Loituma, a Finnish folk music group founded in 1989 in Helsinki, began as the septuor Jäykkä Leipä under the Sibelius Academy’s respected folk department; its early lineup featured singers Sanna Kurki‑Suonio and Tellu Paulasto before they joined Hedningarna. The group’s breakthrough came in 1996 with the a cappella rendition of "Ievan Polkka", which later became a viral internet meme in 2006. Their studio album Things of Beauty was released in 1998 and In the Moonlight in 1999, both recorded in 1998. Loituma received the Group of the Year award at the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival in 1997 and achieved a 48th-place ranking on the German charts with "Ievan Polkka". The group continued to perform and record, issuing a new a cappella edition of "Ievan Polkka" in May 2021, while maintaining a presence in the Finnish folk scene through collaborations with artists such as Anita Lehtola, who also performed with Hedningarna and Tallari.
