Sibbe Live!: Wimme & Rinne
Wimme Saari, yoik
Tapani Rinne, bass clarinet and electronics
Aleksi Myllykoski, mixing and electronics
Wimme Saari, Finlands most internationally renowned contemporary yoik vocalist, and Tapani Rinne, the acclaimed saxophonist and clarinetist who started his career in experimental jazz, have been collaborating for over 30 years. Wimme appeared on RinneRadio’s Joik album in 1992, while Tapani has been musician and producer on Wimme’s first three albums Wimme (1995), Gierran (1997) and Cugu (2000). The recording and touring collaboration has continued again since the 2009 release of Mun, an album that has been highly successful on the World Music Charts Europe and even licensed in China.
In 2013, Wimme Saari and Tapani Rinne released the joint album Soabbi, which sealed the duo’s partnership, which had already lasted a couple of years. Soabbi was based on Sámi hymns, but its hymns include improvisation, yoik and electronic Arctic landscape – the northern blues and gospel.
The duo’s next album, Human, was released in 2017 and by then the duo’s name had already taken shape as Wimme & Rinne. Human has been an international success that has carried the duo’s career for five years now. Wimme & Rinne have performed in concert halls and festivals around the world from the shores of the Arctic Ocean to the stadium in the Gambian capital Banjul. In late 2022, Wimme & Rinne have performed at venues including the Porta Festival in Latvia and the Riksscene concert hall in Oslo.
The only sound sources for Wimme & Rinne’s music are the human voice and the bass clarinet. In principle, the whole could be minimalist, barren and archaic, and the musical elements sparse, but they are rich. The music has sensitivity, but also fervour, dark ambient tones and electronic brimstone.