(Exogenic)

Influenced by punk, progressive rock, ska and folk music, the Helsinki-based band, Tundramatiks, was the odd one out when it hit the stage in the mid-2000s. The band has added Balkan accordion tunes to its hysterically fast Finnish rock, a bit like Asa and Jätkäjätkät of hip hop fame a few years back. The second album Roinan rodeo oozes a reformist spirit similar to the likes of Tuomari Nurmio, KAUKO RÖYHKÄ and Sielun Veljet’s songs from twenty or thirty years ago. †

www.tundramatiks.com

Text Teemu Fiilin

(Solina)

The Burning Hearts singer JESSIKA RAPO is known from the group Le Futur Pompiste, also introduced by We Are Helsinki, and HENRY OJALA from Cats On Fire and Magenta Skycode. The duo’s second album contains nine pop songs that don’t compete for the listener’s attention, but rather try to please secretly and separately. The arrangements seem natural, creating a sense of space. The brilliant and undeniably beautiful compositions move freely, like they had a mind of their own. However, without intense listening there’s a risk that, as beautiful as they are, they may not stand out in the crowd. †

http://burningheartsmusic.com

Text Teemu Fiilin

(GAEA)

TEEMU MARKKULA, known from the bands Colonization 337 and Genzale as well as for his solo efforts, must be a guy who loves to spend time in stores selling dusty, used vinyls. At least that’s what his latest band Death Hawks sounds like – recycling the history of solid acid rock and softly snarling psychedelia from Black Sabbath and The Doors to NEIL YOUNG and Led Zeppelin. Made with great skill and a sense of style, Death & Decay may be retro, but it’s far from musty reminiscences of old times. †

www.facebook.com/deathhawks

Text Teemu Fiilin

(Raha & tunteet)

Don’t let the dead moose’s head on the cover of the album freak you out. If Randy Barracuda and Mesak’s skweee music seems too disturbing, the Helsinki-based trio, Yöt, offers an EP with a more easily digestible version of the twisted skweee groove. Yöt has spiced its music up with melodic 80s funk, heavy dub reggae, dramatically bubbly synthpop and spastic instrumental hip hop. Remaining in the minor key, the dark melodies highlight the nocturnal image that the band’s name (Finnish for “nights”) suggests. †

www.facebook.com/yotfb

Text Teemu Fiilin

(Soliti)

The Helsinki-based Black Twig is a great addition to the artist selection found on the Soliti label, a real powerhouse of new Finnish indie, with its raggedly soft and unassumingly carefree album. The band’s sound is a mixture of the 1980s chiming indie bands, 1960s psychedelia, shoegazing buzz and garage esthetics. Black Twig’s songs don’t make a big deal out of themselves and certainly won’t stick to your head in one sitting, but rather creep in there slowly. The album will be released on 4 January 2012.

www.blacktwigmusic.com

Text Teemu Fiilin

(Suomen Musiikki)

Auteur Jazz’s style has often been described as “action jazz” – and for good reason. The band’s drive is quite breathtaking on their third album. The characterization is supported by the fact that the band of six lead by ANTTI HYNNINEN relies strongly on the world of 1960s film music. Fortunately, the action jazz occasionally gives way to a more peaceful atmosphere, like the oriental mystique of The Chant and the gentle rhythm of Tangier. †

www.myspace.com/auteurjazz

Text Teemu Fiilin

(Exogenic)

HARPOV (HARRI VÄYRYNEN) has been seen in many Helsinki-based bands and now he has compiled an all-star ensemble of the city’s best musicians, including SAMI KUOPPAMÄKI, ABDISSA ASSEFA and JUSSI JAAKONAHO. Club Merano, however, is not a solo project created for therapeutic purposes. At its lightest the softly psychedelic and slightly cinematic 1970s progressive pop sounds like Air’s more rocking relative and at its vaguest like a Beatles tribute band that has swallowed Pink Floyd and Rush. Just in case it wasn’t clear, all those descriptions were compliments.

www.myspace.com/clubmerano

Text Teemu Fiilin

(Harmönia)

RANDY BARRACUDA, a pioneer of skweee and the mainstay of the Imatran Voima band, has surrounded himself with a true super ensemble. Accompanied by singer MICHAEL BLACK ELECTRO (Ceebrolistics) and MESAK (Mr. Velcro Fastener), the band has created an amazing debut with futuristic space funk and R&B using wailing synths and unnaturally synthetic drum beats. Michael Black’s voice, however, adds a hint of humanity and an abundance of PHARRELL WILLIAMS falsetto to the mixture. †

Text Teemu Fiilin

(Roihis Musika)

The live band of the lonely rider of Finnish hip hop ASA has grown into a real band and is a lot more than just hip hop. The furious live ensemble made up of nine guys combines hip hop with everything from reggae to folk and 50s Finnish schlagers to ska.  The band’s key elements are a natural sound, gentle anarchy and a critical approach with a mischievous grin on the face. Asa’s edgy rapping and vocalist PUPPA J’s melodic sound create an excellent contrast that is supported by the band’s organically rolling music. This is probably what MANU CHAO’s albums would sound like if they had been made with a Finnish psyche. †

www.myspace.com/jatkajatkat

roihismusica.fi

Text Teemu Fiilin

(Soliti)

After making three critically acclaimed albums, singer-songwriter ASTRID SWAN decided to take a break from writing songs and recorded nine songs from the American alternative rock band Pavement. Swan has made the album entirely on her own, interpreting Pavement’s boyish, guitar-dominated college rock through a female voice which is accompanied by a piano, keyboards and drum machine. Even though the album will inevitably become a bit of an intermediate piece in Astrid Swan’s catalog and make the most serious Pavement fans complain, it does offer a fresh approach – and as the name indicates, girl-friendliness – to Pavement’s already fantastic songs. †

www.astridswan.com

solitimusic.com

Text Teemu Fiilin