17 Apr 2013

Live Review: Johanna Juhola Reaktori live at Rich Mix (2)


By Craig Macartney

A bright sun waking up frosty, sleeping conifers in a Finnish boreal forest. Or, Finnish optimism, a term coined by the band when rousing the crowd after their dreamiest number of the night. This was the overwhelming feeling I experienced when leaving Shoreditch’s Rich Mix venue after the first leg of Johanna Juhola Reaktori’s two-week UK tour. This Scandinavian four-piece, offering Finnish- and Argentinian-tango-inspired folk tunes with an electro twist, definitely brightened up East London on a dark, rain-soaked Tuesday night.

Arriving on stage dressed like flamboyant pirates, the band began their set with no introduction other than an old black and white film of Finnish singer Olavi Virta.  Johanna Juhola, the group’s frontwoman and composer swiftly joined in, accompanying the film with virtuosic twinklings on her accordion. 

Then with a slightly jolted segue, the video stopped and the rest of the band entered, picking up the pace. However this small hiccup was soon recovered by the near-perfect tightness of the ensemble, a firm feature of the rest of the gig.

The 90s hip-hop-style beats mixed with retro videogame frenziedness given by Tuomas Norvio on synth pad were well-matched by the punchy riffs of Sara Puljula’s double bass. Together this made for a wonderfully weird and eclectic backdrop when supporting the tango melodies weaved by Juhola’s accordion and her quirky facial expressions.

The only blemishes on an otherwise polished performance were some awkward banter with the audience which seemed, at times, to be lost in translation, and a slight lull in the middle of the first half. It was at this time that their initially fresh mixture started to become ever so slightly tiresome. However the audience was soon offered some texturally lighter relief in the form of Tango In An Elevator, a peaceful duet for accordion and piano composed when Juhola was commissioned to write some lift music. Milla Viljamaa on the keys provided beautifully minimalistic counterpoint to some very soulful accordion playing. And Juhola was right when she admitted to not living up to the expectations of her commissioners – it is far too intricate and interesting to pass as lift music!

Then it was back to upbeat eclecticness. Everything from Pussy-Cat-Dolls-sounding electronics to Swedish rapping played over the top of consistently flawless and expertly crafted Fantasiatango – the name of the tune written by Juhola for her Eurovision entry in 2007 but which aptly sums up the band’s aesthetic. With quirkiness and originality in both their music and stage presence, the captivating Johanna Juhola and her Reaktori are a treat for tango- and folk-lovers alike.

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