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Juha Matti Henriksson

Born February 5, 1963, Helsinki

Master of Science (Engineering Physics), Helsinki University of Technology
Master of Arts 1995 and PhD 1998 (Musicology), University of Helsinki

Director 1998, Music Archive JAPA (former Finnish Jazz & Pop Archive)
Part-time teacher, 1995–, Department of Musicology, University of Helsinki
Secretary of the Finnish Society for Ethnomusicology 1995–97
Programmer and ADP designer 1984–1989
Systems architect 1990–92, Siemens Nixdorf

Member of the National Digital Library archive-sector steering group 2015–
Member of the executive committee for the project Training for Audiovisual Preservation in Europe 2004–08
Member of the executive committee of the digitisation project for nationally significant audio recordings.
Member of the doctoral school for folk and popular music 2003–08
Board member 2002-04, the Finnish Popular Music Museum
Chairman of the Finnish Society for Ethnomusicology 1998–2000
Board member of the Finnish Musicological Society 1999–2000
Board member of the Global Music Centre 1998–2000

Awards
The Kullervo Linna Foundation’s Ilpo Hakasalo prize for the promotion of popular music

Photo: Tero Juutilainen
Written by Tero Juutilainen
Translated by Matthew Billington

“Digital technology is changing all the time too”

Music Archive JAPA, founded by volunteers, has today established its position. It is housed in attractive and functional facilities on Sörnäisten rantatie in central Helsinki, in a building it shares with the National Audiovisual Institute and The Labour Archives.

“We started in a basement in Meilahti, and then moved to Arabia, both suburbs close to downtown Helsinki. Our new facilities in Sörnäinen have put our work on a more professional basis. Among other things, we are able to offer digitisation services to other actors in the field.”

Nowadays JAPA aims to profile itself as a treasure trove for researchers, while not ignoring the average music fan.

“Even though we're no traditional research institution, we do now have our own Academy Research Fellow. Antti-Ville Kärjä is in charge of a four year project on studying Finnish music from a multicultural perspective.”

The archive also goes in for publishing, and Juha Henriksson has first-hand experience of the vagaries of the publishing industry. A book may stay in print for only a short while, after which it is fit only for the dumpster.

“Unfortunately we must always consider very carefully what the archive can publish. We receive no subsidies for our publications, so each and every publication has to cover its own costs at the least. Even so, we do also try to publish works with a somewhat more marginal appeal.”

One of the treasures of JAPA: the eponymous pair of heels that inspired composer Erik Lindström to write his song “Ranskalaiset korot”, ('French heels'). Photo: Tero Juutilainen.

Music Archive JAPA is a relatively small archive, but one field in which it has been quite active is digitisation projects, both at the national and international level. In this work Dr Henriksson has had much use for his many degrees and his engineering background, even if he lacks an actual archivist degree.

“I have been honing my skills studying on my own down the years. I am also a member of several working groups active in developing common standards and good practices in the archive sector. However, my most important duties as director are coordination of activities and managing finances.”

The digital age brings its own challenges, especially to an audio-based archive. A common misconception Dr Henriksson has come across is the idea that when the analogue materials have all been digitised, the job will be done. Not so.

“Digital technology is changing all the time too, so archiving must keep up with the change. New equipment must be purchased and data must be recopied from one storage medium to another every so often. In principle, archiving on paper is less expensive in the long run.”

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