RATATOSK

The Finnish folk music band Ratatosk was founded in 2013 as a small ensemble, and all of the six 
members joined 2014 when they started performing together on a more regular basis. All members 
of Ratatosk have different musical backgrounds. Some have classical training, others are jazz 
musicians, and others have played in blues, rock or punk bands.

Ratatosk’s genre could be 
described as nordic folk music with influences from rock, classical music, medieval music, jazz and 
many other styles. We perform old folk melodies and medieval church songs, and our own newly 
written material. We perform mostly in Swedish (since the members are from Swedish speaking 
areas of Finland), but we also have songs in Finnish and Latin on the repertoire. 


The name Ratatosk comes from Nordic mythology. Ratatosk is the name of a squirrel who runs 
along the branches of the life tree Yggdrasil. Ratatosk brings messages from the giant Eagle 
Hräsvelg, sitting on the highest top of the tree, to the ancient dragon Nidhögg who is chewing on 
the deepest root, and to everyone in between. The squirrel thereby has got access to all different 
worlds. The band chose to call ourself Ratatosk, since we mix music from different musical worlds. 
It is also a statement for a multicultural society.