Sorriso’s new single Special Friend has turned out to be a success. Radio producers from different countries give comments like “I can’t wait to play this track” or “This is a successfull track”.

Sorriso was The Arzuk Artist of The Week in Ridgecrest California 21st to 27th April 2011 . Maini and John want to thank Arzuk Productions for giving this great opportunity.

Gonzalo Arzamendi , CEO of Arzuk Productions, writes: “I have the opportunity to listen to the music created and composed by Sorriso, this duet between John Baumann and Maini Sorri is a joy to the ears”.

“Special Friend”: This song has a great strong structure the lyrics has a well specific message, the combinations of vocals between John and Maini flow with the music, with elegance and perfect coordination, The melody has a very special and singular accent, that together with the acoustic guitar make this song a joy to the ears easy to listen and grabs you from beginning to end. This song transmit to the listener the clean state of mind of the performers”.

See Sorriso on CNN iReport Watch Arzuk Artist video on YouTube

Visit Sorriso website on Reverbnation

Where ever you live, you can download both Special Friend and Hiding Place on Reverbnation store $ 0,99 and ringtones $ 2.49.

Special Friend is now available on itunes around the world, here are some stores:

Itunes Sweden Itunes UK Itunes USA Itunes Italy

Switch the little flag top down right on the page and choose your own country. Search word Sorriso Special Friend.

This singer-songwriter with a Finnish background has lived most of her life in Sweden where she has built up a sizeable following for her enchanting music and beautiful voice. This release marks her British debut, though she has already made an impact in America and Canada, and could well build a following in the UK. She has created memorable melodies and her lyrics, have been successfully transcribed from Finnish into English. There is an inspiring spirit in such songs as Someday and Like An Angel, and you can feel the pure emotion in the closing Lahden Yksin. A delightful five-song set that really whetted my apetite for more.

Maini Sorri SOMEDAY EP Reya Music **** 4/5  review in great Maverick Magazine in UK in January 2011 issue

Read my interview on Gaydarnation or see below:

Interview on Gaydarnation Radio,  UK January 19 2011

Swedish artist Maini is gearing up to release her new electronic dance single ‘Let Me Do Your Time’, arranged by techno master Piyasiri.

We spoke to Maini about her music and how it puts people in the right mood.

So tell us a bit about the new single ‘Let Me Do Your Time’ – what can we expect?
It is a catchy track with a great dance background by Piyasiri. It is a song to love and to sing along to. I’m sure that the video will put a smile on your face.

What are you most proud of about the single?
As soon as people hear the intro, it puts them in the right mood. [Smiles].

You recently released an EP in the UK – tell us a bit more about that…
My EP Someday featured pop ballads. I was happy with all great reviews I got and for being on Music World Radio’s Top 20 charts for 16 weeks so far. Someday recently stayed at number one for three weeks.

So, when did you first realise you had musical talent?
When I was three years old, our family visited an old lady who had a toy piano and I loved to play on it. When I came home, I became interested in the big piano we had at home. At eight, I began to write piano music.

Do you like to draw on your own experiences when you make music?
When I write songs, I always get a strong feeling that must come out, and the music and the lyrics come to me. Yes, my own lyrics are about feelings I have felt. But often I use lyrics that people have sent to me, hoping that I would compose the music. The lyrics of ‘Let Me Do Your Time’ are by Gary Cornman from the USA.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
The best advice I’ve been given was from a friend who suggested I begin to write songs. I only wrote  piano music ’til I was 17.

The new single is very club-friendly – do you go out clubbing much yourself?
Music and skiing practice take up most of my time, so I don’t have much time for clubbing. [Smiles].

“It is a catchy track with a great dance background by Piyasiri…as soon as people hear the intro, it puts them in the right mood. [Smiles].”

If we were to buy you a drink at the bar, what would you ask for?
I always stay sober and have great fun anyway. [Laughs].

Where’s your favourite place on earth?
At my computer connected to fans all around the world is a nice place to be. [Smiles].

