Timo Alakotila

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Dark Wings of the Night review by Fiona Talkington/Songlines, 2015

07/21/2015 by timoalakotila.com

Star-studded supergroup of Finnish tango
There’s something dark and secretive about Finnish tango; that is its great attraction. Listen to archive recordings from the 40s and it’s clearly a musical world unlike any other. Tango is certainly alive and well in Finland today, which hosts an annual tango festival in Seinäjoki attracting over 100,000 visitors every year.

Tango-Orkesteri Unto are named after legendary Finnish tango composer Unto Mononen and in Dark Wings of the Night they’ve released their best album to date. The members of the orchestra are all prominent performers of the Finnish music scene: the great pianist and composer Timo Alakotila, accordion superstar Johanna Juhola, Mauno Järvelä from JPP and bassist Hannu Rantanen. There’s exquisite guitar playing from Petri Hakala and warm vocals from Pirjo Aittomäki. As well as some cornerstones of the tango repertoire, there are new compositions too, such as Juhola’s restless account of argument and reconciliation in ‘Huudetaan’ or Timo Alakotila’s 7/8 tango ‘Humalapuu’ – which is, just for once, happy tango music.

Fiona Talkington

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Filed Under: Media, Reviews

Timo Alakotila - Composer & musician

Timo Alakotila - Composer & musician

Timo Alakotila is one of Finland’s busiest, most versatile and most in-demand musicians, as composer, arranger, pianist and harmonium player in folk, classical, jazz and pop fields.

Feel free to contact Timo!

Phone: +358 50 5116112
Email: timoalakotilagmail.com
You can also be in touch by using the contact form on the contact page.
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