The music of Taneli Jarva and Sami Hassinen’s acoustic duo, T. Jarva & The Dark Place, inhabits the dim back alleys between alt-country and folk noir.

The collaboration between Jarva and Hassinen, which began in December 2018, was a duo for the first couple of years, when the two gave their concept a test run by doing gigs at a slow pace, doing cover versions of their own favourite songs by artists such as Townes Van Zandt, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Marianne Faithfull and Mark Lanegan. Their sound leans heavily on Jarva’s dark baritone voice and steel-stringed accompaniment, which engages with Hassinen’s melodic nylon-stringed guitar.

In 2020, the duo began writing and performing original music in the spirit of the artists mentioned above. Their debut album Post Festum was released in February of 2024, after which the band focused on touring extensively to satisfy its growing audience. The group’s latest release from January 2025, Still & Cold, is an eight-minute ode to those who came before us.

In addition to Jarva and Hassinen, T. Jarva & The Dark Place is currently made up of Sami Käyhkö on drums, Ari Lampinen on double bass, Janne Immonen on keyboards and backup vocalists Riina Rinkinen and Hanna Wendelin.

Duration 1 h 15 min