What began at an Arctic Pulse musician gathering funded by the Interreg Aurora project Arctic Music Circles in Pajala in 2024 has grown into a cross-border touring production, the new ensemble Kainunmaa and the four-track live EP: Jos voisin laulaat ko lintu voi.
An idea born in Pajala
In 2024, Arctic Pulse brought together folk musicians from northern Sweden, Finland and Norway with connections to Kven and Meänkieli cultures. They met in Pajala to exchange repertoire, share experiences and explore ideas for new artistic collaboration across national borders.
The gathering was designed to create more than new contacts. The aim was to give the musicians time and space to develop ideas that could continue after the meeting. During the gathering, the idea for a joint touring production began to take shape.
From a shared idea to a cross-border tour
In February 2026, the Finnish folk music group Rällä, the Norwegian duo Aaret and Swedish musician Nikolai Äystö rehearsed and performed together across northern Norway before concluding the tour in Oulu, Finland.
The programme included public concerts, school performances and a concert for residents at an elderly care centre. This allowed the musicians to share Kven, Finnish and Meänkieli music traditions with local audiences, students and older residents.
Several performances were recorded during the tour. The six musicians — Gro Raattama, Jani Suvanto, Erja Pätsi, Osmo Hakosalo, Jouko Pääkkönen and Nikolai Äystö — have since continued their collaboration under the name Kainunmaa.
The collaboration continues as recorded music
In August 2026, Kainunmaa released the four-track live EP Jos voisin laulaat ko lintu voi, now available on Spotify and other streaming platforms.
Rällä financed the original concert recordings, while Arctic Music Circles supported the post-production — including mixing and mastering — needed to prepare the music for release.
The release was followed by a performance at the GiellaKieli minority-language festival in Gällivare, Sweden. The concert was organised independently of Arctic Music Circles, showing that the musicians had continued the collaboration beyond the project-funded tour.
A pilot model with results beyond the project
The project has selected the full Pajala-to-Kainunmaa process as one of Arctic Music Circles’ three pilot actions.
The pilot tested a model for turning a facilitated cross-border musician gathering into a jointly developed minority-music production, a concert tour and an artistic collaboration that could continue after the project-funded phase.
The process moved through several concrete stages: an initial meeting in Pajala, joint artistic development and rehearsals, performances for different audiences, live recordings, an EP and further concerts organised through the musicians’ own initiative.
Kainunmaa therefore represents more than the result of a single event. It shows how early coordination and shared support can help musicians from three countries build a collaboration that continues to create and circulate music across borders.
Listen to the EP on Spotify:
Jos voisin laulaat ko lintu voi – Kainunmaa
Watch where the collaboration began:
Arctic Pulse – Musician Gathering in Pajala 2024 Aftermovie
Collaboration and funding
The collaboration was developed within Arctic Pulse together with Norrbottensmusiken, Novia, City of Oulu, Scene Nord, Musikk i Nordland, Nordnorsk Jazzsenter and Oulu2026, with support from Interreg Aurora, Region Norrbotten, Luleå Municipality, Lapin liitto, Nordland County Council and Troms County Council.
Learn more about the project Arctic Music Circles
