Snow Joke
This is Fuel’s List
1. Yona and Orkesteri Liikuvat Pilvet – Shhh…
2. Kuusumun Profeetta – Sataa lumi maahan hiljaa ja varhain
3. Suo – Saunaloitsu
4. Värttinä – Sorja Poika
5. Kerkko Koskinen Kollektiivi – Laura Palmer
6. Ceebrolistics – Nämä aallot
7. Haikara – Kun menet tarpeeksi kauas tulevaisuuteen, huomaat olevasi menneisyydessä
8. Elokuu – Soutaa Huopaa
9. Paavoharju – Valo Tihkuu Kaiken Läpi
10. CMX – Ruoste
11. Tenhi – Kausienranta
Yona and Liikuvat Pilvet begin with a waltz and ask us to be quiet and move on from a senseless battle. Pluck that harp, baby!
Kuusumun Profeetta’s Mika Rättö is a driving force in Eleanoora Rosenholm, Circle, Rättö and Lehtisalo, etc. “The snow falls early and silently” is just a brilliant mediation on being alone – melancholy heaven. Not folk but this new song could fit in Finland’s troubadour tradition.
Suo are a classic folk act. The singing and playing in “Sauna Spell” is magnificent and is the clearest example of folk I’ll include.
Värttinä sound so fresh on their first albums: sex, desire, violence, misery, mystery, rural life, nagging women, cruel men, etc (this one’s about a “Pretty boy”). They attack traditional songs like the Pogues once did. Listen to those call and response vocals, the stressing of the first syllable as in the chanting of a spell.
Kerkko Koskinen Kolektiivi are Mr Koskinen’s current day job: orchestral pop and jazz. The voices are crystal clear and the sounds organic, especially the way the song ends with individuals forming a dramatic, powerful collective. The lyrics have a Finnish worldview, although the central character dances like Laura Palmer in slow motion.
Ceebrolistics are Suomi rap pioneers. “These waves” initially moves like gentle Finnish waters, but suddenly the song sounds like shamen casting a spell and urging a beat to appear. It does: a thoughtful, reflective beat.
Haikara give us eight minutes of prog rock boogie. It has a Finnish sensibility: studious and experimental. “When you go far enough into the future you notice you’re in the past.”
Elokuu are a new group and mix accordion and other traditional Finnish folk instruments with rap. It’s soft, humorous and documents the problems of what sounds like a typical on-off urban relationship. You can humppa to this. Humppa is a dance style.
Paavoharju are lo-fi, world music, mystics from the back of beyond. The song has a strong spiritual element. Traditional instruments, electronica, beats and Bollywood. This band, like others of their ilk, is brilliant in small doses, or longer if you are planning on going insane in a log cabin far from a wi-fi connection.
CMX: I was going to put in some folk metal but then thought of the sometimes shamanistic styling of CMX and ended up with the string-laden “Rust”. Not folk at all, but it is so Finnish.
Tenhi describe the natural Finnish environment like few other bands. They celebrate its arbitrariness, brutality, triumphs and wonder. This song has more drive than many of their numbers, but still has ebb and flow.
First of all many thanks to the wonderful RTJ. She is brilliant.
Why this theme? Well principally because I had ordered an album called “Folk Aesthetic” by Finnish doom-folkers Tenhi and saw that RTJ had had suggested I do a ‘Spill post. So, I put Spill, folk and Finland together and came up with the theme.
I also listen to Hexvessel and their pagan folk sound a lot (they’re not on the list because they sing in English – other languages were acceptable). Then I remembered a brief conversation with TFD about Kimmo Pohjonen, Elokuu and the Polka Chicks and the use of the accordion, so that cemented the idea of a playlist that brings together new artists that use folkish elements. When making the list I decided that at least a third of the songs should be from 2012 and only one from the 1970s and one from the 1980s.
I did consider doing a traditional folk / world music set but artists such as Yona, Liljan Loisto, Edward Vesala, Scandinavian Music Group have a folk aesthetic in the way they treat and express Finnish life and nature in their work but aren’t limited by it.
Within two hours of deciding to do the list I noticed folk was everywhere: GG Caravan had a wild gypsy sound but with some of Finland’s most popular rappers doing the vocals; rapper Asa was doing beat poetry collaborations; Juhani’s hip hop had traditional folk sounds in it; MB and Haka are young bands that play folk instruments but with a modern sensibility; the Fonal label had artists like Islaja, Lau Nau and Kiila who use traditional folk instruments for avant-garde rock structures; artists like Jukka Ässä, Delay Trees, Samae Koskinen have a folk aesthetic. The list goes on…
Then there were artists like Sanna Kurki-Suonio of world music Hedningarna, who work from folk to electronic sounds and back – both artists have been produced by Tapani Rinne of RinneRadio – a Jazz electronic band formed from Edward Vesala’s workshops, IIRC, so I thought I’d add in some jazz sounds that emphasise Finnish tadtional and modern vocal styles.
