Tag: Finland
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Lackluster – One-Offs EP
From the Bandcamp site:
“Monotonik is very proud to present an exclusive 6-track EP from Finland’s Lackluster, aka Esa Ruoho, an artist we’ve been releasing (as Distance) since way back when we were putting out .MODs, and have seen go from the limited-edition “CDR#2” on Monotonik (our only physical release ever) to critical acclaim through his 12” and album releases on the UK’s DeFocus Records, and more recent vinyl and CDs put out through Rikos, Merck, and U-Cover, to name but a few.”
Enjoyably dark, somewhat glitchy, and filled with crunchy lo-fi beats. I like this quite a bit.
Welcome to the world of Finnish tango as brought to you by Uusikuu, who celebrate their 16th year with this charmer of a disc. As this wonderful release from the ever wonderful CPL-Music isn’t on Bandcamp, I would like to point you to their Qobuz website, as I’m not much of a fan of Spotify. If this doesn’t work in your country, consider going to Deezer here.
There is something special about Finnish tango. One would think that Finland and the Rio Plata area of Argentina and Uruguay wouldn’t have much in common, but, in fact, they share a melancholy in their music that makes for sumptuous listening. Karuselli is a lively record, however, for a tango album, and you will hear elements of chanson and even a touch of traditional Finnish music. It’s extremely pleasant and bouncy music.
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Esa Ruoho – Collage
Esa Ruoho is a project out of Finland who works with really long, sinewy drones and atmospherics to get lost in on a headphone trip. Fine ambient music, something rare in a time when the term is so badly abused.
Hands down, this is my favorite Finnish progressive rock album. I was introduced to Pekka Pohjola early in life, and now that I am listening to this album in my middle age, I can hear how beautifully it aged. Pekka’s bass is at the forefront, of course, and his playing is masterful, but the whole crew balance progressive rock of the 1970s with jazz fusion and touches of art-rock. I can’t say enough good about this disc.
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Uzu Noir – Zo!
Uzu Noir is the monicker used by Finnish audio engineer-mixer-producer (having worked with Richard Dawson & Circle, Brian Eno, The Tindersticks, These New Puritans, Ulver, Natacha Atlas, Pharaoh Overlord, The Utopia Strong, Cyclobe, Old Man Gloom, etc) Antti Uusimäki. With such an incredible résumé, one would expect that his debut EP would cover interesting sonic terrain. I’m happy to say that he does!
Though he identifies the release as ‘ambient’, a buzzword I’m beginning to dislike only because of the lack of consistently about what ‘ambient’ actually is, I’d say that his ambient music is something along the lines of the Berlin School, being comparable to music like acts like Tangerine Dream and Coil (which was a pleasant surprise) meeting soundtrack composers like Graeme Revell.
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Pelkkä Poutanen – Pyhä Veri Vuotaa
Finland’s Pelkkä Poutanen provide one of 2022’s best World Music albums, combining a wild combination of Scandinavian folk, drone, throat-singing and, if you can believe it, a very light touch of tango.
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Various Artists – New State Of Flux
The second release from Raffaele Pezzella’s Unexplained Sounds Group’s latest acquisition, the magnificently dark Reverse Alignment record label.
This is a different affair from yesterday’s compilation, which was more extreme in sound. New State of Flux doesn’t have the same reach in terms of geography, but it covers music which is more focused, more intense, and gives a feeling of being part of a film-noir soundtrack. Of particular interest to me was the piece done by Vongoiva called Palovankka, which you can hear below. Well done, as always.
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Onségen Ensemble – Fear
I wish to thank my friend Slava, who is based in Kazakhstan, for introducing me into this avant-prog treasure. The Onségen Ensemble are a Finnish group who have a rather open personnel, which is in keeping with their mission statement. The sound is a mix of heavy progressive, psychedelic rock and a bit of raw, old-school metal. I think a band like this would feel at home with American labels like Cuneiform Records, but they want to forge their own path, and it’s a very, very loud one.