Sommelo’s Seminar is in Finnish.

When they first emerged, “rekilaulut” (traditional Finnish rhyming songs) were a form of communal culture that dealt with everyday topics such as young people’s love lives and rebellion against parents. The songs rang out at evening gatherings and dances, with new verses often improvised on the spot — sometimes even causing scandal.

In their seminar presentation, folk singers Paula Raitanen and Kuisma Asikainen share their experiences of how the rekilaulu tradition lives on today. They explore the significance of rekilaulut in contemporary folk song jams and how people belonging to sexual and gender minorities are making the tradition their own. They also reflect on what kind of songs queer people of the past might have identified with.

Kuisma Asikainen is a nonbinary folk musician and singer working with many forms of Finnish-language folk singing, both as a performer and educator. Their passion lies in making folk songs accessible and meaningful for today’s audiences and in nurturing the communal spirit of traditional singing. Kuisma is part of the activist queer folk duo Havu & Kuisma and is currently writing a master’s thesis at the Sibelius Academy on LGBTQIA+ themes in contemporary folk songs.

Paula Raitanen is a singer and folk musician based in Turku. Her artistic focus is on integrating song and dance into everyday life and bringing queer perspectives into folk music. In addition to performing, composing, and songwriting, she organizes monthly folk song jams in Helsinki and is active in the social folk dance community. Paula is completing her master’s degree at the Sibelius Academy’s folk music department and dreams of pursuing artistic doctoral research on queer folk music.