And let’s not forget the punk and folk metal versions of Finnish folk songs and myths, none of which are here; nor in the bonus tracks I had prepared but didn’t use.
Folk elements were everywhere and in every genre, so here’s a list for the game.
Who’s that cute kid in the picture?
A Fuel. it was taken two years ago. The picture was chosen cos it was taken on a camera phone, which is the other side of Finland: modern, young and in love with technology. The photo also shows a cold winter: minus 10 Celsius that day but we’re having fun and he has the sun on his face and looks warm. I also chose it cos it has the inevitable trees, but he’s obviously in a park, which suggests an urban area. Just didn’t want another shot of some open Finnish landscape or a lake – usually without people. See, I hate stereotypes.
*rolls eyes* What happens in RR stays in RR
I’m just too indiscreet.
Never tell me anything personal.
I’ll remember that
Oh, is this thread this week’s Spill game?
Back when I’ve made a brew …
Should have made that clear. See that’s how influenced by Finnish culture I’ve become: I presume everyone will realise what it is without me providing any info at all.
Good, then let me bury myself in some work and this soundtrack, because as much as I love him, chinhealer‘s now doing my head in with his OTT “holier-than-thou” act on RR.
*rolls eyes* see my above comment on how what happens in RR stays there
If you like, I’ll counter him with my ‘unholier-than-thou’ attitude
Thanks, AIP, but probably pissing into the wind. He’s worrying more sheep than he’s herding, but he won’t see it.
He does have a small point: I’ve heard that ‘I Will Survive’ joke being used in racists contexts before, but I think everyone needs to relax. There’s been a few minor outbursts in the last seven days, on all three RR threads, and at this stage I think if something annoys you it’s best not to engage, at least until everyone’s feathers have settled back down. I’d say it’s partly the new comments system and the guru screw-up last week getting on everyone’s nerves…
Oh I had no problem agreeing with Chinny’s core point, but he, imo, was much more derogatory about Shoey than Shoey was in the first place.
Agreed re RR – if only there was some way I could have more influence over the column . . . .* he-he-he-he *
As Jack Nicholson said in Batman:
Dond. But I must ask, why so serious, son?
smartass.
Now, with apologies to Fuel for abusing your hospitality, back to the tunes …
Never heard of any of these artists, so can happily approach all with a completely open mind (a rarity these days).
Yona and Orkesteri Liikuvat Pilvet – Starts well (in a Bat For Lashes kinda way), went a bit too French-cheese in the middle, but I liked the climax.
I’m guessing this will not end up a candidate for KEEP or KICK.
Kuusumun Profeetta – Funnily enough, I’m going to mention the Gauls again. This reminds me of Louis Bertignac, but with a purer voice. I like it.
Suo – Too trad folk for me. Nice violin though.
Värttinä – Ooh, uh, no. Too shrill. First possible candidate for the chop. Ha! Just got to the jazz clarinet (?) solo, at least the incongruity made me smile.
Kerkko Koskinen Kollektiivi – Just odd! I really don’t know what to make of this. Discombobulated.
Ceebrolistics – nothing … what’s happening? Oh, I appear to have hit the buffers after 15 seconds. Gah. OK, back later.
No, it was only 15 seconds! WTF? A shame, I liked those 15 seconds!
Haikara – Nngh. A Finnish Frank Zappa? Not my bag again, I’m afraid. Sorry, Fuel, I can see you’re varying this a lot, but somehow you’re skirting right around my tastes so far.
Forgot to retype what I wrote about Haikara still going when I lost the comment I was typing – it got more accessible when it turned a bit “Jethro-Tull-play-jazz”, but it still wasn’t for me. I might sneak it on in the background when Jethro Tull fan DsMam is next in the office though; see if she notices it.
BUGGER! Just accidentally closed the window on my comments for next three songs without posting. *GRUMP!*
Retyping …
Elokuu – Another WTF?! A Bavarian beat, brushed snare, accordion, and RAP!? Made me stop the photocopying and just listen, which I suppose puts it up with Kuusumun Profeetta as my favourite so far.
Paavoharju – ooh, what do we have here? I like this. Elokuu just got bumped down to mid-table with the also-rans.
[ASIDE - It's a bit strange trying to retype something indicating surprise. I was surprised the first time; I feel a bit of a fraud expressing it again 5 minutes later.]
CMX – The voice of Jackie Leven, the mood of Stuart A Staples; I should love this, but somehow it’s coming over a bit Val Doonican. I’ll give it another go later.
