“Työlki Ellää”, sung by the female folk duo Kuunkuiskaajat and written by Timo Kiiskinen, is Finland’s choice for Eurovision 2010 in Oslo. It’s the 44^th Finnish entry at the Eurovision Song Contest, and it will be competing in the 1^st Semi-Final, at spot #5. In an exclusive interview with escradio.com today, 28th April, at 15:00 CEST, Susan & Johanna talked about a very Finnish contribution to Eurovision, life after Lordi, and a lot more. If you missed the broadcast, you can listen to the interview here:

[audio:https://www.escradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Kuunkuiskaajat-Finland-interviewed-by-Matthias-Petermann.mp3|titles=Kuunkuiskaajat (Finland) – interviewed by Matthias Petermann]

Read more and check out the video clip…

“Työlki Ellää”, sung by the female folk duo Kuunkuiskaajat and written by Timo Kiiskinen, is Finland’s choice for Eurovision 2010 in Oslo. It’s the 44^th Finnish entry at the Eurovision Song Contest, and it will be competing in the 1^st Semi-Final, at spot #5.

In an exclusive interview with escradio.com today, 28th April, at 15:00 CEST, Susan & Johanna talked about a very Finnish contribution to Eurovision, life after Lordi, and a lot more. If you missed the broadcast, you can listen to the interview here:

[audio:https://www.escradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Kuunkuiskaajat-Finland-interviewed-by-Matthias-Petermann.mp3|titles=Kuunkuiskaajat (Finland) – interviewed by Matthias Petermann]

Check out the video clip:

BIOGRAPHY

Two singers from Finland’s most successful contemporary folk group Värttinä will represent the country at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo.

Susan Aho and Johanna Virtanen are the co-founders and members of the duo Kuunkuiskaajat (Moon Whispers). Their eponymous album was released in December 2009. A month later their cheerful and charming performance at the Finnish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest conquered the hearts of the Finns. Kuunkuiskaajat beat all the pre-contest favorites by receiving 42% of the votes.

The Finnish entry is entitled “Työlki ellää” and is written and composed by Timo Kiiskinen. It is influenced both by old Finnish runo song and gypsy music. Susan Aho even claims some Roma blood. Part of the song is performed in Karelian dialect, which is spoken in Eastern Finland. The tongue-in-cheek title translates as “You can also make a living by working” (but it’s business that makes you rich).

Susan Aho, vocals & accordion
Susan (36) started playing accordion at the age of 13. She has obtained a Master of Music degree at the Sibelius Academy Folk Music Department. Susan played accordion already on Värttinä’s “Vihma” album (released in 1998) before moving to vocals. Susan is not only a professional musician, but also a puppeteer. Currently she works at the internationally renowned puppet theatre Sampo.

Johanna Virtanen, vocals
Johanna (33) started her musical studies at the Central Ostrobothnian Conservatory in Kokkola. She continued studying folk music and singing at the Sibelius Academy and her plan is to obtain a Master of Music degree in the near future. Johanna is a professional vocal teacher and is specialized in childbirth singing. In addition she plays harmonium, kantele and 2-row accordion. She joined Värttinä in 2001.

As members of Värttinä, Susan and Johanna have toured extensively in Europe and all over the world, in more than 30 countries in total. One of the group’s most notable projects in recent years was composing music for The Lord Of The Rings theatrical adaptation, based on the book by J. R. R. Tolkien. The musical, premiered in Toronto, Canada in 2006, moved to London in May 2007 and was closed after more than one year run.