The Cats of Transnistria singer’s long play “Maja” arrives via Soliti on August 19, 2022.
Henna Emilia Hietamäki’s “Protesti” brings the tradition of 1960s political folk to the present, reflecting on the destructive power of a free market economy on planet earth and the mind of the individual, as well as the possibility of change that begins with itself. The new solo material was created when Hietamäki lived in a small, electrified house in one of Helsinki’s traditional cottage areas. “Protesti” is released on the 20th May 2022 via Soliti.
Listen to “Protesti”
Composed by H. E. H.
Vocals, guitar, organ H. E. H.
Bass Tytti Roto
Drums Hanna Perälä
Production H. E. H.
Mastering Markus Leminen
Photos by Tekla Valy
“With the calming effect of the environment and the lack of electricity, I started playing more acoustic guitars and making even lighter and brighter music. I am a bit surprised about these songs myself” says Hietamäki.
In addition to composing a new kind of music, Hietamäki decided to produce the record herself. She recorded guitar and vocal tracks at her summer house using a travel solar panel, a laptop, and a small recording device. Afterwards, she recorded the pianos and organs she played, as well as the basses and pianos played by Tytti Roto (Ty Roxy, Kissa) and the drums played by Hanna Perälä (Goo-Hags). As well as recording, Hietamäki learned to mix. “Practising new skills has been fun and challenging. There is a certain homegrown vibe in the production, but it brings its own atmosphere to the music. ”
Initial Reaction
Soundi gave a first listen to “Protesti”
“The vibe she creates invokes those singer-songwriters; deep thinkers who were the diametric opposite of the five-minute wonder, ‘famous for being famous’ set that permeate the arts today. Indeed you don’t have to try that hard when you listen to this track to be transported back to the late 1960s in California and the Haight-Ashbury counter-culturists who flocked to Monterey Pop to hear Janice Joplin and Laura Nyro.” Nordic Music Central
“The protest sums up the feelings of a small person, it puts its narrator in a situation where everything bad and negative just has to be refused. Hope is boundless, goodness dwells in all of us, and thus the small-scale delicate composition rises to its wings. Fantastic.” Desibeli.net
Henna Emilia Hietamäki by Tekla Vály