Tenhi – Starts off like an extract from Clint Mansell’s The Fountain soundtrack, but just as the vocal kicks in, and it goes all iLiKETRAiNS, it finishes! Is this, like Ceebrolistics, not playing the whole file?
I don’t want to pick a KEEPer yet, because I want to hear the rest of those two truncated songs, but I can say I’m KICKing Värttinä.
Thanks Fuel. I’ll be very interested to see what others say this week.
Värttina can take a kicking! They just won some prestigious world music prize or other.
Er Ceebrolistics should be 4:41 and Tenhi 6:08. I’ve played the list on differnet computers and it was fine. I reckon it’s your discombobulated computer begging for mercy.
Elokuu are my daughter’s favourites.
Hmmm. Most odd – restarted the PC, got same 15s and 1m04s as before. Properly shut down PC, then restarted it. It rebuffered 2m20s of Ceebrolistics, but only 34 seconds of Tenhi this time. Something’s not right, but you’ll be correct in assuming the problem is at my end.
Gah! And now, after another shut down, wait, restart, I’m back to 15 secs and 1m24s respectively. Will these be going in the ‘Box?
Bugger. Er I don’t use the box and this is a one-off list. So I’ll provide youtube links. I’ll sort it out later.
Tenhi
Ceebrolistics
Cheers, Fuel. Tenhi playing as I type, but EMI have blocked Ceebolistics on youtube. If you’re not a ‘Boxer, don’t put yourself out. I’ve plenty to be getting on with in the rest of the list.
EMI have blocked Ceebrolistics! Do you have any idea how hard it is to find their out of print album and EP. And it’s not as i they are household names, even in Finland. FFS.
That’s EMI all over! Sooner they die like the dinosaur they are, the better.
Hmmm, this looks good. I shall listen to it after my swim and sauna. Thanks Fuel. lr
Don’t forget that beer to go with your sauna.
I like to suck on frozen vodka cubes during and after a sauna. Back later to abandon one …that’s the idea isn’t it ? If I can’t leave one out in the cold I’ll keep schtoom.lr
lr You can get your vodka to freeze to a cube shape! You have the chilliest, illest freezer. I usually only get a viscous gloop that blows my head off after it goes on a disorienting ride round my stomach. %-D
Confession time: I’m feeling slightly daunted/intimidated by this list. Something about the sheer alien-ness of the language, I guess. I can’t look at it and instantly go, “OK, there’s a way in for me there.” Also, I must admit I prefer the lists we’ve had that haven’t been so focused on one genre. The anticipated variety makes being faced with 11 new songs seem less of a chore/less potentially punishing if the genre turns out to be one you don’t take to. That said, I will try to brave a listen at some point – I know Fuel to be a man of fabulous taste and am sure the tracks themselves are fantastic!
Don’t worry bishbosh, they are all pretty different although they are also sort of bewildering. I’ll not make any comment on the replies but DsD’s initial observations are pretty good. It was only in the car on the way home that I thought “What will they do without lyrics to guide them?”
“Fabulous taste.” you’re too kind. Eccentric might be a better description.
Cheerio for now.
I concur with Bish, I am a little scared of this list, but I am going to make an apple crumble in a minute and will listen to them whilst do so.
1. Inoffensive, but it’s feeling a little easy listening to me, but I like the strings, ooh and the harp that was unexpected.
2.this starts more indie, the vocal is at an unusual pitch, I quite like the lumbering instrumentation, but actually the singing isn’t appealing to me very much.
3. I’d have guessed this was Celtic if I didn’t know otherwise, like it.
4. Kids singing, this is very jolly ( i hope it’s not about a horse dying or something), sounds kind of snowy and campfireish.
5.I bet she has lots of furry toys on her bed, bit twee for me, but nothing wrong with it if you like that sort of thing.
6. This sounds a bit different, which I regard as good. Surprisingly, not knowing what anyone is singing about isn’t actually a problem at all. This reminds me of Devendra Banhart, oh and now a crimp by The Mighty Boosh, not sure how much I like that.Overall though it’s a thumbs up here.
Oh dear, I’m so bad at pastry, I must concentrate on that, will be back
sister’s fella did a school swap thing and had a week with a finish family in his teens .. two gorgeous young ladies of his age stripped off and took him to the family sauna .. then wanted rubbing down with snow .. he’s never recovered … don’t understand the words obviously but i bet they’re mucky
thanks for posting .. lovely background to me cooking on a tuesday while the missus goes out drumming
We do that all the time. The hot steam rising off the body… Downhill sledding in the nude is not recommended.
7. I like the scale the brass instrument is playing in, it’s a bit mad in a prog rock way, which makes me like it even though it is rather perplexing.
