Finnish Free Folk

Hey Tony.

You should check out Islaja; I think she/they would hit the spot, in the same vein as Lau Nau maybe but a bit more "chanteuse"-y. Two CDs on the Fonal label are both good.

A lot of the Finnish stuff might be orbiting in a galaxy that's perhaps more naive/primitive than what you generally dig. I know you like Pelt and things like that, and it's not as though you "fear the free" or anything, but some of the Finns are pretty committed to a sort of "everybody make a noise now" racket production that doesn't even try to fit the normal contours of "rock" (or avant-rock, or post-whatever, etc.). And I have to admit that, even among some groups I generally like, there can be stuff on their albums that leaves me scratching my head simply from an editorial point of view...

Would love to hear more opinions on this particular aesthetic...

I need some work with this new forum format. Mmmhmm, I agree that Kemiallist Ystavat is one of the most mystical prime movers in that scene. Ever heard Kiila? "Silmät Sulkaset" was something of a direction switch for them into primo acid folk territory (would be right up your alley, Tony!) On Fonal. And then there's Maan Matoset (http://www.volcanictongue.com/pok.html), various artists comp that Laura of Lau Nau put together and released on her label last year. I saw her play in a basement while very pregnant--her, not me--a vision of meditative fertility I tells yas! Set of the weekend probably. Another somewhat hidden gem in that scene is Paivansade, who use percussion and wind instruments, little in the way of feedback or electronics, to conjure ghostly windchime symphonies. The album en Eclipse is still available, and a bit more "rock" than the CD-R I heard some time after. Re Avarus, the track that really touched me with them was "A-V-P" think it's called -- a 20 min krautrock blast that sounds like a bunch of drunken forest gnomes trying their best to ape early Ash Ra Tempel, but with not near as much talent, and I love it. Tumult released a 2-CD comp in 04 that has this, but the comp is also largely comprised of the kind of stumbling stuff that probably turned you off in the first place. And then there's Es, solo guise of the owner of Fonal. His new one got a glowing write up in the latest update of Foxy Digitalis (http://www.foxydigitalis.com/foxyd/review_detail.php?id=1282). It includes a track from his Elegy contribution I believe. I really love what he does. More than any other Fonal artist, he seems to capture that dreamy/droney aura of classic Kranky records releases from the mid/late 90s.

Islaja on the left, Kuupuu in the middle, Lau Nau on the right.

Polka Dot Sunflower Bed Orchestra's Mini Hollywood or Pekko Kappi's [i'm not even going to bother with the title here] might be worth checking out. Both worked as a nice tonic for a free-folk burnout of a sort that I had coming on. PDSBO's work has a fair range and some fairly good production; one of the more quietly solid things I've heard in a while to come out of that scene. Pekko Kappi, on the other hand, is very straightforward primitive fiddle-jam, not a million miles divorced from Ayahuasca-era Pelt. Neither of them will overwhelm you with junked-out aesthetic [as appealing as that can be].

Hey, this form of BBS could get pretty fractal in it's complexity with a lot of replies.

This is one I have coming sometime from Clear Spot, but who knows when. I assume it is who you mean, Mats: [quote]"PAAVOHARJU YHÄ HÄMÄRÄÄ (CD/FONAL) reviewed by Rob Musters for BN/De Stem (translated excerpt) Finland has more to offer than The Rasmus. The last couple of years one can even speak of a real wave. Numerous acts blend folk with modern influences and doing so they attract worldwide attention. Groups s.a. Gjallarhorn, Hedningarna and Värttinä produce a sort of shamanistic folk that we may call unique. The recently released album Yhä Hymärää by Paavoharju has the same haunting quality as the above named groups. These Finns seem to take no notice of commerciality and do exactly what they feel like. Which results in stretched melodies on acoustic instruments, but with a modern breakbeat-like timing. And what's more, Paavoharju also has a female singer with a style that sounds pretty much Occidental. Mysterious and fragile!"[/quote] Sounds like it would be up my alley.

While I'm not sure it would qualify as Finnish Free Folk, "Cahier" (on Foxglove) is a really nice release by Finnish guitarist Marko Neumann, who I understand also plays for Polka Dot Sunflower Bed Orchestra (PDSBO). I haven't heard much by PDSBO, but I think the Cahier album has somewhat a different sound, and it is among my favorite cd's I've bought in the last year or so. Most of the album is sort of quiet, and um, "contemplative," with soft drones, guitars, and other "other," including, I think, a typewriter. One song, however, sounds like Keiji Haino at his finest. I honestly looked at the notes to see if Haino was on it. It's gotten multiple listenings from me.

That's the joy of this stuff though, in one sense: the 'editorial scratching of the head'. Too much music gets to be a bit too... 'logical'. I think the Paivansade/Rauhan Orkesteri/Lauhkeat Lampaat axis is most promising, the whole 'Art Ensemble Of Finland' vibe they have going is very attractive. Lau Nau and Islaja are great; Kemialliset are the dons; Avarus and Anaksimandros are both pretty good, I thought the first Anaksimandros LP sounded a lot like Shadow Ring at times. Names that don't crop up so often but are well worth following up: UTON; KULKIJA (their "Uu" CDR is really something); I'll second the PEKKO KAPPI 3"CDR; and of course the MARKUS CDR reissued by C/Psi/P. Has anyone heard/seen TOMUTONTTU (sp)? Oh Mats, I totally couldn't handle the PAAVOHARJU CD. But then again I'm not a fan of 'experimental music' as a genre or codification. It all gets a bit too... prescriptive. (But that's another forum topic, I'm guessing.)

If I had my way, I would edit everything down to almost nothing. Bare bones if possible. Wordcount has a lot to answer for. I think 80% of most everything I write and read is padding. As for music; the free-folk editing hand; well, sometimes I'm actually more fascinated in the fuck-ups, or the moments where players are grasping for the string, rather than tightening the reins. I'm torn between a fondness for an egalitarian model of editing/release/etc (where the great stuff is contextualised and explained by the moments where players are struggling to get somewhere/anywhere) and an overriding sense of (as Kevin says) "life's too short and the world's full of too much music". I suppose the question is if you are really wading through 'diaper droppings' (cue the flush button) or if you're complicit with the moment of actualisation/realisation - if your listening is actually the key that puts the 'unguarded moment' in context. Did that make any sense? As per experimental music...You start the thread, Kevin, and I'll start the talkin'... (Or, uh, writin'.)

I could totally get on board with that concept, though I suspect the communal bash has it's own impicit half-life/shelf-life as at least a trend that folks pontificate about, though will there will always be that element of Amon Duul 1 RNA in the genetic code of the underground constantly tugging at the sleeve of the world saying "form a circle pick something up and create rhythm-and-noise with it".

Got your compilation today, KM, and a fine selection you have made, elevating the movement in the process of your selections. Editing again. So necessary and so violating.

Finally got to grips with this CD (the pile of stuff to listen to here is mountainous) and it is definitely my favourite from that "scene" so far, regardless if one deems it experimental, adventurous, atavistic, reactionary or whatever. It sounds like a strangely filtered variant of the kind of Asian pop one hears in supermarkets and Department stores all over SE Asia, with all their dizzying melodies and occasional eardrum-piercing frequencies. In terms of its location in relation to the rest of that stuff, I can't see any commonality between this aesthetic and that practiced by, say, Uton, Es, and Avarus. I think it is better than the Lau Nau and Islaja releases, too - less faffing about.