Séverine Morfin Mad Maple and Selma Savolainen & Eero Tikkanen

‘If the trees could share their view of the state of the world, what would they say? Perhaps that our world has gone mad…’

In the work Mad Maple, violist Séverine Morfin questions our relationship to nature and its soundscape. The piece, composed for viola, guitar, clarinet, monotron, and sound track, consists of three parts in which written sections are intertwined with improvisation. In addition to the instruments, tape recordings are heard as a fourth sound source, containing field recordings and sampled instruments. Sound designer Céline Grangey plays the tapes, which come alive in the same way as the instruments.

Mad Maple is filled with concern for the state of the Earth (the glacier we hear collapsing in the piece “glacés” has already disappeared), while at the same time being an intensely poetic performance. The wind blows along with the viola, forest birds sing beside Elodie Pasquier’s clarinet, the glacier engages in dialogue with Guillaume Magne’s guitar… The sounds merge into layers and soon we no longer know where they come from. This diversity of sounds creates a dense music that nevertheless feels natural. The sounds are treated as equals, blending into a shifting, living synthesis.

Maple also means the wood of the maple tree, from which Séverine Morfin’s viola is made. It was specially built for her by the luthier Patrick Charton, to whom the piece “Les murmures” is dedicated. Mad Maple builds a connection from the wood of the instrument to the trees of the forest, bringing us back to nature. These imaginary landscapes help us remember that we are part of the whole.

“We think of the island, the sea surrounding the island. The air, the currents, the inhaling and exhaling. How much life can fit into a single moment, into a pause.”

The journey of vocalist Selma Savolainen and bassist Eero Tikkanen, which began on the island of Iso-Kraaseli during Raahen Rantajatsit 2021, has continued at Korpo Sea Jazz 2022, and in Helsinki on Lammassaari and Tervasaari. After their performances on the islands, Selma and Eero will come ashore at Hietsu on 22 September 2025 to perform their first mainland concert at the Hietsun Paviljonki.

Vocalist, composer, and lyricist Selma Savolainen is known for her powerful yet sensitive interpretations. Her debut solo album Horror Vacui, released in 2023 on Whirlwind Recordings, was awarded the Jazz Emma Award for Album of the Year in 2024. Savolainen, who received the Pori Jazz Rising Talent recognition in 2022, also performs with groups such as Signe, Mikko Sarvanne Garden, and Mikko Innanen’s Uusi Kvintetti.

The dynamic bassist Eero Tikkanen is known for his energetic expressiveness and open-mindedness—strengths that define this bold musician. Testimony to this is his ability to master styles ranging from experimental to traditional, as well as his participation in many cult and alternative groups such as The Mystic Revelation of Teppo Repo, Joose Keskitalo, Selma Savolainen Horror Vacui, Phardah, and Jorma Tapio & Kaski.

Séverine Morfin Mad Maple (FR)
Séverine Morfin: viola, compositions
Elodie Pasquier: clarinet, monotron
Guillaume Magne: guitar
Céline Grangey: tapes, sound design

Selma Savolainen & Eero Tikkanen
Selma Savolainen: vocals
Eero Tikkanen: double bass

Photos: Mad Maple – Maxim Francois and Selma Savolainen & Eero Tikkanen – Maarit Kytöharju

Concert production: Vapaat Äänet & Finnish Jazz Federation
The tour is part of the Better Live project, co-funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme.

Concert supported by: Creative Europe, Association Jazzé Croisé, Institut Français, Spedidam, MES, City of Helsinki and Svenska Kulturfonden.