8. Generally I like accordions, but this sounds like a clapping game or something, not my favourite on the list although it has hints of gypsy punk which should make me like it.
9. It’s rather like a soundtrack to a scifi film, I’m seeing orange plastic globes and some sliver clothing, not sure if I like it, but she sounds kind of welsh, I have no idea why, perhaps the smell of baking apple pie is melting my brain.
By the way, when I think of Finnish music, I think of Amorphis, Entwine, Swallow the Sun, 69 Eyes, To/Die/For and Hanoi Rocks, it is refreshing to hear a different side to the music of the country (although I do own music by all of them and like it).
10. Bit too cheesy for me.
11. Tenhi starts well, nice build up of mood, like the vocalist, very deep and interesting, I think this may be my winner so far, unless if veers off into jazz funk or something…actually the flute at the end is good too.
Overall then, Tenhi are my winners, followed by Ceebrolistics, which played okay for me. I wouldn’t want to hear Kerkko Koskinen Kolektiivi again even if they do like Twin Peaks. Thanks for an unexpected and good list!
I actually had you down to like Tenhi best of all. I really like the responses here as they are so free of the ideas that you would have of the bands and artists if you were Finnish. Really interesting. Makes me look at the bands anew as well.
BTW. Michael Monroe of Hanoi Rocks is often seen cycling around town. He’s always in full rockstar look but is always polite and curteous. He’s become a sort of adopted son of Turku and promotes the town rather well.
Here’s a Finnish Gypsy punk attitude rap sound. I like GG Caravan. The rappers they use on this track were responsible for bringing the likes of Saul Williams here. The song title translates “It is fine”.
that is some fine gypsy punk, thanks for the link! I have a friend who is slightly obsessed with Michael Munroe, he’ll be very excited when I tell him I kind of know someone who sees him regularly.
I am very predictable when it comes to deep male vocals, do other songs by Tenhi sound similar?
Tenhi do nothing but deep, doleful vocals and explore that musical style.
They also have songs like Revontulet “The Northern Lights” for which they have written pretty lyrics and an upbeat tune but when you listen to the song there are no vocals. My assumption is that they can’t do happy sounding vocals.
Here’s a video made to promote their last album. Jeez another naked man in the Finnish countryside. I’ll be getting a bad reputation soon. It shows Tenhi’s very slow, quiet side.
Well I see MM but I never speak to him. Sort of recreated himself when he moved here. My ex had met him in NY when she lived there and she was pretty derisory about him, but he must have altered; at least according to what I hear now. He’s a great showman on stage.
I bloody loved this. Will comment more intelligently on particular tracks when I get a chance, but just wanted to give a general thumbs-up and thanks.
Just bought our eldest daughter a set of Moomin books for Christmas.
sorry I can’t elaborate more but here’s a brief debrief:
1. Yona and Orkesteri Liikuvat Pilvet – Shhh…
this build to an enjoyable crescendo – love the use of male voice backing in Finnish pop – that’s my fav bit.
2. Kuusumun Profeetta – Sataa lumi maahan hiljaa ja varhain
vocal didn’t do it for me – can’t get past that.
3. Suo – Saunaloitsu
lovely – traditional – taken to weirdness by the language – love the speeded up chorus.
4. Värttinä – Sorja Poika
this is great – school yard chanting style – always a good thing in my book – even survives the 80′s blowy thing(?) break.
5. Kerkko Koskinen Kollektiivi – Laura Palmer
the twin peaks were the voice (I like) and the strings mixed with brass, twinkly flourishes. pretty.
6. Ceebrolistics – Nämä aallot
this is interestingly mental – at points I want to start burning witches then chilling out with them and their potions.
7. Haikara – Kun menet tarpeeksi kauas tulevaisuuteen, huomaat olevasi menneisyydessä
this is entertaining – for some reason reminds me of Pressed Rat and Warthog – so much going on – lots of it silly and all brilliant – much fun.
8. Elokuu – Soutaa Huopaa
bouncy – makes me lollop around the room… balkan reggae?
9. Paavoharju – Valo Tihkuu Kaiken Läpi
cool Bollywood electro
10. CMX – Ruoste
pleasant but lost me a bit – needed to understand more of this one to grab.
11. Tenhi – Kausienranta
I like the creepy tension – very atmospheric.
the piano motif if so ’70′s TV suspense series’ – it’s giving me flashbacks to childhood nightmares from staying up too late and watching horrors that I shouldn’t have.
Lots and lots of fun – thank you Fuel.
Tove Jansson’s Moomin stories are pretty dark stuff at times. Very good stuff though. The avatar I have on RR is from Moomin World, although that’s based on the Japanese Tv series version rather than the Jansson’s books.