What makes you happy?
All the great messages from fans, great reviews and airplays of my music make me happy.

What makes you angry?
When people don’t respect human rights.

Finish the sentence: A good song starts with…
A genuine feeling and something you want to share.

It ends with…
Hopefully a nice melody and great lyrics that can make people happy or comfort them when they are sad.

What are your plans for the single and beyond?
I hope this single will get lots of listeners all around the world. I have recorded several new songs that I am going to release. I have also recorded a new single with my Italian and Swedish band Sorriso.

Anything to add?
Let’s be kind and loving to each other.

Review by The Tea Room Music, UK  January 17 2011

“Maini’s new single ‘Let Me Do Your Time’ is a good example of Euro club music- within seconds of the song beginning, you can imagine yourself dancing away in Ibiza. The music is fairly strong – there is a heavy techno background to it with a good melody, composed by Maini herself. The production and arrangement is fantastic and makes the instrumental parts of the track highly enjoyable”..

See the video here Maini – Let Me Do Your Time

Review of Someday in The Rocker UK, December 23 2010:

“Ms Sorri sings mainly in English, although the lyrics are translations of her original Swedish lyrics, and comes across a bit like a Corr meeting Enya. Which sounds better than it writes. The lead track, in particular, is a fine piece of soft rock that could easily pick up play on BBC Radio 2. As could ‘I Am Leaving’, which has an excellent melody and some good harmonies”.

Review of Someday in Fatea Magazin UK, October 2010:

“The standard for Scandinavian pop was set so high in the 70s that it’s never really been bettered, Swedish based Finn, Maini Sorri is the latest to give it a go with five track ep/mini album “Somebody”. In fairness it’s a reasonable release, classic pop sensibilities, made slightly more exotic by Maini’s accent and the way she attacks certain words and phrases, it makes you give it a second take, but ultimately there is a feel of radio fodder about most of the album, until she gets to the reprise of “I’m Leaving”, “Lahden Yksin” sung in her own language feels on the mark”.

This is a Swedish newspaper article translated by google translater:

Great, Maini!
Maini Sorri  takes her “Someday” to the top.
Maini Sorri from Uppsala – basically piano and voice teacher with a background in Tierp – has advanced to the second spot on the British music world Radio Top 20 Charts.
The list was a spine-chillers for Maini this time. Two of the artists on the Top 10 had been pushed out. Number two and number one remained to be present. Be Maini among them? Luckily, she kept her place at the top also climbed up one position. World music radio’s head was a presenter for the list and said Maini was a strong runner and could have won if not it shocking happened to an American band went straight from the bubble into first place on the list. It had only happened once so far in the history list. Maini has until now been seven weeks in the top five in the top.
Reviews in the British press has been very positive, here is a quote:
“Sorri’s inner beauty shines through  …. this Scandinavian singer-songwriter sure delivers sophisticated pop. Nobody can question her finely honed song craft “.
(All Gigs, Elly Roberts)

This article Toppen, Maini was published in Gefle Dagblad Nöje 27th of October 2010. I just found it on internet.

MAINI SORRI – SOMEDAY EP: Scandinavian singer-songwriter Maini Sorri sings English translations of Finnish originals. As she seeks to become more widely known in the UK, Sorri releases her Someday and hasn’t anything to be apologetic for (pardon the play on words!). Combining pop and folk elements with a vaguely Corrs meets Carpenters meets Abba sensibility, Sorri’s material is classic sounding and European embracing. There’s a keen sense of melody, a lovely voice to deliver the romantic lyrics (whether hopeful or downbeat) and an appreciation for classic song-writing values. Admittedly, there’s a Radio 2 vibe attached to it, but with Celtic influences hinted at on a track like I Am Leaving and a Corrs/Cranberries style of delivery to enhance the vocals on the title track, this is a pleasant enough listen that passes the time amiably.
Rating: 3 out of 5

EP Review: Someday – Maini Sorri by Piers Ford 30 September

Someday: deceptively simple lyrics combine with melancholic undertones to generate an ABBA-esque frisson

Not everyone can take a quirky little ditty and make it credible. It takes sincerity, a deal of musical sensibility and a belief in the ultimate message of a song that is probably greater than the sum of its parts. Maini Sorri seems to have the ability in spades. How about this for a couplet?

