PLAYSCAPES lIVE
iNNOVATIVE NORDIC ELECTROACOUSTICA
Tuulikki Bartosik is a versatile musician and composer known for her innovative approach to the accordion. Hailing from Sweden and Estonia, she is an accordionist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist who has been compared to neoclassical greats like Eric Satie and minimalist icons like Philip Glass.
Bartosik's latest album, PLAYSCAPES, created in collaboration with Sander Mölder, has been praised by critics and audiences alike for its groundbreaking compositions, soundscapes, and instrumentation. Her music has been described as raw and authentic, evoking deep emotions in listeners and speaking to the deeper layers of life.
Playscapes was shortlisted by Bandcamp and made it to Top of The World selection in Songlines magazine 23 edition. Playscapes was also listed as best folktronica album in 2023 in Swedish music magazine Lira focusing on folk, world and jazz music and chosen as one of the best albums worldwide of 2023 by Beehype Magazine.
Live concert reviews
If music really works in about 20-year cycles, it’s time for a post-rock comeback. Tuulikki’s accordion and Sander Mölder’s electronics made a perfect pair, showing us bits of the past and future. Beehype
In an intense duo show with Sander Mölder based around her Playscapes album, she seamlessly amalgamates her serial-like compositional style with field recordings, Mölder’s baroque piano phrasing and a sonic wash analogous to early Tangerine Dream. The Arts Desk
Bartosik's beautiful phrasing, accordion, and kantele gracefully cut through the multimedia stream. Movement, interstice, and journey were visible themes of the compositions, intertwining in various directions alongside the music. At times, the sonic landscape evoked memories of Steve Reich's minimalist masterpiece "Music for 18 Musicians," while elsewhere, images were guided by the technoprimitivist clang of Kraftwerk's iconic "Trans-Europe Express." Nevertheless, a full audience was captivated by the unwavering flow of the uncompromising music. Soundi
Played live, this set of sonic postcards brought colour and softness to the well-appointed if somewhat corporate Fotografiska stage; the duo blending all parts with an assurance and easy wit. Not content with picking her way through time via the wonderful dream spaces, Bartosik’s rocker spirit eventually got a space to gambol through one or two uptempo tracks. This was a set of fleeting moments made into timeless music; true “head” stuff. Under The Radar
To start Saturday, the Swedish-Estonian accordionist Tuulikki Bartosik provided a rare instance of folk being present on a non-specialised stage, playing a duo set at the Fotografiska gallery with electronicist Sander Mölder. Your scribe had caught Bartosik before, solo and acoustic, so this evocative soundscape approach marked a significant change, both players in pursuit of environmental sculpting, with added field recording atmospheres. Songlines Magazine
Bartosik’s mastery of her craft gives us an affecting lament, the accordion’s wheezes and gasps and descending cadences speak of things that are no longer there, no longer worth too much thought. And Bartosik’s skill in letting her instrument do the talking - a rare one in these times of too many explanations - keeps alive a dialogue with an older city that would otherwise be pinned and mounted in a museum. Richard Foster for MSCTY Space
Indeed, one instrument has enormous potential. This potential can be disclosed by an artist with a similarly convincing determination and talent. Accordion player Tuulikki Bartosik delivers tunes so effortlessly, as if the instrument forms part of her physical being. Her compositions are flowing instrumental pieces, gently framed with pedal-board effects. One of them is In Luce Amor/Eternal Love. Consisting of a few parts, it conjures up a steady growth of a sprout in an environment that is not always friendly. louderthanwar.com
Along an adjacent riverside road at the Narva Gate Office, Tuulikki Bartosik adds texture to her accordion playing by subtly interweaving electronics. One element is not set-off against another: it’s a complete conception. Her set pointedly ended with “Kojusaabumine” (“Coming Home”) from her last album, Tempest in a Teapot. Current-day events were once again inescapable. What was already passionate is suddenly overpowering. theartsdesk.com
It feels unfair not to write about the magic rustled up by Estonian folk practitioners such as Tuulikki Bartosik, or new two-piece Duo Ruut. Their shows, employing the ancient traditions and instruments of Baltic and Nordic folk music, were crystalline in sound, strong as reeds in the wind and wise beyond their years. The Quietus
If you want something gentler, it's worth paying attention to Estonian accordion player Tuulikki Bartosik - without hearing it, you wouldn't believe that the accordion can sound so different and follow stories, from baby cradles to stories about Japan and melting snow. Refreshment for the ears - and it would sound great even on the scene of any alternative music festival. Ramūnas Zilnys, LRT.lt
(...)The most beautiful set of the weekend is surely delivered by Tuulikki Bartosik. The Estonian accordion master cuts a solitary figure sitting alone on a large stage, whilst luring heart-stopping, achingly human sounds. Her piece inspired by the plight of political refugees is as haunting and profound as a feature-length documentary, an unforgettably touching tribute that rounds off one of the most memorable and well-observed 40 minutes of music that you could hope to see. - Max Pilley, undetheradamag.com
To hear Estonian accordionist Tuulikki Bartosik play is to bear witness to a manifold, wordless discourse on space, time and wonder. It is to fall, deeply enthralled, into a story of song and sea, laughing light, whispering leaf and unexpected, heart-wrenching tempest. Most of all, it is to find yourself quietly, electrifyingly alive in the present moment. folkworks.com
The accordionist Tuulikki Bartosik eschews digital effects to construct a complex, enfolding sound-world with the hypnotic quality of Philip Glass’s arrangements for his early Seventies band. The Arts Desk
From tunes rooted in the Scandinavian musical tradition to Finnish and Hungarian melodies, Bartosik's style of folk is fresh and melodically rich with a vibrancy that feels unique to her realm of performance. Bartosik blends the traditional with the experimental, with small phrases and her occasional wordless vocal accompaniment providing unexpected surges of emotion. The character and feeling that she injects into her compositions and arrangements allows for a renewed appreciation of the accordion as a contemporary instrument. Arusa Qureshi, The List