Grrr. Above post was for barbryn. Ceebrolistics still exist in many forms. Ameeba (an RR post from last week) being one. RPK produces wonderful soundscapes. They’re so good that even a really good and interesting rapper like JLMA HNRI gets in the way. The Balkan reggae thing is quite a good idea. Totally agree with you on KP’s voice but on this the lyrics and voice fit. He provides the male voice on a lot of Eleanoora Rosenholm’s stuff.
Moomin’s are great – we have a box set of books here too.
is the Japanese Tv series any good – my boys might like.
My kids love it. However, they are conditioned to love it. It’s a national duty! Some of the Czech? animated versions were really disturbing. See what you can find. Everything I’ve seen has been in Swedish or Finnish but I’ve come to enjoy them after initially hating them.
I haven’t ‘subjected’ my kids to Jan Svankmajer yet but they will have to watch one day – if the Czech(?) Moonims are anything like his Alice – I’d love them. Shall see what I can find of both Japanese and other. cheers.
Here’s a Moomin animation that Ms Fuel remembers On my sidebar there are links to later and earlier Moomin versions.
Once went to the Tampere Short Film Festival to watch lots of JS. Total mindfook. I think I also saw a short French film that day called Vibroboy by Jan Kounen. I vowed not to watch any film by anyone called Jan after that. Ha! Here it is.
I am so excited about this list. I’ve just hopped out of a monumentally hot bath, emptied some feather pillows on the floor and I’m making feather angels and sucking lr’s vodka ice cubes…
So I’m lying.
I’ll be back when I’ve finished listening and doing the ironing.
Nearly forgot, great picture of sun on the snow, sky and trees, and gorgeous little boy, too. (Looks a bit mischievous.)
The boy is playing on one of the daycare climbing frames. Once he and his friend were being bullied by one of the older kids while on the frame. He waited till the kid got close then fell to the floor. The daycare workers came over and he blamed the boy, saying he pushed him. They had no trouble with the boy after that, even though they were no physical match for him. He’s a bit of a devil at times but mostly good. Too smart for me.
Fuel: When I saw your playlist my first thought was ‘Oh God, no!’ Just looking at the names and titles was enough, it was overkill and it took me a while to finally hit the ‘play’ button. But I’m glad I did, a wonderful selection.
What I find most interesting about these is the language, it’s totally incomprehensible and I’m not sure why, I find it much easier to listen to African musics or Brazilian, all equally incomprehensible but somehow easier to comprehend. Not at all sure why that is, perhaps it’s familiarity. But once I put the headphones on and hit play I had a very pleasant surprise, there was something to like in every cut, what I appreciated was the creativity involved. I’ve been through them once and will have another go and this time I’ll be more attentive.
Back to the language, why is Finnish so different and distinct from all of it’s Scandanavian neighbors? It doesn’t look or sound anything like Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Russian or any of the Baltic states languages? In a way it reminds me of the music of Madagascar where the titles and names are like nothing else in Africa but their influences came from Indonesia.
Thanks for the post and for the new experience, I may have more to say after another listen.
The Fenno-Ugric language grouping spread out from somewhere near the Urals. The Finns arrived at the right time in history to spread over the country. Estonian and the various Lapp languages are quite close. Hungarian has a similar rhythm but is very far rmoved from Finnish in its vocabulary. Basically it’s not an Indo-European language.
However, there are lots of recognisable loan words, but it is difficult to get a hang of the sound and rhythm and pronunciation. I’m still trying. I’m actually convinced that the grammar and words make thinks think in a completely different way about the world. I’ll have to find an article about that.
They also love jazz. The jazz club in town is called Monk. They play every jazz style there but also venture out into “world music” nights. Flame jazz, whatever that is, is really popular right now.
Should have read “makes Finns think in a diferent way”.
The lack of a future tense in the Finnish language not only makes Finns more frugal but also healthier than many other nations, reports the daily Turun Sanomat, citing a study by an American economics professor.
Keith Chen hypothesises that languages that do not grammatically distinguish between present and future events lead their speakers to take more future-oriented actions. This is because future actions “feel” less distant, making speakers “more willing to save for a future which appears closer,” states Chen in a yet unpublished paper.
“A Finnish speaker, for example, would say both Tänään on kylmä (today is cold) and Huomenna on kylmä (tomorrow is cold) using the unmarked verb on while French speakers would switch from Il fait froid aujourd’hui (it is cold today), to Il fera froid demain (it will be cold tomorrow),” explains Chen.
According to the Yale professor, grammatically separating the future and the present leads speakers to disassociate the future from the present. That said, Chen surmises that speakers of languages with separate future verb forms have saved 30 percent less by the time they retire.
