Tintura and Arno Tamm began collaborating in 2017. Tintura blend beats and traditional music from their native Estonia to create a soundscape that seamlessly reflects the ancient songs and tunes of their homeland. They occupy a space where Baltic electronica meets tender folk song and fiddle music.
Tintura musicians were inspired by the Estonians who were born, raised, and lived in Siberia. They have said: “The recordings of Siberian Estonian folk songs seemed to radiate a necessity to and delight for gathering and singing together, and we realised they filled some kind of a space within us”.
The majority of Estonians in Siberia are the descendants of Estonians who emigrated upon the coercion of the Imperial Russian central government in the final decade of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century, when Estonia was part of Imperial Russia. Settlements that were established even earlier were made up of people deported to Siberia by the Russian imperial government.
Expeditions to Siberia organized by the Estonian Folklore Archives in the 1990s and 2000s produced recordings that, together with the anthology “Songs of Siberian Estonians” (compiled by Anu Korb, published in 2005) served as source material for this album. In 2014, the improved anthology was made available online. http://www.folklore.ee/pubte/eraamat/siberilaulud/eestlased/
Estonians who migrated to Siberia treasured and preserved the songs they had learned from their ancestors. They were passed down from generation to generation. Due to the new cultural and linguistic environment, the songs acquired hybrid tones and manners of stylistic expression. The Estonians in Siberia assign particular importance to community singing.
Tintura musicians hope that the new album will inspire listeners and serve as a stimulus for further exploration of folk songs in Siberia and Estonia alike.
Anu Korb