Sara
With less than 1500 residents, Sara's hometown Kaskinen has the smallest population of all Finnish cities. This means that one in every 294.6 people in Kaskinen is a member of Sara. With a similar ratio, Metallica would be made up of 12899 Los Angelenos, in which case they would certainly need more than one performance-enhancing coach to get through recording their albums.
It's true that Sara has been through its own hells and high waters as well, but then again, it was founded already in 1995 when the lads were rather young, and changes in the line-up have been almost evident. Fourteen years and five full-length albums later Sara is still all about heavy passion served in abundance, while time has also added ambience and airiness to their sound. To see a band naturally evolve its abilities is beautiful to watch and even more beautiful to hear, and Sara is an epitome of this kind of development.
The 2008 album Veden äärelle was received well and made critics compare Sara to such names as Anathema, but the fine people of Joensuu remember the band especially well because of an extraordinary occasion that took place this January. The water theme of Sara's latest album (the name translates as 'Down by the Water') was developed further with the help of the Joensuu City Orchestra in two concerts. In these, the audience could not only hear but also smell the arrangements, as the musical and visual candy was accompanied by fragrances of lavender and the ocean. Sara's songs were rearranged for the occasion by Polish conductor Krzysztof Dobosiewicz, an indication that the multilayered compositions and lyrical heights of Sara's creations have not gone unnoticed. The band's hallmark, and the one thing you can instantly recognise their songs from, is the eccentric voice of the vocalist Joa Korhonen.
If, at the Ilosaarirock Festival, one friend wants to stand still and dream and the other wants to shout and dance, then going to see Sara is the perfect option for both preferences.
www.saranhuone.com
myspace.com/saranhuone
