Estrada soul & funk on new 45 by Haldi & ans Flamingo ‘Keegi’
Haldi & ans Flamingo are a Tallinn eight-piece led by singer, songwriter and producer Haldi Välimäe and bassist and producer Mattias Tirmaste. Together, they are reviving estrada – the soul, funk and disco of Soviet-era Estonia – sung in their native tongue.
Their new single “Keegi”, is an alluring, siren-like rendition of Randy Crawford’s “You Might Need Somebody”: a cover of the cover. The version they reference was recorded by Tallinn girl group Elektra in the early hours of an October night in 1981, at the state-run Estonian Radio studio, when the building was free of prying eyes and the surveillance of the day. “We were very enchanted by their rendition,” says Haldi, “and we made our version quite similar to theirs, while adding some soulful touches.”
Elektra had grown up on black American music, picked up largely from contraband records brought home in suitcases from state trips to the West and from the more relaxed Finnish broadcasts. They had also been coached by Marju Kuut, a figurehead and one of Estonia’s best-loved singers, who would later be blacklisted by the authorities after defecting to Sweden. Live, Elektra were allowed to sing in English. On tape, the lyrics had to be Estonian. Conductor Märt Hunt, father of lead singer Kadri Hunt, wrote new words, and “You Might Need Somebody” became “Keegi” – “someone”.
That was how Western music survived under Soviet rule: rewritten, re-titled and archived as estrada, the officially approved pop of the USSR. Jazz was treated with suspicion. “There was this saying,” says Mattias. “‘Today plays the saxophone, tomorrow betrays homeland.'” So funk, soul and disco hid in plain sight.
The records made in those conditions, often in just one take, are full of strange, brilliant choices and happy accidents, which Mattias calls “decisions of doubtful value”. “Of course they were professional musicians, and really good ones,” he says. “But everybody is human.” The analogue-style aeroplane whoosh in the intro of Haldi & ans Flamingo’s “Keegi” is a nod to that aesthetic.
When Haldi and Mattias met at a housewarming party, they bonded over estrada. Haldi had been writing and performing solo, making bossa nova-tinged folk records and accompanying herself on guitar. Mattias was playing guitar and bass and had produced the local hit “Hülgehall” for Eik 2509. When Haldi was invited to play the Võnge festival, Mattias put a band together for a tribute to the female estrada singers of the era. It worked so well they started writing, and took the name Haldi & ans Flamingo – “ans” being short for ansambel, Estonian for ensemble, after the old Soviet-era convention.
“One of our missions is to bring great songs from the past into the present,” says Haldi, “giving them a slightly more modern sound while remaining loyal to the sound of the ’60s to ’80s era. It’s important for me to highlight the work of female musicians from that time. There aren’t many artists currently producing soul music in the Estonian language.”
This is the Estrada Beta generation, and Haldi & ans Flamingo are already headlining festivals in their homeland – signed there to Funk Embassy, the Tallinn-based funk factory behind records by Rita Ray, Lexsoul Dance Machine and Reti, as played on BBC London, 6 Music and Jazz FM.
On the flip of the 7” release is “Flamingod”, a Välimäe/Tirmaste original from the band’s mini-album, Õige aeg, and a tribute to the Marju Kuut track of the same name that inspired the instrumental. Where “Keegi” is the love story, this is the groove: Siim Sõmer’s flute and Jaan Mesi’s trumpet riding Mattias’s bass and Henrik Leibur’s drums.
Estrada soul and the beautiful funk. Dig it.
“Keegi” / “Flamigod” out on 45 / digi on Oct. 23rd 2026 via Soul Jones
