Finnish group Jaakko Laitinen & Väärä Raha (Jaakko Laitinen and his Fake Money) performed on Europe Day event in Ankara. Turkish audience welcomed the band’s Balkan-inspired Finnish pop music. The Finnish embassy in Ankara participated in Europe Day fair also with a stand for public.
Rhythm and melody were what common Europe and common cultural heritage were about when Lappish group Jaakko Laitinen & Väärä Raha (Jaakko Laitinen and his Fake Money) performed on main stage in Ankara’s May 9th Europe Day fair. The Finnish group’s show took place on beautiful summer’s eve just before closing of the event with ministerial speeches and ceremonies. Turkish audience welcomed the band with curious excitement, and by the time of last songs the bravest had left their seats and started dancing.
The group’s balkan-inspired Finnish schlagers have surprisingly much in common with traditional Turkish music. Tumultuous drums and brasses together with tragic love stories sung in minor are key elements in both Turkish and Finnish musical tradition. ‘Fake Money’ as the group’s name (in Turkish ‘Sahte para’) is a humorous, even sarcastic export to Turkey from a Nordic triple-A country in times of economical insecurity all around Europe.
After their Ankara performance the enthusiastic band members headed for Istanbul to shoot their new music video and to look for an ancient Arab drum darbuka. From Istanbul the well-toured artists continued to more familiar stages of nightclubs and music joints in Helsinki and Pori.
The Finnish embassy in Ankara participated in Europe Day fair in Gençlik Parkı with a stand for public. Design and Angry Birds were amongst this year’s examples of the finest in Finland. Stand visitors were keen on discussing Finnish welfare and educational system, among other things.
