äiti maa, which means, "earthmother" in Finnish, was chosen back when the band was more of a women's voice collective. Tuija Kala, our Finnish member came up with the name when we were throwing some themes around.

We love to play live, although we don't do it as much as we would like. That's what you get when you have to work day jobs to save money for band stuff! haha:D One of our favourite moments was a gig we played at a local club in Toronto, 43 Below. The place was packed, and there was this great vibe going and after we'd finished our set, the audience rushed the stage in their enthusiasm and warmth... it was pretty magical.

How big is big? If we make it big, we'll still be the friendliest band! So join our mailing list and be our fan now when we are nobodies and then when we are big, we will remember you and give you front row seats and backstage passes at our concerts. HAHAHAHAHAHHA!:D

äiti maa originated, in March of 1996, as a group of women who gathered together to create and express themselves through music, poetry and spoken word. The name itself is Finnish for Earth Mother. The group evolved with the vision of two motivated (and obsessed) collaborators, Caroline Spence and Colleen Gray. Their creative focus soon shifted to music-making and song-writing and äiti maa became a band. By March of 1998, the group included bassist Mike White, drummer David Connell, and keyboardist/guitarist David T. Lynch. These five people are now the band äiti maa. Every member contributes to the song-development and ultimate composition of the music.

At the spring 1997 Indie conference, we attracted the attention of producer Mikhial Gurarie of dither, who gained engineering experience working with Sara Craig and the Watchmen. In August of 1999, Mikhial took us into Toronto's Umbrella Sound to record our four-song demo CD. We had our first show at the York University Garageworks 1999, and then headlined on a Saturday night at 43° Below, where we played to a packed room and were invited to headline again. äiti maa 's live show radiates a warmth and spirit that shines back at them from enthusiastic audiences. Holy Joe's and the Brunswick House are among our other venues.

äiti maa has been called "earth-sexy, folk-ternative" although no one in the band will 'fess up to being the sexy one. The band's instrumental texture has been compared to early R.E.M. & The Smiths. The vocals, a unique combination of two voices, have been compared to Patti Smith, Roberta Carter-Harrison of Wild Strawberries and Kate Bush. The songs themselves originate from a deep emotional base and range from soft moody ballads to upbeat and quirky melodic pop. Our current repertoire clearly expresses äiti maa as we presently stand, heartfelt yet grounded.

Our influences are pretty wide-spread as there's 5 of us and we're all different ages. The gamut runs from hip hop/trip hop to Irish folk to psychedelic 60s. Some bands/performers that we have been compared to are REM, Smiths, Patti Smith, Wild Strawberries, Fleetwood Mac, Cranberries, Sarah McLachlan, Mamas and the Papas, Kate Bush. "What 60's folk would be in the 90's -- organic, smooth and passionate..."

Hmm... have to get a consensus from all 5 -- that might be hard. Wait till we go on tour and we'll get back to ya! :D Of course, one of them is being on stage together ---

At present, we practice in David's folks' basement -- which is great. We use a four-track rigged up to our amps to accommodate everyone and their instruments. We play in a circle and have a creative, fun time of it. We joke around constantly and are easy-going with each other.

We'd really love to hear from you. We have lots of people who listen to our music with all this mp3 technology, but don't often hear from people. We'd love to hear what you think, how you feel, and who you are. We like to have fun and laugh and do cool things for our fans, so we welcome you to join our mailing list and be an aiti friend! Just e-mail us at aitimaa@hotmail.com :D

Hope to hear from ya!
Hugs from the aiti folk --

David, Colleen, David, Caroline & Mike...