THE VALKYRIANS

Ska is now officially hip and has all of a sudden become a much-exploited musical resource. During the last few years, there has been an extravaganza of new ska bands, and even the veterans of the trade have found themselves to be the subjects of an entirely new kind of attention. One of the most authentic and, at the same time, most elegant practitioners of the style in Finland is the five-strong group The Valkyrians from Helsinki. Even though most of their influences come from British 2-tone and from Jamaican legends, they do not forget to mention the vital effect of soul and rhythm'n'blues on their music: it was, after all, the last-mentioned two that made the people dance even at the time when ska was born.

The Valkyrians released their first album High and Mighty at the end of last year, an event that still makes all the friends of ska rejoice. Right after the release day, the word started to get around about manic live experiences that made both the performers and the audience sweat like crazy. We can safely expect, then, that in the summer's heat this band will cook up their audience into a nice, hot, smiling and dancing ska stew.

www.thevalkyrians.com
myspace.com/thevalkyrians

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