HALAVA 'TELL ME HOW'
A yellow wooden house from the sixties stands right in the middle of Finnish countryside. This house is the base of Halava record label, as well as the home for a husband & wife team Minna & Miri Miettinen - and their five kids and two cats.
The downstairs studio is decorated with Miri’s gold-selling records and - yet the athmosphere is cozy. But what excactly is Halava? And who are the people behind it ?
Halava record company and music production was founded 2018 simply to promote the music Halava creates. Minna and Miri had just moved into their new house when one day Miri threw a question at his wife asking, whether she had ever composed her own music. Minna hadn’t - but the idea of songwriting started to grow in her mind. Perhaps this is the right time, she thought - and the music really did start to flood in.
Miri's lifelong experience as a drummer matches her wife's pianism, composing skills and ability to create touching lyrics. The downstairs studio was in constant use as Miri also records and mixes the music himself, with the expertise learned from masters like Tom Dowd.
Five years later Halava has produced and released a variety of music in many genres. However, Minna and Miri really share a special love for country music, americana, music influenced by icons such as James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Marc Jordan, Bonnie Raitt… Therefore it seemed natural to start producing a country album. ”Tell me how” - album is now released and available on all digital platforms.
Nine tracks, nine stories.
SONGS WITH A STORY
'Tell me how’ -country album includes nine songs, all written by Minna Miettinen and produced by Miri Miettinen. This album is so far Halava's the most important release. 'Tell me how' is also Minna's first solo album as a songwriter.
'This country album is a kind of cross section of life itself and it's colourful phases; falling in love, the joy of having kids and the bittersweet joy seeing them grow .We go through the end of a love affair, carry on and hopefully learn something along the way. Nature and change in seasons play often a symbolic role in Minna's lyrics. Happiness and heartache will go hand in hand in this soulful music and superb arrangements will either strenghten or soothe them.
'Tell me how' has seven featured soloists, all renown for their great musical input both in Finland and abroad, especially in country/roots scene. Mika Kuokkanen and Kaisa Leskinen feature on the title track 'Tell me how'. The other featured soloists are Miikka Paumo (Only five, I'll keep on singing), Kaisa Leskinen (Learn to love, November road), Richard Johnson
(Lousy Sunday), Edu Kettunen (Feathers on the lawn), Ninni Poijarvi (August love) and Mirkka Paajanen (Stop doing me wrong).
ONLY FIVE - MIIKKA PAUMO
LEARN TO LOVE - KAISA LESKINEN
I'LL KEEP ON SINGING - MIIKKA PAUMO
STOP DOING ME WRONG - MIRKKA PAAJANEN
LOUSY SUNDAY - RICHARD JOHNSON
NOVEMBER ROAD - KAISA LESKINEN
TELL ME HOW - MIKA KUOKKANEN, KAISA LESKINEN
AUGUST LOVE - NINNI POIJÄRVI
FEATHERS ON THE LAWN - EDU KETTUNEN