Love, Lyre and Lingua Obscura

Puuluup refer to their music as ‘zombie folk.’ “We call it that because this instrument was dead for years and now with these electronics we are reviving [it],” they quip during their show. “Most of our songs are about love and sport, although these days most of them are about sport… usually cross-country skiing. But we also have a song about our love of technological objects.” They say all of this completely deadpan, making you think it could very well be nonsense – however the artwork of their last album Viimane Suusataja (The Last Cross-Country Skier) does depict them on skis. At the end of each song they bow, smile and spin their bows around their fingers.

Ramo Teder, the blonde one, and Marko Veisson, the bearded one, are an unlikely duo – two middle-aged men in black suits who behave like mischievous teenagers – to become a cult success in Estonia and beyond. They won Best Group at last year’s Estonian Music Awards, and performed in 14 countries, from the US and Canada to Chile and Taiwan. Next up is a performance at Songlines Encounters Festival in London. “We’ve never performed in the UK before, so we’re excited about that.”

I ask each of them to tell me about one song that they might be playing in London. Ramo Teder chooses ‘TV on the Street’. “Usually we are singing mostly in Estonian, sometimes in Finnish and Russian,” he says. “But this one is mostly English words and a made-up language – Marko’s fantasy lyrics about TV on the street.” Veisson continues: “A lot of Puuluup’s lyrics are like improvisations, just made-up. It’s hard to say if it’s a language or just an improvisation, but each song has a different type of language. If you don’t speak Estonian,” he chuckles, “it doesn’t make much difference, because you can’t tell if it’s Estonian or just invented!”

Marko Veisson’s choice is ‘Liigutage Vastu’ (Answer with a Move) – both songs are from Viimane Suusataja (also Album of the Year in Estonia) “Most of our music is our own, but sometimes we get some inspiration from traditional repertoire,” Veisson explains. “This [track] is in a three-four rhythm and we encourage the audience to dance a traditional flat-foot waltz when we perform it. Before we start playing, we teach them how to do it and get a nice dance going on. It starts with a kind of rap and then the traditional dance rhythm and refers to a Vormsi song sung by the Swedish population.” It also contains some wonderfully scratchy and rhythmic talharpa.

So, what ultimately is Puuluup’s aim with their music? “To live a rock’n’roll lifestyle with the help of this talharpa in our middle age,” says Veisson. “And to popularise this very unknown instrument, to be part of this revival that is going on and at the same time enjoy the making of this music. Surprisingly, it seems to be working out quite well for us.

This is an excerpt of a full feature on Puuluup in #188 (on sale May 12).

Puuluup are playing Kings Place, London on May 20 as part of Songlines Encounters Festival 2023. Tickets and details from kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/contemporary/puuluup