TUUSANUUSKAT
Nääksää Nää Mun Kyyneleet
FR78
Fonal Records 2011
05 Tracks. 36mins22secs

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From the vaults of the wonderland that is Fonal comes this collaborative effort between Es (Sami Sänpäkkilä, who is, amongst other things, head of the Finnish imprint) and Tomutonttu (Jan Anderzén, leader of polymorphic electro-folksters Kemialliset Ystävät), for which they embark on quite a remarkable journey during which their main aim seem to thoroughly destroy every last sound they come across, just, it seems, for the sake of seeing what happens. All this digital destruction is contained within five tracks and lasts only thirty six minutes, but in that time, they manage to create a brutally abrasive mix which also happens to be remarkably cinematic and pastoral.

On first impression, one would be forgiven for thinking they have inadvertently stepped in a newly found Pan Sonic noise experiment. Tippa 1 opens with saturated electronics, but quite quickly, these are replaced by a much softer drone which is progressively distorted into dense slabs of noise. Unlike Pan Sonic though, the pair continuously swerve from fairly textured soundscapes to much more decaying ones and back, a process they take through the whole album. Noise may be a substantial component here, but it often comes in surprisingly gentle swatches. Tippa 3 opens with waves of sonic flares which become increasingly dense as they come crashing one after the other, and for a while, distortions are kept at bay, allowing for the shimmering remains of these original components to continue to burn for some time. Eventually though, these layers become so densely pact that they begin to collapse upon themselves, resulting in a more toxic set up as the piece reaches its end part.

Tippa 2 and 4 are more intricately woven forms, their respective evolution going through contrasted phases during which they in turn flourish and develop into smooth segments, then retract into more corrosive sound forms. The former is ridden with electric tension though, and its multi-layered drone structure at times takes on a slightly psychedelic turn, while the latter is a somewhat chaotic and disjointed assemblage of noises and electronics from which occasionally emerges a fragmented melody.

The longest of the five tracks on here, Tippa 5 is also the more purely progressive. Opening with a cloud of squiggly electronics and radio interferences, the sonic structure of the piece slowly builds up over its whole course, but not through a relentless layering process like on previous tracks, but in the more sustained intensification of one particular formation, which is overlaid with a recurring little melody in its latter part.

Albums built from noise and distortions are not usually poetic in any way, but Nääksää Nää Mun Kyyneleet manages to be despite, or in spite perhaps, of it abrasive nature. Tuusanuuskat create here a beautiful little gem which, in all fairness, probably couldn’t have been conceived in any other environment than that of Fonal.

4.1/5

Tuusanuuskat | Tuusanuuskat (MySpace) | Fonal Records
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Tuusanuuskat by Fonal Records

KEMIALLISET YSTÄVÄT
Ullakkopalo
FR69
Fonal Records 2010
14 Tracks. 42mins04secs

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Between broken folk, awkwardly oblique electronica and distorted pop, the weird and wonderful world of Fonal Records has provided a safe haven for Finland’s misfits for nearly fifteen years, who have in return distilled some of the oddest and most fascinating music around. Already responsible for quite a considerable number of releases in all sorts of formats across a wide spectrum of record labels, one of these misfits, variable collective Kemialliset Ystävät, which translates roughly as Chemical Friends, return to Fonal with their fifth album for the label.

Led by Jan Anderzén, Ullakkopalo was recorded with a fifteen-strong formation of musicians, and often sounds like an orchestra on the loose. It is quite difficult to tell exactly what is happening at any one time, such is the intensity of the sonic assault confronting the listener. Who does what, with what instrument, and to what purpose remains a mystery for the whole record, but it is in this case an endearing quality. Indeed, how this is produced doesn’t quite matter when a gentle melody peeks out of a deluge of distorted noises, painstakingly assembled into a precariously busy patchwork, or when the beautifully clear motifs of an acoustic instrument suddenly makes perfect sense surrounded by electronic washes or unidentified environmental sounds, like it does so effectively on the dying moments of Lyön Häntäni Vetoa, Täällä Oli Äsken Joku, which closes the album.

A bit like label mates Paavoharju, another collective with no clearly defined geometry, KY’s music is, at best, totally unpredictable, and follows no rules but its own. Out of the chaos emerge all sorts of wonderful things, from the chirpy fuzz guitar of Kajastusmuseo, vocal sparkles of Kivikasan Rauhassa and otherworldly psychedelia of Surullinen Kohta Seinässä or Älä Koske Lintuja, which echo the richly ornate allure of the Broadcast/The Focus Group collaboration, to the amateur sci-fi sound effects and disarmingly simple melody of Ystävälliset Miekat to the hazy angular pop of Palava Puolukka. KY never settle for any particular setting for very long, cramming instead as much as humanely possible into the shortest period of time, this way avoiding dead moments and spreading the density of the music across a wide surface.

While all this could ultimately sound too much to even make an impact, this is quite the opposite which happens here. Not only this boisterous collection never ceases to captivate the mind, but there is something utterly compulsive about the whole record. One may at first hesitate to step in, but once in, the only incline is to explore this wonderland again and again.

