Litku Klemetti
Litku Klemetti (real name Sanna Klemetti, born in Kuhmo, 1987) is a Finnish musician, singer and songwriter influenced by schlager and progressive rock. She started in the indie scene but gained mainstream popularity.
Klemetti was born in a family she has described as being highly typical but as a young girl she got in touch with the classic albums of progressive rock in her local library. She further listened to old Finnish schlager artists from cassette tapes. Especially important record for her was We're Only in It for the Money by Mothers of Invention. Klemetti felt highly alienated from other young people and she didn't know anybody else who listened to progressive rock. During his school years she spent some time in psychiatric ward due to her problems.[1]
After gymnasium Klemetti studied singing in Orivesi. In 2007 she moved to Jyväskylä where her aunt had lived. She studied there in Jyväskylä's Music Conservatorium but felt that the institution was pedagogically excessively rigid for a creative artist. She switched to the department of music science to Jyväskylä's university and graduated in 2015. Her master thesis examined Jyväskylä's indie music scene, especially underground station Radio Hear. Her doctoral studies were left incomplete when demand for gigs increased.[2] Klemetti had been in bands Jesufåglar, Sateenkaarina, Zorse and Mäsä as a member but finally in the band Tuntematon Numero ("unknown number") she took her role as a leader.[3]
When band's Horror '15 was released in 2016, the music magazine Soundi chose her to be the new talent of the year.[4] This as well as her previous albums were recorded at her home.
Next album Juna Kainuuseen (2017, "train to Kainuu") led to a commercial breakthrough for a wannabe underground star. The title track received large amounts of radio play and the album received Emma prize in the choice of critics category. Klemetti did not find it easy to deal with the sudden burst of attention and resulting burnout made her to consider stopping her career.
However, she released next album in the following year. Taika Tapahtuu ("magic happens") featured more complex song structures, taking influences from progressive rock and from Frank Zappa in particular. Famous songs from the album include "Yöt on unta varten" ("nights are for sleeping") and "Miksi en lähtisi kaupunkiin" ("Why wouldn't I go to the city").
Album Ding Ding Dong was released in the late 2019. It's based on a fictional character "Mad Sanna" which was a name others had called her during the school years. Klemetti has explained that album's character is what she would have become had she not left her small home town.
Klemetti has stated that she composes very fast, often one album in a week. Her aesthetic vision incorporates jumble sale clothing and lo-fi sound. She states that she doesn't do "retro" but uses the past as a material to construct new unfashionable things. The use of the past and abandoned things she sees as a counterstatement to the prevailing economic order.[5] [6]
Discography
EPs
- Päivä päivältä vähemmän, 2015
- Horror '15, 2016
- Juna Kainuuseen, 2017
- Ding Ding Dong, 2019
LPs
- Taika Tapahtuu, 2018
External links
- https://www.luovarecords.com/litkuklemetti
- http://www.facebook.com/litkuyhtye/
- Kangas, Laura: Kaikki hylätty kiinnostaa Litku Klemettiä – vaatteet, vinyylit ja entiset hittibiisit. Jyväskylän ylioppilaslehti 25.9.2017.
- Mattila, Mikael: Kuhmolainen kuvittelija – haastattelussa Litku Klemetti. Rumba 22.1.2018.
- ^ Sirén, Vesa, "Hullu-Sanna käänsi pilkan voitoksi", Helsingin Sanomat, 21.12.2019
- ^ Mattila, Mikael: "Kuhmolainen kuvittelija – haastattelussa Litku Klemetti", Rumba 4/2017
- ^ Mattila, Mikael: "Kuhmolainen kuvittelija – haastattelussa Litku Klemetti", Rumba 4/2017
- ^ Master Of Pulpets! Soundin uuden tulokaspalkinnon voittaja on Litku Klemetti. Soundi.
- ^ Mattila, Mikael: "Kuhmolainen kuvittelija – haastattelussa Litku Klemetti", Rumba 4/2017
- ^ Hirvonen, Iida Sofia, "Sanna Klemetti oli kiusattu musiikkinörtti, jolle bändissä soittaminen oli unelma. Syntyi Litku Klemetti", Seura, 27.4.2017