Finnish violinist and ethnomusicologist TUOMAS ROUNAKARI has announced a new official music video for ‚Bear Awakening‘, set to premiere on July 13th — traditionally regarded as the Day of the Bear and the natural midpoint of summer. The video captures a live performance recorded at an ancient ritual ground in Finland, weaving together ceremony, nature, and animist spirituality.Finnish violinist, composer, and ethnomusicologist TUOMAS ROUNAKARI has announced the upcoming premiere of a new official music video for ‚Bear Awakening‘, the title track from his 2022 solo album Bear Awakener. The video is set to go live at midnight Finnish time (GMT+3) on July 13th, 2026 — a date historically tied to the Day of the Bear in land-based Nordic calendars, marking the natural midpoint of summer rather than the astronomical solstice.
The footage was captured by filmmaker Antti Pentikäinen during a live performance at the Heinäveden Muinaisviikot Festival in Finland in July 2025, staged at an ancient ritual ground. The video also incorporates rare bear footage filmed in Sweden in 2014 by Björn Ola Lind and Torkel Lundgren — the same bear that appeared on the imagery of the Bear Awakener album. Field recordings of birds by Jyrki Portin (2022) and sound recording by Patrick Tubin McGinley round out the audiovisual production.
ROUNAKARI describes the piece as something that captures the essence of his art and animist spirituality, noting the near-effortless nature of the collaboration with Pentikäinen.
A former member of KORPIKLAANI (2012–2022), ROUNAKARI has built a singular career bridging folk, metal, free jazz, and ethnomusicology. His doctoral research focuses on altered states of consciousness through music, a thread that runs through his trance-inducing live performances. Bear Awakener draws on ceremonial bear songs from Khanty, Mansi, Carelian, and Finnish traditions, positioning ancestral knowledge at the heart of contemporary musical expression.
The premiere can be accessed via YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFjt1i3jbGg.