1. I’m pretty sure I’d like any song that begins and ends with someone saying “Shh”, particularly if there’s a harp and strings involved. This was lovely.
2. Almost operatic vocals are unexpected, particularly with the backing, but they work – this is rather grand.
3. This is the first I’d really describe as folky. I like the vocal rhythms.
4. I can hear this between a piece of minimalist electro and some Mongolian nose yodelling on Late Junction… I imagine the energy of this would be impossibly infectious live.
5. This is reminding me of Abba and Stuart Murdoch’s God Help The Girl project. That’s a good thing.
6. I like the contrast between the chilled-out backing and the urgent vocals. This is excellent.
7. This sounds almost more post-punk than prog to me – actually, it’s reminding me a bit of Madness. Probably the first one where I’ve really wanted to understand the lyrics, but I’m liking the discordant sax. And the funny noises.
8. Yeah, you can totally humppa to this. Good fun. Wouldn’t have identified it as Finnish.
9. Strange and strangely compelling.
10. Definitely a Tindersticks-y feel here. Like.
11. Great piano and Philip Glass-y strings – not sure I need the vocals – but there’s not much of them – and like the flute too. Definitely a song from a country with expansive landscapes.
Think Ceebrolistics might be my pick of the week, but there’s such variety here it’s like comparing apples and oranges, or Nokias and reindeer. Much enjoyed.
Cheers. Värttinä were so good live back in 1989 0r 1990. They sang really rude folk songs about getting laid for a Kopeck. Tremendous energy and schoolgirlish but also intense. And all in trad Karelian dresses with wierd instruments. Now they soundtrack hobbits, orcs and elves. Not quite the same. Must write more later but I have to sleep now. It’s been an awkward evening and I couldn’t give this my full attention.
On first listening to Fuel’s playlist (after not realising for ages it was this week’s challenge thingy)
Many and varied – needs a lot more than the tow listens I’ve given it Will try to return with something more coherent. For now – loved track 8.
Very surpised at the love being shown Elokuu. If you lived in Finland you might be sick of hearing them by now. They are very popular: good-looking lads who write their own songs and seem to have covered all the bases. Cheers. BTW. It did occur to me to do a Nordic folk post and that would’ve included Katzenjammer. I think they have the same spirit as early Värttinä but I prefer Katzenjammer these days.
Just switched on to Late Junction on Radio 3 – whaddya know, the first track I hear is a Finnish murder ballad. And we’re promised a collaboration between a Suomi rapper (didn’t catch the name) and a Parisian beat-boxer on Thursday.
Ha that’ll be Heikki Laitinen & Kimmo Pohjonen “The murder men”. I think the Guardian called Kimmo P. “the Jimi Hendrix of the accordion”. I did think about including him.
Ok then.
I loved this list. I think as freaked out as some may have been by the looks of the list, given your past form in good taste, we trusted you to come up with something totally cool and you did.
So – after a first listen through -
1) Shhh (maybe CBA to type all of these long band names) Just to save on the suspense, this is the one i’m chucking. Was a bit meh for me, and not big on the vocals.
2) Kuusumun Profeetta – Loved this one. Nice and post-rock-y.
3) Suo – Loved the instruments on this one, especially the fiddle. Not quite so keen on the vocals, but can definitely stay.
4) Värttinä – Loved this one. Pogues a very good call.
5) Kerkko Koskinen Kollektiivi – Not really big on this one. This would have been the second candidate for the toss.
6) Ceebrolistics – Liked this one a lot. Also nice and post-rock-y.
7) Haikara – Loved this one. nice and jazzy, and i’ll eat my hat if Aba and Panth don’t love it too.
8) Elokuu – Liked this one, but didn’t love it.
9) Paavoharju – Dunno if anyone has ever picked up on my ambivalence to art rock chicks. Never real big on Laurie Anderson, Bjork, Kate Bush, Polly, etc (although i do like me some Patty Smith, and the odd works by any of the aforementioned here and there). This sounds to me like an art rock chick song, but i liked it anyway.
10) CMX – This was absolutely lovely.
11) Tenhi – Loved this one too, gorgeous. Post-rock-y, but more than that, kind of majestic. For an off-the-cuff comparison, maybe the Waterboys, something like Peace of Iona.
Thanks Fuel, you done good. Fancy a sauna?
It’s funny that I’m not put off by music in different languages any more. In fact, I’m more likely to go “Oh! I’ll check that out”.
I’d love a sauna. We’re promised five days of snowfall and the headline news is that winter starts today.
I know what you mean about rock chicks. Paavoharju are rockchickish but they have male vocalists too. Thought you’d like Haikara. They sing in English as well. CMX started out as punks, do great pop metal and very proggy stuff too.
