Sari Kaasinen

Sari Kaasinen

Mari Kaasinen
Susan Aho
Johanna Virtanen
Hannu Rantanen
Matti Kallio

Värttinä (Finnish for spindle) is a Finnish folk music band which was started as a project by Sari and Mari Kaasinen back in 1983 in the village of Rääkkylä, in Karelia, the southeastern region of Finland. Many transformations have taken place in the band since then. Värttinä shot into fame with the release of their 1991 album Oi Dai. As of 2009, the band consists of three lead female vocalists supported by three acoustic musicians. The vocalists sing in the Karelian language of Finnish Karelia.

In August 2005, Värttinä recorded their tenth studio album called Miero at Finnvox Studios, Helsinki. It was released on January 25, 2006 in Finland, and January 30, 2006 worldwide. In 2006, Värttinä also released the Värttinä Archive Live DVD, which included material from their 20th anniversary concert and other new and archive material. Värttinä collaborated with A. R. Rahman, a famous composer from India, in composing the music for the theatrical adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, which played in Toronto in 2006 and in London in 2007.

Värttinä has been featured on popular children's show Arthur singing their hit song "Matalii ja Mustii" from the album Seleniko. The song was also featured on the show's first soundtrack, Arthur and Friends: The First Almost Real Not Live CD (Or Tape).