American roots music and Finnish traditional music are the two worlds that collide in Marko Haavisto’s music. Part Buddy Holly, part Olavi Virta. For over ten years, he has travelled through both worlds with his band Poutahaukat. Now it is a good time to review his career with the compilation album Tuhannen Kaipuun Maa (Land of 1000 longings).

“It was very exciting to look back”, comments Marko on the phone, “there are many memories, good memories”. He formed Poutahaukat in 1997 with the intention of making and developing his own music. But at that time, Marko Haavisto was not a newcomer. He had played in several bands before, most notably in the Badding Rockers between 1986 and 1993. The Badding Rockers were inspired by the music of Rauli Badding Somerjoki and they also brought the spirit of classic American rock and roll when translating into Finnish songs by Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Doc Pomus, among others.

After Badding Rockers, Poutahaukat became Marko Haavisto’s most personal project. Even though, musically both bands are not far apart, in Poutahaukat Haavisto is the band leader and he has the opportunity of developing his musical vision. The band performs Marko’s songs, but it has also translated classic songs by Jerry Lee Lewis and Hank Williams. And even though Marko Haavisto & Poutahaukat played music that can be labeled into the iskelmä category, the artists does not hide that influences might go as far as Black Sabbath.

Marko Haavisto first got interested in traditional American music when rockabilly became popular in Finland. “I listened to Elvis Presley a lot first”, he remembers, “then there were all these great Finnish bands that played some sort of rockabilly. There were Agents, and Rauli Somerjoki, for example”.

Badding Rockers recorded their first album in 1987 and Poutahaukat have released six albums since 1997, so Marko Haavisto has a good experience about how the music industry in Finland has changed in the last 25 years. “Indeed, it has changed a lot”, he admits. “Before to get a record deal and publish an album was a very big thing. Now it has become very easy. There are many records and anybody can record by himself”. With so many records out there, Marko admits that is hard to get the records in the stores. “When one did a record in the 80s, it was sure that it would be found on the shelves of a record store. Nowadays, only the “hottest” names are found in the record store for sure. In my case with Poutahaukat, only since the forth album the availability of the releases have become easier. On the other hand, you can find any music from the internet, if you know how to look. And the younger people know, but middle-aged and older probably are still looking what they want from the store. The bigger company, the better visibility. So money is a very big thing when deciding whose record are widely available and played”.

Over the years, the music of Marko Haavisto has become the soundtrack of many Aki Kaurismäki films. The timeless appeal of the Kaurismäki films seem to fit perfectly with the music of Badding Rockers and Poutahaukat. “I was wondering once how our cooperation started and remembered how Aki explained it. He said that a lonely wolf always finds its way to another lonely wolf”, recalls Marko. There is Badding Rockers music in The Match Factory Girl (1990) and in Drifting Clouds (1996). Later on, Marko Haavisto & Poutahaukat would appear on the acclaimed film The Man Without A Past on the role of a salvation army band. Director and musician have developed a good relationship. “We both like among all 50s and 60s rock and roll. Badding’s music was the first factor that connected us”, explains Marko. “And even though we are both inspired by past times and we are strongly aware of tradition, the meaning of our art is strongly connected to this day and life, here and now. Timeless is the best feature, in both good songs and movies. That is what we try to do, if we can”.

Appearing in those films has exposed Marko Haavisto to a broader audience. In spite of singing in Finnish, Marko Haavisto & Poutahaukat have taken their music to places like Germany and Japan. “To all the people who like our music, I would tell them to try to discover good old iskelmä, like Olavi Virta’s music”.

The compilation album Tuhannen Kaipuun Maa looks at Marko Haavisto’s recent past, but he is already thinking about the next Poutahaukat album. “We wanted it to come out next autumn, but maybe the record company will delay to early next year”.