Wyngate is up for next week’s list (Dec 4) and then this series is going on hiatus until after the holidays.
Wyngate – have you got the mp3 and download thing figured out yet? If so, maybe DsD, Tfd, or AIP can email you the Spill player instructions if they haven’t already. Should really get Maki’s instructions updated in the Manual tab. If you still need help, feel free to email me at any time. If you’re going to stick with the youtube thing, then carry on.
Youtube it is – I don’t have the time or energy these days to figure out new technology and I can’t work how to upload a cassette!
I’m halfway through preparing it , I’ll do it as two posts one immediately after the other, I think 11 youtube clips would clog things up a bit!
I’m planning to post it early in the morning (UK time) but if I fail it’ll probably be after wyngate jnr’s bedtime.
You know you can do your posts ahead of time and schedule them for publishing, right?
Being unable to understand a word of the lyrics obviously make a big difference to one’s understanding/enjoyment but, here goes, anyway…
1. Yona and Orkesteri Liikuvat Pilvet: Pleasant overall sound.
2. Kuusumun Profeetta: …Again, pleasant. The singer’s doing some pleading/yearning in there, it seems. I hope it’s not a tale about trains.
3. Suo: woolly sweaters on and gulp down the (Finnish equivalent of) whisky! Love the fiddle and the double-time bit in particular.
4. Värttinä: Is this a school exchange visit from Japan, via Armenia? Interesting combination of sounds. Makes me want to wrap up warm.
5. Kerkko Koskinen Kollektiivi: less keen on this, and even less keen the longer it went on. A distant relation of Abba? Nothing to do with Twin Peaks, surely?
6. Ceebrolistics: I started to enjoy its oddity, then didn’t like the fast bit, then enjoyed the rest quite a lot.
7. Haikara: Love the off-kilter tune & solos. I hope the lyrics are weird too. There’s something Soft Machine-ish about that bass line and something Zappa-ish about the melodies.
8. Elokuu: Given the quantity of them, the words must be important here. I’m not sure the music stands up on its own.
9. Paavoharju: I do like the noisy thing and the plinky-plonkyness but I’m not sure about the voice. It could have done with another dimension.
10. CMX: It sounds (to me, someone who hasn’t watched it for decades) like a Eurovision entry. Nul points from me, I’m afraid.
11. Tenhi: Paints a good landscape. Glad there was a pause in the (strangely American Indian-sounding) drumming, although it’s return was inevitable.
Faves: Ceebrolistics, Haikara.
To go: CMX, Kerkko Koskinen Kollektiivi
Thanks, Fuel. An interestingly different set of sounds.
Re listening to stuff in ‘foreign’, I genuinely am not averse to it (my own list of 11 included a fair few); it’s just the initial seeming homogeneity of this particular foreign that I found intimidating. (Of course one shouldn’t read a book by its cover – or a list of song titles by their shared language.) I felt the same faced with AIP’s emo and Abahachi’s jazz – too much of what seems likely to be ‘of a piece’ feels to me like a bit of a mountain to climb.
Anyway, crampons on, here goes (without reading others’ comments – too closely anyway – so as to remain as uninfluenced as poss)…
1. Yona and Orkesteri Liikuvat Pilvet Despite the “shh” reminding me of Bjork’s frankly unlistenable twee shoutfest “It’s Oh So Quiet”, this turned out to be rather lovely. I do love a bit of waltz time. It is in waltz time, isn’t it? Whatever, I like. Keep.
2. Kuusumun Profeetta Backing sounds a bit Sigur Ros, singer a bit ooh I dunno, something slightly less interesting. Can’t quite place it – the worserer bits of the 80s, maybe. Fish from Marillion or the like. Too bombastic for me anyway – although the vocal did grow on me as the song progressed. I suspect I’d start loving it at listen three. Whatever, saved from the dumper by the instruments if nothing else. It is too long though…
3. Suo Ooh, fiddle-de-dee. This is more what I would have expected of folk, Finnish or otherwise. Like Maddy Prior or someone. (Cue someone with far more knowledge of such things telling me it’s NOTHING like Maddy Prior, you fool.) I quite like this without love-love-loving it. 6/10. Keep.
4. Värttinä This follows on nicely. The chanting sounds a bit Native American to me. Again, it probably doesn’t at all… Keep.
5. Kerkko Koskinen Kollektiivi Hm, least interesting to me musically so far. Sounds a bit standard europop. Might be one for the chop. Not because it’s in any way offensive; just that others have been more intriguing. Don’t quite hear the Twin Peaks connection – maybe it’s in the lyrics rather than the music?