4.3/5

Kemialliset Ystävät | Kemialliset Ystävät (MySpace) | Fonal Records
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PAAVOHARJU
Laulu Laakson Kukista
FF55
Fonal Records 2008
12 Tracks. 35mins03secs

Hailing from the small provincial town of Savonlinna in South Eastern Finland, Paavoharju are self-proclaimed born again Christians. Whether this permeates their music in any way is, for anyone who doesn’t understand Finnish at least, a total mystery. Whether this is even relevant to the music at all is anyone’s guess. What is clear however is that nothing could have prepared anyone for the oneiric pastoral beauty of the band’s debut album, Yha Hamaraa, released on Fonal in 2005. Neither folk nor pop nor experimental, Paavoharju blended all these and much more besides, carving extremely pretty melodies out of rough nebulous sound collages, in turn arranged into ephemeral songs and miniature cinematic vignettes. Yha Hamaraa was a magnificent timeless record with no real equivalent, a collection of unlikely pop songs with a very sharp edge.

Three years on, Paavoharju open the doors of their magic kingdom once again, eager to take anyone willing to step in by the hand and lead them through a labyrinth of sounds and atmospheres, pointing here at delicate reveries set in crackles and statics, or there at dense layers of fog stabbed by vibrant blades of ethereal vocals. While the overall scope has not changed much, the palette has widened to accommodate broken toy disco (Kevätrumpu), heart-warming flamboyant pop (Uskallan, Ursulan Uni), desperate mystical folk (Italialaisella Laivalla) or evanescent kaleidoscopic instrumentals (Tuoksu Tarttuu Meihin, Ursulan Uni). Progressing through this album is like walking aimlessly in a meadow fresh with spring morning dew, bathed in the soft warmth of a virginal sunshine. Each song is a wild flower, radiating with unmatched vivid colours, picked on the way. Voices, male and female, appear out of nowhere, hang above complex soundscapes from which guitars, pianos and harps continuously sparkle, crystallised for a moment around sketches of melody before furtively disappearing. Snapshots of conversations and environmental noises are woven deep into the fabric of lush pieces which are at once strangely urban and contemporary, and pastoral and timeless.

Paavoharju transcend genres and defy categorisation, not by choice, but by default. There seem to be no premeditation to their lyrical approach to music; everything is delivered as is, with no particular concept or underlying idea. There are, undoubtedly, narratives in each and every song, but one is not required to understand the language to understand the emotions distilled throughout. Paavoharju have created with Laulu Laakson Kukista a stunning record that surpasses its impeccable predecessor.

4.9/5

Paavoharju | Fonal Records

ISLAJA
Ulual Yyy
FR49
Fonal Records 2007
09 Tracks. 39mins00secs

Islaja’s first forays into dysfunctional folk sounded like the wanderings of a little girl lost in a forest teeming with crooked trees, chilling winds and hairy monsters, with virtually no clear reference points for the listener to hang on to. Her short vignettes, paper-thin arrangements, acoustic guitars and found sounds predominantly, wrapped around matchstick-like melodies, were fragile and ephemeral affairs, the peculiar timbre of Merja Kokkonen’s voice, at times brittle to the point of breaking, at others almost accidentally falling in or out of tune, adding to the overall disjointed feel of her music.

Crucially, for Ulual Yyy, Kokkonen has been raccorded to the electricity grid and relies on much more expensive orchestration, bringing in Rhodes pianos, synthesizers and electric guitars, and sprinkling them with saxophones, violins and various other noises. Right from the onset of opener Kutsukaa Sydäntä those fearing a much more polished results will be reassured though. The songstress has lost none of her acidic tones and knack for abrasive melodies, and these more elaborate sound collages actually appear much more vulnerable than those of previous outputs. The solemn piano and electric guitar backdrop of Kutsukaa Sydäntä only just supports Kokkonen’s saturated vocals and threatens to come crashing down at every twist and turn of the melody.

There is, much more than on Meritie or Palaa Aurinkoon, a quietly dramatic aspect to this album, which at times evokes the mournful tones of Portugal’s traditional fado music or the rampant melancholy of Argentinean, tango. Kokkonen’s voice at times drones and lingers, shying away from attention, or cuts through caustic curtains of sounds with sheer emotions. The music appears more desolate and tormented than before. Shards of saxophone, in turn soft or strident, tear the fabric of this record with insistent regularity on Sydänten Ahmija, Pete P and Laulu Jo Menneestä. On Muusimaa, Kokkonen is caught amidst a disturbing storm of tuneless chords, as if she was surrounded by kids hammering instruments without cohesion.

The last three pieces are comparatively peaceful and spacious, with reduced sound sources and more clearly applied melodies. After the earlier torments, these are welcome resting grounds. The album concludes in surprisingly bucolic mood, with the last four and a half minutes of Suru Ei being entirely constituted of bird songs.

With her two first albums, Islaja’s Merja Kokkonen charmed and intrigued with delicate folk songs. Ulual Yyy is a much more unsettling record. The fairytale ballads have been replaced with much more striking soundscapes, and Kokkonen herself is driven by stronger currents. This third album is a much more mature album, but it remains a mysterious creation which only fits these moments in life when reality is a too vivid option.

Explore: Islaja | Fonal Records
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