Ville Leinonen - Aika
Another sample from the new Ville Leinonen album "Auringonsäde/Pommisuoja", out now via .
Label: Fonal Records
Viewing posts 1-13 out of 13Dusted reviews Tuusanuuskat
Dusted reviews the new Tuusanuuskat on and comes away with a final assessment that pretty much sums up all of the label's releases for me: http://dustedmagazine.com/reviews/6627
Ville Leinonen - Ensimmäistä kertaa
This is a preview of Ville Leinonen's new album "Auringonsäde/Pommisuoja", due out September 7 via and his 13th release overall.
Tv-resistori remix contest
is holding a Tv-resistori remix contest: http://www.fonal.com/remix/funtsi/index.html
New Tv-resistori in early April
will be releasing Finnish indiepop act Tv-resistori's new self-titled album, their third overall, on April 6 on CD, vinyl and also cassette for lofi purists. Samples and more info: http://www.fonal.com/shop/tvresistori_st_cd
Eleanoora Rosenholm - Valo kaasumeren hämärässä (video)
"Valo kaasumeren hämärässä" comes from Eleanoora Rosenholm's new album "Hyväile minua pimeä tähti", out now via on CD and LP with digital to come soon. Shot in vertical format for maximum vertigo; direct link: http://vimeo.com/21080193
A Day in the Mouth: Timo Kaukolampi
Artist/musician Sami Sänpäkkilä (, Es, etc.) interviews Timo Kaukolampi (Op:1 Bastards, K-X-P, Larry and the Lefthanded, etc.) for his "A Day in the Mouth" series in which he visits a person/organization/place and has "a little chat with the people involved and see what they're up to." Direct link: http://vimeo.com/15907535
Paavoharju DVD trailer
Check out a trailer for the upcoming Paavoharju DVD "Unien savonlinna", due out in early December via : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwnyR_a1OSk
Islaja - Pimeyttä kohti (mp3 + video)
is giving away the new Islaja single "Pimeyttä kohti" as a free download, both the mp3 and video: http://www.fonal.com/islaja/FR71D/
MP3: Disco Ensemble - White flag for peace
Direct link: http://vimeo.com/9760261
I've long considered Disco Ensemble to be a bit too mainstream/polished for my tastes as far as punkrock goes, but I do dig this new single, especially the stuff with the octave pedal hammer-ons. And the rhythm section sounds remarkably burly too, a trait I can always appreciate. So yeah, no disrespect intended, but consider me pleasantly surprised. Even better to see it paired with an interesting video as directed by boss Sami Sänpäkkilä. Lots of great, awkward closeups and good movement. Not so sure I get the "plot" with the architect as played by Tero Jartti, but whatever -- it's still 1000x better than most of the schlock I see on a daily basis and it never overwhelms the performance shots. Also, if you want to know more, you can soak up the full technical details over at Sami's blog; yet another welcome attribute to said single/song/video.
Disco Ensemble - White flag for peace
Paavoharju
Laulu laakson kukista
Fonal Records
Listening to "Laulu laakson kukista", it's easy to hear where everyone gets the "freak" and "psych" to prefix Paavoharju's inscrutable blend of folk. It's hardly consistent—perhaps one of the reasons that they remain on the folk margins is their uneven, genre-hopping approach to LPs, where they give almost as much time to circus music larceny as they do to their fuzz-folk-meets-trip hop explorations.
The appearance of waltz time is perhaps the only thematic glue that binds the disparate ends on "Kukista". These waltzes work better when they rummage around in a fog of electronica, while darkly angelic female vocalists swarm as sirens around come-and-go drums. Attempts at a more straightforward approach like "Italialaisella laivalla" mostly fail to impress -- the melodies too woodsy, their signature ethereal errata too lacking.
It's beat-driven songs like "Uskallan" with its broad, almost proto-Slavic melody that get the job done when neither the siren's song or the sea of low-tech ambience can be found. These latter qualities, prominent in "Kevatrumpu", "Kirkonvaki", and "Tytto tanssii" are starkly beautiful highlights -- better than anything I've heard all year -- but Paavoharju has trouble finding enough "Uskallan" moments to lift the rest of the album out of the water.
I guess Paavoharju is just hard to understand. Maybe it's the fact that I don't know a word of Finnish, or maybe it's the fact that their self-proclaimed mystic Christian asceticism is supposed to inspire visions of 16th-century Byzantium that I just don't get. But all of this confusion never subtracts from the weird beauty of most of this album. It remains impressive and stunning, and its arcane nature rewards with repeat listens.
- Nathan Keegan
