The musicians of Jaakko Laitinen & Väärä Raha have their origin in Lapland, coming from the villages of Inari, Salla and the city of Rovaniemi. The band's music is a unique specialty with various ingredients marinated in different sauces. The main elements are all kinds of nostalgic and modern Roma grooves from the Balkans, Russian romances as well as Humppa music. The band consists of vocal, trumpet, bouzouki, accordion, double bass and drums. 99 % of the songs are own compositions, with love and it´s bitter beauty as a main theme in the lyrics, handling also other key elements of life, like mortality, the deceptive glow of memories, the swaying earthly happiness and the inexorable vanity of our ambitions. Joy and sorrow are both engaged in these rhythms and melodies, just like in life itself.
Jaakko Laitinen & Väärä Raha was established in 2009, since then won a lot of recognition and released three highly acclaimed albums. But the most important point is its fame for being the Finland's wildest live act! The band performs more than 80 gigs a year, in the villages in Northern Lapland as well as on the hippest dance floors in Helsinki. The band has played a lot abroad in Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, Baltic States, Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia.In 2015 the band composed and performed the music of the documentary 'Kihniö', directed by the well-know Saija Mäki-Nevala, which was released in the beginning of the year. And the new album of the Bavarian band Django 3000 hit the German Top 20 with the title song 'Bonaparty' being co-composed by Jaakko Laitinen & Väärä Raha. The crazy adventures continue as the band was chosen for a Womex-showcase in October 2015 in Budapest, and at the beginning of 2020 the band released its long waited album "Börek".
“Maybe it's the influence of Romany music that makes one understand that joy and sorrow in music don't shut each other out. At the same time, one can realize life's horrors and appreciate its sweetness. It's good to have different kinds of emotions in the same song.” Jaakko Laitinen
10.11.2022 - Göteborg (S), Folk Teatern
11.11.2022 - Husum (G), Speicher
12.11.2022 - Stadthagen (G), Alte Polizei
14.11.2022 - Innsbruck (A), Treibhaus
15.11.2022 - Donaueschingen (G), KuBa
17.11.2022 - Mühldorf (G), Haberkasten
18.11.2022 - Immeldorf (G), Weißes Roß
19.11.2022 - Berlin (G), Wabe
Next club tour to Middle/West/East European countries: 10. to 20. November 2022.
For worldwide festivals 2022/23, the band is always available on request.