BIO

SOLO BIO 1

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Maija Kauhanen (FI) — One-Woman Orchestra

A master of kantele and a dynamic one-woman orchestra, Maija Kauhanen blends Finnish and Karelian vocal traditions, indie pop textures, and cinematic atmospheres into a sound that is entirely her own. With a deeply expressive voice, polyrhythmic grooves, and a percussive setup built from flea market finds, she creates immersive performances that are both ancient and boldly modern.

Multi-awarded Maija Kauhanen is one of the most internationally successful folk musicians from Finland. She has toured in over 30 countries across Europe, Asia, and the Americas and has also been awarded with several prestigious awards such as the Nordic Council Music Prize in 2023. Her music draws influences from folk music, indie pop and film scores. An important part of Maija Kauhanen’s music are her lyrics which often deal with the fates of women: she sings of challenging relationships, domestic violence and child-brides alongside happier stories of joy, consolation, hope and the mystery of young love to be celebrated. 

Kauhanen specializes in the rare Saarijärvi kantele from Central Finland. She plays the kantele in various tunings and with different playing styles, using her fingers, tiny wooden sticks as plectrums, a cello bow, an E-bow as well as other preparation materials like Blu Tack. She is always on the look-out for new playing techniques and sounds for kantele as well as her constantly evolving percussion set. Maija Kauhanen’s vocal technique is inspired by different instrumental sounds and rural music traditions of Finland and Karelia.

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SOLO BIO 2

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A powerfully expressive voice, deep-rooted Finnish kantele and inventive percussion. Weaving together polyrhythms, strong stories and organic beats she creates unique soundscapes and compelling grooves as a one-woman orchestra. Maija has toured in more than 30 countries across Europe, Asia, and the Americas and in 2023 she won the prestigious Nordic Council Music Prize as a recognition for her international solo career.

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COLLABORATION BIO

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Internationally awarded multi-instrumentalist, singer and composer Maija Kauhanen’s musical roots run deep in Finno-Ugric folk music. Kauhanen masters the Finnish national instrument kantele in all its many forms and sizes. She is also a skilled singer with a great variety of singing techniques at her use. As a tool for improvisation and composing she uses a great variety of instruments innovatively,  eg. kanteles, singing voice, keyboards, percussion and other instruments. 

Maija Kauhanen is one of the most internationally successful folk musicians from Finland. She has toured in over 30 countries across Europe, Asia, and the Americas and has also been awarded with several prestigious awards such as the Nordic Council Music Prize in 2023. She is best known for her one-woman orchestra where she simultaneously plays the kantele, percussion, and sings on top. Since 2015 she holds a Master of Music degree from the Department of Folk Music of Sibelius Academy, The University of Arts in Helsinki. Apart from her solo career she takes part in several projects and is a member of the electro-folk ensemble Okra Playground. 

In recent years Maija has collaborated with many artists world wide on several critically acclaimed albums both as a musician and as a composer. She has for example composed material for YL Male Voice Choir, female voice choir Philomela and for the ‘Nouse luonto’ folk music project where Finnish folk musicians gathered together to make music to raise awareness of climate change. Maija has also performed her music together with UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra. 

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www.maijakauhanen.com

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LINKS

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Spotify

Youtube: One-Woman Orchestra from Finland
Youtube: Jää (Ice) Official Music Video 2023

Youtube: Käärme (Snake) Official Music Video 2022
Youtube: Maija Kauhanen

Maija Kauhanen

Facebook

Instagram

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PROMO PHOTOS

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