Greenland, Kaustinen Folk Music Festival in Finland (2018, 2013, 2012), Helsingin Juhlaviikot and many others. He has also played the solo performance in several theaters such as Finnish National Theater in Helsinki, Merlin Szinhas Teater in Budapest, AlfredVeDvore in Prague, Ashurst Hall in Flagstaff USA among others.

Also watch
-Tuomas’ performance video, a throwback to Tokyo 2017, from the materials of ‘Live in Japan’ documentary by Kimmo Kuusniemi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g718diJlW1s
-‘Farewell of Kamas People’ – https://youtu.be/oV16Qipd0MQ
-‘Langetus’ – https://youtu.be/HVsU7PTqqHY

More information at
TUOMAS ROUNAKARI: http://www.rounakari.com | http://www.facebook.com/shamanviolin |https://rounakari.bandcamp.com | https://rounakari.com/videos
MANAGEMENT: https://www.facebook.com/SplitScreenManagement | http://www.splitscreenproduction.com