Mieskuoro Huutajat

Emily pointed out the following from Social Studies in today's Globe and Mail:

Guy music
The town of Oulu, Finland, features the Shouting Men's Choir, 30 men in black suits shouting in harmony, reports The Age newspaper. Is it worth hearing? "On the one hand," writes Stephanie Bunbury, "they are all dressed alike, move in unison and blend their voice with precise clarity . . . But the men shout as loudly as they can and, no matter what form it takes, the very sound of yelling suggests that a brawl is imminent."

A little bit of googling revealed a lengthy article in Australia's The Age. It includes this fantastic photo:

Photo: theage.com.au

and the even more fantastic news that a documentary about the choir, Huutajat - Screaming Men, is the first Finnish film to be accepted at Sundance, and has become the first to get international distribution.

I can't wait.

Oh, also:

"It was just an idea, very simple and easy," says Sirvio. "The concept was exactly as now; the musical part came later, but the look was there from the start."

It took six months to organise an advertisement in the newspaper that asked, simply, if anyone wanted to scream.

Update: The choir's website is at www.huutajat.org. It inlcludes some, um, audio. Posted by madhava at May 10, 2004 03:50 PM