Tenhi is a journey. Our music is mainly composed to be a voyage thru differ… Read Full Bio ↴Tenhi is a journey. Our music is mainly composed to be a voyage thru different landscapes and feelings. In a way the music is scenery painting. A song is like a canvas for a painting — instruments are like brushes to draw a vision for inner eyes to see. We use instruments freely to achieve the wanted feeling to a song; there is no right way of playing. It is the feel of it that counts.

The songs are not autobiographical in the traditional sense. They are not directly written from a specific point in our lives portraying a moment or a story that could be unraveled to a listener in a way that it would make sense.

The Work

The inspiration comes from small pieces and fragments of music and art. Such fragments could be for example a memory, melody, voice, picture, word or a view. Sometimes a misheard fragment of melody springs a new idea, which after a while turns into a song. Some of our compositions have got their initial inspiration from a painting.

Usually one of the members brings the main idea for the band to develop. It is quite seldom that songs are composed through jamming sessions although a lot of our material is improvised during recording sessions. We often write things that even we don't understand immediately. Creating usually happens first on a subconscious level. Thus far there has not been formed a procedure for us for composing music — every song has its own way of appearing into our lives.

Melancholia

We have a big heart for melancholia — sadness is beautiful. The blue side of life is where we are as persons and as artists. The music also reflects our introversion.

Finland, Finnish and Folk

The Finnish language represents the Finnish mentality best. Our music has its roots in the Finnish folk music so using Finnish language to reflect our feelings and mental landscapes is obvious to us. However, the folk elements in Tenhi are indirect. We try to interpret them in our own way. With using folk elements we want to give certain timelessness and feel of our native land's beauty.

Nature

The greatest inspiration for us is nature. It is an endless source of amazement and beauty. We try to achieve the same kind of timelessness that is present there. In nature things are in the purest of forms.

We compare our album Maaäet to an autumnal forest. It was its feel that we aimed for when we were creating the music. Life slowly fleeing from everywhere, fatalism, acceptance, gentle fall to sleep, turning towards an end of a cycle, giving energy back to earth — giving it to be a seed of new life.

Aesthetic

Music and visual arts together form the concept of Tenhi. For us they are inseparable for achieving the whole experience we are aiming at. During the composing the visual context is a guide for us and it works as a window from where the themes are captured. As we create the album covers ourselves we set the final frames for the musical canvas.

For example the cover of the album Airut:Aamujen represents the core of the album. The portrait is a mental passage away from this place. The black stain curling around the girl's head could be an extension or a reflection of mind — an idea emerging from the subconscious. It could however be read as a death metaphor, the spirit leaving the body.

— Ilmari and Tyko 2007-01-31

Line-up

Tyko Saarikko: vocals, guitar, and piano
Ilmari Issakainen: guitar, piano, drums, bass, and backing vocals
Tuukka Tolvanen: backing vocals
Jaakko Hilppö: backing vocals
Inka Eerola: violin
Janina Lehto: flute
Live line-up

Tyko Saarikko: vocals and guitar
Ilmari Issakainen: guitar and backing vocals
Tuukka Tolvanen: guitar and backing vocals
Jaakko Hilppö: bass and backing vocals
Inka Eerola: violin
Jussi Lehtinen: piano
Raimo Kovalainen: drums
The Escape

Tuulenkaato
Tenhi Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Tässä alkuni
Ajan kuolema
Hetki minuun
Virtaa minusta
Tänne synty
Kohti iltaa
Tämä selkä
Riimitön elo

Puiden takaa hetki kaatso
Sen hamho luinen
Tässä ääret
Edessä minä
Eilen ääni
Sanoi hän
Säe minuun
Säe sinuun
Tuuleen huuto
Tuollut kaanon
Tämä aika kaataa
Vie alas
Sulkee kaiken
Katso ilmaa
Koske maata
Menetä tämä elo maaksi
Hetki sulje

[English translation:]

Falter

A beginning
Death of time
Flows into me
And from me a shoaly stream
It's birth for late
For rhymeless life
Behind the trees stares a voice
She says
Yesterday was vast
That stands behind
Tune into me
Tune into you
Loose winds whip
This time falters
Takes down
See throgh air
Touch the soil

Rue not
Let go the moment

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Tenhi's song "Tuulenkaato" delivers a sense of fleetingness and transience. The verse emphasizes the passing of time and the impermanence of life, as if everything is destined to fade away. The singer of the song seems to be haunted by inner thoughts and feelings, struggling to make sense of the world. The mention of "rhymeless life" emphasizes the chaotic and random nature of existence, and the fact that there is no obvious pattern or plan governing our lives. The chorus, on the other hand, calls for a surrender to the natural forces that pull us into the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. The wind, the air, and the soil represent the elemental sources of life that are beyond our control.

Interestingly, the line "behind the trees stares a voice" is somewhat ambiguous, as it is unclear what the voice represents. It could be an external voice that the singer hears, or perhaps it is a metaphorical voice representing the singer's subconscious. The line "tune into me, tune into you" suggests a search for meaning and connection with others, which is a common theme in much of Tenhi's music. The final line "let go the moment" signifies a release from the worries of daily life, and an acceptance of the impermanence of all things.

Line by Line Meaning

A beginning
Starting point

Death of time
End of a period

Flows into me
I absorb it

And from me a shoaly stream
I release a shallow flow

It's birth for late
Born too late

For rhymeless life
A life without reason

Behind the trees stares a voice
Someone hides in the woods and watches

She says
Her voice is heard

Yesterday was vast
Yesterday was overwhelming

That stands behind
It's present but unseen

Tune into me
Listen to me