by Ian Bauer

Say HUUTAJAT ten times fast. Five times fast? Actually, just see if you can say it once.

For the last 22 years Mieskuoro Huutajat, has been a relatively well kept secret.  They’ve performed all over the world from Belgium to Estonia to Canada. From rock clubs, chamber music concerts, supermarkets and swamps. But, you’ve most likely never heard of them.  Finnish for “Mens Choir The Shouters” Mieskuoro Huutajat is a choir made up of 30 men with black suits and rubber ties.  Their style of performance is undefinable.  They don’t sing, they shout.

Sometimes they howl.

This well-rehearsed group of manpower led by conductor Petri Sirvio, typically performs national anthems and patriotic songs from around the world as well as giving their shout-out to Finland.Their website claims:

“When the choir find a song that pleases their temperament and warped sense of humour, the conductor starts dismantling it: the melody goes first and usually the text is also heavily trimmed. The remains are then cast into a completely new form; the complex rhytmic structure emphasises the essence of the text, or simply reflects the voices inside the human brain provoked by the language itself, music, urban or rural noise, or the blood circulation system.”

Their method is simple; twist and shout.

What may have started off as an activity for 20 or so Finnish men with nothing better to do has evolved into a truly unique form of art recognized globally.  With excellence and strain, Mieskuoro Huutajat has successfully screamed for attention and been able to hold it’s own in the world of music for a long time and a long time to come.