6. Ceebrolistics Ooh now this is more of a challenge musically. Am I gonna have to contradict myself and say it’s too much of one and I want something less interesting? Think it might take a few listens to decide if I like it or not, but it’s definitely not dull. They’re rap pioneers, you say? I wouldn’t have heard that necessarily. But then when did I ever hear Finnish rap before? It’s not MC Miker G and DJ Sven, that’s for sure… (Yes, I know they were Dutch. Comedy jingoism intentional, etc.*)
7. Haikara Hm, I’m finding this a bit too zany. And it goes on a bit. Least favourite so far. (Soz.) Quite like the bit where it goes all cop-show feem toon though. I bet this is great live. Proper wig-out. I’m now seeing the ‘hilarious’ druggy-hippy scene from something Austin Powersy. Oh, choosing one to lose is gonna be hard! This is really growing on me.
8. Elokuu This is fun! I am nodding my head cheerily. Look at me doing it! Nod nod nod. Oompa-pah… Keep.
9. Paavoharju Bugger, got distracted. Listening again. Or listening for the first time, rather than background-hearing. Ooh, spooky laydee! Yeah, this is rather jolly.
10. CMX Nice gentle guitar plucking – just what I wanted after the kerrazy Finngoth lady. These are expertly sequenced, Fuel! Nice swoony tune too. Bit MOR perhaps, but not unpleasant.
11. Tenhi Mm, dramatic. Liking this one already. And now comes a bit of a throbby wobble… This feels very cinematic. I’m almost disappointed now yer man’s started singing. Which is MOST unusual for me. Wasn’t expecting that piano. A fair few of these twist off into (to me) unexpected turns. Which is nice. I wonder if they would sound more generic to a Finn. I must point my friend Elina in this direction… Anyway, I like this very much. Keep.
So by process of elimination (obviously), the loser for me is Kerkko Koskinen Kollektiivi. Fine but just a bit outclassed by the rest of the field. Thanks Fuel – very glad I persevered with the list.
*Disclaimer in case chinhealer’s tuning in.**
**Just pulling your leg, chinny!
“too much of what seems likely to be ‘of a piece’ feels to me like a bit of a mountain to climb.”
I look forward to what you make of 11 tracks of buzzsaw guitars and shouting!
JOKE!!!
It will be a little bit more varied than that.
Arf!
Oh, and I meant judge a book by its cover of course. Der.
I forgot folk for wyngate Here’s KTMK with Kalinka.
Wyngate -
Do you know how to do a youtube playlist? You do need to sign in there, but you can get it so it has the strip across the bottom like this – (Click on the link that says “playlist” at the very bottom left of the video).
Finally back.
1. Yona and Orkesteri Liikuvat Pilvet – Shhh… Clear and whispery voice, which is like warm honey. The piano and strings beautifully complementary.
2. Kuusumun Profeetta – Sataa lumi maahan hiljaa ja varhain Nice woodwind. The voice is nice, it’s a warm song for a cold day sort of thing,
3. Suo – Saunaloitsu There’s a Celtic influence in this, obviously in the fiddle and the drumming, but not in the chorus.
4. Värttinä – Sorja Poika This seems more exotic and with influences which may be altogether not a million miles from across the Gulf of Finland. Maybe? I like children singing this sort of song. So much better than I’m Only A Poor Little Sparrow.
5. Kerkko Koskinen Kollektiivi – Laura Palmer Dangerously close to that girly, girly thing going on in the intro, then it go SO MUCH better.
6. Ceebrolistics – Nämä aallot Clunky wierdo lullaby! And then frankly freaky in a good way.
7. Haikara – Kun menet tarpeeksi kauas tulevaisuuteen, huomaat olevasi menneisyydessä Very loose boingy stuff. Not sure I like the vocals.
8. Elokuu – Soutaa Huopaa I like the accordian and yes, the rest of it. Would be great for some adult cartoon thing.
9. Paavoharju – Valo Tihkuu Kaiken Läpi My favourite so far. Most interesting musically with lots of strange noises and I like the vocals and the middle eastern influence.
10. CMX – Ruoste Nice. Lovely strings.
11. Tenhi – Kausienranta Oh it’s lovely but it’s going to get stolen for one of those scandanavian tv cop shows, isn’t it? Shame.
if pushed, I’d have to ditch number 7, but I didn’t dislike it particularly, so there’s no reason to.
Now I’m going to read what everyone else said.
Thanks, Fuel for a most interesting llist. I really enjoyed a taste of Finnish music. Greatly appreciated and most welcome. x
Great job, Amylee x
Ha. Love these comments. Will reply this evening. More music for wyngate: this is “Eurovision” CMX “Val Doonican”. My favourite comments. It is amazing how much understanding the lyrics changes the perception of a song. Cheerio