Oriental shadow dances and muscle bounded hip hop – Finland's music is multicultural and has much more to offer than Heavy Metal, shows our 5-videoclip-series. The finnish ethnomusicologist Antti-Ville Kärjä presents a choice in relation to his current research project «Music, Multiculturality and Finland». He emphasizes, that he is not interested in presenting claims about «the best» Finnish videos.

Artist: Mirel Wagner
Track: Oak Tree (2014)

One of the rising stars of multicultural musical Finland, a singer-songwriter who clearly represents a shift in the ethnic palette of Finnish popular music. Things would be even more remarkable if she sang in Finnish.

Artist: Musta Barbaari
Track: Salil eka salil vika (2013)

A body-builder rather than a musician, «Black Barbarian» was elected as the Media Phenomenon of 2013 in a leading rock magazine's annual vote. «The most ripped liqourice of the city», according to the lyrics. The song's title translates as «the first at the gym, the last at the gym». His success signals also the importance of hip hop as a mainstream cultural form, yet implicated deeply in racial dynamics.

Artist: Jenni Vartiainen
Track: Suru on kunniavieras (2014)

One of the leading pop divas in the country, exhibiting here some elementary forms of audiovisual musical orientalism. But I just love her voice; and, she's been quite important for the queer audience as well.

Artist: Softengine
Track: Something Better (2014)

The ESC representatives of 2014, representing also a different, maybe a more metrosexual version of Ostrobothian male identity, as traditionally the area is dominated by wrestlers and baseball players who only speak unintelligible form of Finnish language, or, rather, do not speak at all.

Artist: Turisas
Track: Ten More Miles (2013)

Finland. Always. Period.