“Truth is you were selfish and a phoney.

I shouldn’t have trusted you and your baloney.”

It’s one of my favourite snippets from her new EP Someday, a small collection of five songs that frequently reveal a melancholy undercurrent beneath their whimsical lyrics and well-crafted melodies. Does that sound reminiscent of a certain other Scandinavian outfit? I’m not suggesting that there are huge similarities between Sorri’s work and the nuances of Benny and Bjorn’s finest numbers. But in the deceptive simplicity of lyrics that can sound banal, even childlike, at the first hearing before they work their way under your skin, and the layered arrangements, guitar-driven and piano-based, with their minor accents, it’s impossible not to detect a hint of ABBA’s mastery of the accessible pop tune with the dark back story.  And it’s no surprise that she cites Agnetha Faltskog as one of her main singing influences.

Sorri is a Finn who lives mainly in Sweden and is gifted with a pure, crystalline voice that easily covers the ground between pop and the more mainstream reaches of modern folk. Her accent – more shades of that ABBA-like appeal – gives these songs an air of innocence, a lack of guile, that surely belies her all-round musical strengths. She knows exactly what she’s doing and the sound she wants to achieve, and the result is a modest little box of jewels, from the catchy, twinkling intro of the title track (don’t be fooled, it soon gets elemental and philosophical, and has its eye on the great hereafter) to the gently contemptuous “I Shouldn’t Have Trusted You” (source of the baloney reference) and the sadly defiant “I Am Leaving”, which is also offered in Finnish as “Lahden Yksin”.

My first thought on playing “Someday” was that it has a certain Eurovision quality – in a good way. I don’t know if Sorri has tried her luck yet in the Finnish or Swedish selection processes for the contest, but reading her thoughtful and intelligent blog posts on the subject, I wouldn’t be surprised if she has ambitions in that direction. With a growing following – not just in Europe but also in the US and Canada – this could be a prime time for her to make that particular move.

Piers Ford

“The Art Of a Torch Singer”

“SOMEDAY”,  by MAINI SORRI, on Reya Music, Review in County Times

Released next Monday, this EP has five songs by Scandinavian singer songwriter and composer Maini Sorri, who has been making a name for herself right across Europe and beyond.

With a Finnish background, Sorri has lived for most of her life in Sweden, but has also worked with an American songwriter and an Italian artist on various projects. These have  included the Sorriso band, which released an EP last January.

The new EP opens with a springy “Someday”, which is also to be released individually as a single. It’s followed by the more interesting “I Am Leaving”, and the sweet Euro sound of “I Shouldn’t Have Trusted You” with some amuzing phrases and rhymes. “Like An Angel” sounds a little rushed but is still fine before the final song in Finnish “Lahden yksin” and your guess as to what  it’s about is as good as mine. Still the band works hard and the set is well produced to introduce Sorri for British music fans.

A great review by Elly Roberts at AllGigs in UK gave Someday 4 stars of 5 possible:

“This Scandinavian singer-songwriter with a Finnish background (but resides in Sweden) sure delivers sophisticated pop.”

“Nobody can question her finely honed songcraft, the result of studying music and realizing a Bachelor of Arts degree”.

“No doubt some muso-minded playlist compilers will pick up on this delightful piano-based ditty, that builds up to a hefty crescendo, fully deserves a big audience. Elsewhere, the remaining songs have real depth and are equally playable for radio, particularly Lahden Yksin.”

Elly Roberts also played Someday at his radio show THE PLUG sept 27 at CalonFM.  According to THE PLUG’s website Elly Roberts has been a local and international DJ for over 30 years, and  performed in Greece, Holland, Spain and Los Angeles, USA.  He is now a freelance music journalist and broadcaster and makes regular contributions to BBC Wales etc.