Jukka Poika takes his audience.

Dreads Locked During Riddim Night

Rhythm and feeling – winter and Tampere. It sounds like a difficult, but not like an impossible combination. One of the most anticipated events at the Tampere Film Festival was the Riddim Night, held at Tullikamari.

The reggae night lasted eight hours and it really tested the Rastas. Rare films and good music filled the hall to its capacity. About 600 people were there to enjoy their ration of Jamaican treats.

One of the most anticipated performers of the night was Kapteeni Ä-ni (direct transl. Captain Sound) who was busy both on the stage and in the film hall. The verbal acrobat had no precise plans for the night.

– We just go with the flow. We hope it'll be a nice gig, mixmaster Bommi-Tommi from Kapteeni Ä-ni says.

	Nopsajalka conjures echoes on Kapteeni Ä-ni's newest hits.

“Reggae Gives You Kicks”

The biggest part of Riddim Night's audience consisted of young people in their twenties. However, some representatives of the older generations were present.

Yltsi has been listening to reggae since 1980s. The growing interest in reggae fills him with warm feelings.

	Yltsi is happy with the current state of reggae.

– It's a good thing that young people take an interest in music other than rock. Society has changed and youngsters think differently. They are more interested in reggae now.

– It's nice to hear reggae in Finnish and see that the music makers have something important to say. The Finnish records of Soul Captain Band and Kapteeni Ä-ni are a fine sample of this development. Reggae gives you kicks, rejoices Yltsi.

First Night but Not Last Night?

Record shops have noticed the increased interest in reggae as well. Riku Järvinen from Voltti Records in Tampere is selling black music masterpieces in the Tullikamari entrance hall.

– The number of reggae fans has grown wildly during these last few years. It's getting better and better, and you can see that during these reggae nights, Järvinen states.

Susan is going through the vinyls and agrees with Riku Järvinen. She arrived from Turku just to see the reggae night.

– I think that I'll stay until morning, but I'm not sure if I can take it. The music's good, that's for sure, Susan contemplates.

Katariina from Tampere says that one of the night's performers is her favorite.

– Merikukka (Kiviharju) of Jazzkangsters is a wonderful singer. I came here with no bigger plans, mainly because of the music and because of the films, Katariina explains.

	Riku Järvinen watches the show, Katariina from Turku finds treasures.

The Secret Is in the Rhythm and in the Feeling

Santeri Vuosara arrived straight from work. Familiar musicians, the music and Jamaican films allured the man to Tullikamari.

- I haven't seen any real Jamaica-films before. I did watch a document earlier, but that was more a live recording of a festival than a film, he says.

Vuosara is not one of the new wave reggae fans: he got interested in reggae already ten years ago.

- I started to listen to black music when I was in my teens, in the beginning of the 1990s or something like that. I could call myself a reggae fan, but I am also interested in funk, soul and hip-hop. The charm of black music is in the rhythm and in the feeling.

TEXT: Jani Timonen
TRANSLATION: Laura Katajisto
PHOTOS: Jani Timonen
UPDATED: Wednesday, 13-Mar-2002 11:41:24 EET

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