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
Viimeiseen
Tenhi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Aukeaa maahan
Makaan selätysten
Lehtiä seassa
Pysähtyy tänne niitylle ja kevätaukiolle
Lehdistä kuule maata
Voi tuntea mistä luut alkaa
Tuntea kun puotoaa läpi ja syvempään
Odottaa täällä kesänhiessä
[English translation:]
Through Bloom-blades
In a grave grove
Lay on the bones
Feel deep with the leaves
Linger in meadows and spring-plains
Through bloom-blades the dead utter
Hear the bones collide
Feel when night runs through into deeper shadows
Only flowers this july
Wait here in summer's breath
The lyrics of Tenhi's song "Viimeiseen" convey a sense of connection to nature and the cycle of life and death. The singer describes lying in a grove on top of bones, surrounded by leaves and the sounds of the earth. There is a sense of both peace and melancholy, as the singer can feel where the bones start and the lifeless body ends. They are also aware of the passing of time, as they mention waiting for flowers to appear in the summer. The phrase "through bloom-blades the dead utter" adds to this feeling of a connection between the natural world and those who have passed on.
Overall, the song seems to be about accepting the inevitability of death and finding solace in nature. The imagery of the bones and leaves suggests a kind of symbiosis between life and death - without death, the leaves would not have the nutrients they need to grow. The final lines of the song convey a hopefulness as well, as the singer waits for the flowers to appear despite the recognition that they will eventually wither and die as well.
Line by Line Meaning
Lehtoon luille makaan
I am lying in a grove where the bones of the dead lie
Aukeaa maahan
The ground opens up beneath me
Makaan selätysten
I am lying on my back
Lehtiä seassa
Leaves surround me
Pysähtyy tänne niitylle ja kevätaukiolle
I stop here in a meadow, in the beginning of spring
Lehdistä kuule maata
I can hear the ground through the leaves
Voi tuntea mistä luut alkaa
I can feel where the bones begin
Tuntea kun puotoaa läpi ja syvempään
I feel when something passes through me deeper and deeper
Ainoat kukat sinä kesänä
The only flowers of that summer
Odottaa täällä kesänhiessä
Are waiting here in the warmth of summer
Contributed by Lucas Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.