Narinkka was founded by Sampo Lassila in 2010. The debut album (which is actually a profile album of Sampo Lassila) rose straight to the 4th place in the World Music Charts Europe in February 2013 and stayed in the Top20 for three months. The album also scored 16th in the World Music Charts Europe for the whole of 2013, being the most successful Nordic album of  the year. Narinkka has performed at, for example, the Helsinki Festival at the Huvila tent world music series, among many other festivals, concerts and tours in Germany, Iceland, Sweden, and Finland. During summer 2015, Sampo Lassila founded a small-scale world music festival in Sysmä, Finland. At this festival, called “Suomiklezmeriä Sysmässä”, the trio performed ten concerts in one weekend with various soloists. In early 2016, the trio was accepted to the artist roster of the German agency Tomato Production. The second album of the group, “In Strange Lands – Vierailla mailla”, was published in Finland in March 2016, rose to the Top20 in three international world music charts and  was nominated for the Etno-Emma music prize in Finland. Sampo Lassila Narinkka has also set music to two Russian silent movies from the 1920s and collaborated with contemporary dancers Saku and Laura Koistinen.

Sampo Lassila, double bass, compositions
Aleksi Trygg, viola pomposa
Markku Lepistö, accordion
Janne Tuomi, percussion, regular visitor

Image: Sini Liimatainen