In English

Culture Cooperative Uulu promotes Finnish folk music and different music cultures of the world with original instruments, songs and dances in a variety of services including workshops and performances, ca. 850 of which are held yearly. We work with various communities in kindergartens, schools, and homes for elderly people for example.

At our home town, Tampere, we run a music school specialising in traditional music and organise several festivals and concerts annually, most notably the Säv/San International Singer-songwriter Festival and Etnosoi! Tampere. 

Uulu is actively involved in developing the Finnish and international art and culture scene through different projects and collaborations. At Uulu we have run many public or private funded projects, for example the national project Encounters – Kohtaamisia, where asylum seekers and Finns created and experienced music together as well as the Kotio project, where we created arts-based methods for Finnish language teaching. We are always looking for new projects to cooperate with other organisations or individuals, so if you come up with a good idea where you think we could help, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Since its founding in 2003 Uulu has received numerous awards for developing new concepts within the fields of folk music education and culture. Most notable of these are the Producer of the Year 2018 award at the Finnish Ethnogala, an annual event organized by The Promotion Centre for Finnish Folk Music & Folk Dance and the Children’s day award by Finnish Ministry of Culture and Education in 2015.

We work in close cooperation with the Finnish Global Music Centre.

Workshops and Live Performances

We offer live performances and innovatively designed workshops that give the audience an insight into contemporary and traditional folk music from Finland and all over the world.

All our workshops and live performances are available in English and Finnish. They are suited for festivals and cultural venues as well as kindergartens, schools, and nursing homes. Participants with any level of prior musical knowledge are welcome.

We are happy to perform anywhere in Finland, as well as internationally.

Metsän ääni and MÄSÄ Universe musical instruments

Metsän ääni (The Sound of the Forest) is a collection of traditional Finno-Ugric musical instruments. The instruments are handcrafted by Juhana Nyrhinen, one of Finland’s few true professionals in the delicate art of traditional instrument making.

The Metsän ääni instruments are handcrafted using high-quality Finnish wood and other raw materials such as birch bark. The instruments speak the language of both modern simplicity and archaic brutality.

MÄSÄ Universe is a brand that redefines and electrifies the Finnish musical instrument tradition. MÄSÄ Universe designs include two electric percussion instruments, Rapaballs to the Wall and Cowbells from Hell, and two string instruments made of skateboards, Brutal truth, an award winning electric 10-string kantele with tremolo bridge, and Nuclear Assault, an 11-string lapsteel guitar. For more information on MÄSÄ Universe, visit http://masauniverse.tumblr.com/.

The instruments play an important role in Uulu’s workshops and concerts.

All Nyrhinen’s instruments are available on Uulu webstore.

Studio

We have a fully equipped studio, which is well suited for recording all genres of music. The studio is located in Western Tampere.

Lectures and Consulting Services

We offer lectures and consultation on folk music and culture. Our lectures are well-liked by both academic and non-academic audiences.

In addition to sharing our knowledge on art and culture, we mentor aspiring and established organisations on how to operate a cooperative business organisation in the field of arts and creative industries.

Contact us

Artistic director, general inquiries:

Mrs. Petra Käppi,

firstname@uulu.fi, +358 50 308 4291


Concerts and workshops:

Mrs. Mirka Alhonen,

firstname@uulu.fi, +358 44 493 9585

Musical instruments:

Mr. Juhana Nyrhinen,

firstname@uulu.fi, +358 500 863 922

Studio:

Mr. Kari Lounela,

firstname@uulu.fi, +358 518 9891