Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Kompleksi 7" Review @ Nonpop.De





Richard K. has reviewed Kompleksi's 2005 Lal Lal Lal single for German NonPop site.

You can find the review here.

*****

Notes:

1. "Scorpio" just means Mike Not's star sign; not his nickname or artist alias!
2. Our collaboration with M.A. Numminen (a cult figure also in Germany) was just one remix of a song of his and DJ Sane. The remix has been ready since February 2006 but there's still no info when that planned M.A. Numminen remix compilation will be out.
3. Yes, maybe I was thinking about Suicide (vocalist: Alan Vega) there, but some more conscious influences with the vocals and the song were Iggy Pop and his band, The Stooges; also soundwise early Human League, of 'Being Boiled' era. Also a 60s garage band called The Monks ("It's the Monk time") was in my mind.
4. Well, not that I haven't listened to Depeche Mode (a band that has not done much for me after Violator in 1990) in my time, but for me, 'Moscow 1980' (Polytron's original instrumental plus pHinn's vocals ably assisted by Mike Not's post-production) is soundwise perhaps more a combination of Kraftwerk, Orchestral Manouvres In The Dark (a.k.a. OMD) and New Order (especially in the vocals/lyrics).

Monday, May 28, 2007

She Got A TV Eye On Me



On Saturday night I did some filming at Swaeg's three years celebration. Armed with a borrowed analogue 8 mm video camera, I managed to capture most of Toiminto's set; also little bits and pieces of other performances and the DJ action. I have found the batteries with this specific camera always a bit unreliable, and of course it had to be that I ran out of juice in the middle of Joonas playing, but after finding an appropriately placed wall socket for the camera at the other end of the hall, I could continue filming after a short break. Well, perhaps some sections of this material will be found on the Net in the future after we manage to transfer it to DVD (always a slow process); with the permission of Swaeg guys and other people involved, naturally.

I can't claim to be any professional camera man, but during my teenage dreams of becoming a film director (which plans eventually died in their own delusional over-ambition), I managed to gather some rudimentary info about the theory, camera techniques and compositions involved in cinematography, which was also assisted by my hobby of photography that lasted for some years (before my friends at the time got mad at me always snapping photos of them). Then, after cinema, I found a new obsession with music, so that effectively put an end to my film dreams, which had anyway proved impossible to put into any fruition, as said. Getting hold of that video camera (belonging to a family member; of course I had no money to invest in my own piece of equipment) and filming some footage for our own video, I found out that maybe moving images still would be another interesting addition to my other already existing dilettante activities of pH-prefix.

Even with its crudeness, I was quite happy with my footage at Mayday Eve's Mayday! Rock!! Crazyness [sic]!! "livingroom festival" here in Tampere (about which later on in this blog), and the Swaeg footage also seemed to be OK. I consciously tried to avoid all the mistakes of a beginner, such as too many seasickness-inducing rapid zooms and nervously jumping camera movements, though all of it can't be avoided with a handheld camera, having to react quickly to all the constantly changing action, and also having to deal with party people all the time moving, dancing and pushing around you, in various celebratory states of being inebriated...

Ideally, the best situation to film gigs would be with at least three different persons with their own video cameras, everyone capturing different angles, then to be edited together in post-production, and preferably dubbed with a synchronized live sound taken directly from the mixing board, but in these spontaneous grassroots level underground party situations that sort of coordination can rarely be arranged.

So, nothing Stanley Kubrickally flashy here, but hopefully still serving its purpose as archive material of local underground music scene. When the next suitable occasion will arise to film some interesting UG music in action (and hopefully having somehow solved the headache with batteries before that), I hope to strike again. A dilettante, me? Absolutely.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Kemialliset Ystävät: untitled




Also Tampere's own Kemialliset Ystävät, that harbinger of Finnish experimental/improvisational psychedelic scene (also called "psych-folk", even though I think it's as removed from traditional folk music as black metal is from blues), has a new album out now on Fonal Records.

Artist: Kemialliset Ystävät
Title: untitled
Format: CD/LP/cassette
Total length: 39 minutes
Catalogue Number: FR-50
Release: 16th May 2007

Tracklist:

1. He tulivat taivaan ääristä
2. Lentävät sudet
3. Tulinen kiihdytys
4. Näkymättömän hipaisuja
5. Solusyke
6. Superhimmeli
7. Merkkejä iholla
8. Himmelimenetelmä
9. Valojuopot
10. Kokki, leipuri, kylvettäjä ja taikuri (Enna 132 eaa.)
11. Älyvaahtoa
12. Himmeli kutsuu minua

Introduction & sound samples @ Fonal site

The official Kemialliset Ystävät site
Kemialliset Ystävät @ Wikipedia

  • Volcanic Tongue
  • A review in Finnish @ Noise.Fi
  • Friday, May 25, 2007

    Pan sonic's Katodivaihe finally out



    Pan sonic's new album Katodivaihe ("Cathode Phase") which was originally scheduled to December 2006 is finally out now.

    Pan sonic
    Katodivaihe / Cathodephase (CD/ltd. 2-LP)
    PTYT 06
    Blast First Petite
    11 May 2007

    1. Virta 1. / Current 1.
    2. Lähetys / Transmission
    3. Koneistaja / Machinist
    4. Hyönteisistä / About Insects
    5. Laptevinmeri / Laptev Sea
    6. Kuumuudessa muodostuva / Forming in Heat
    7. Kertsilogia / Herzlogy
    8. Suhteellinen / Comparative
    9. Kytkennät / Connections
    10. Haiti
    11. Hinaaja / Tugboat
    12. Tykitys / Cannoning
    13. Leikkuri / Cutter
    14. Virta 2. / Current 2.

    Distribution: Cargo UK

    Reviews:

  • Boomkat
  • Brainwashed

    Other info:

  • Pan sonic history @ Blast First Petite
  • Wednesday, May 23, 2007

    Tuesday, May 22, 2007

    Ilkka Vekka's Art





    Ilkka Vekka (b. 1974) is an artist and musician based in Hämeenlinna, Finland. The Myymälä2 shop/gallery of Helsinki just featured an exhibition of Vekka's works, called "Extempore, o mores". According to the press info it's "Visual and audial noise -- paintings and sculptures mainly out of found/recycled materials, made with as little money as possible. As the soundtrack of the installation there's a massive MP3 installation of the author's musical projects (Haare, Rainbow Ghost, Golden Vomit, ZNF, etc.)" Ilkka Vekka has also been involved with the cult band Plat Ypus, with their experimental/electronic/noise/guitar sound somehow reminiscing me of the legendary late-70s San Francisco band Chrome (though I remember Plat Ypus guys themselves have empathically denied this connection).

  • Ilkka Vekka's art and photos gallery @ Flickr
  • Monday, May 21, 2007

    Swaeg 3 Years, 26 May 2007



    Swaeg presents:

    Swaeg 3 Years
    Saturday 26 May 2007
    @ Klubi, Tampere
    tickets 5 €

    with:

    V.C. live
    Waisted Flanders live
    Kurvin Grilli live
    Videovalvontaa live
    Toiminto live
    Swg DJs

    Wednesday, May 16, 2007

    [MP3) Kompleksi: '(e)motions'



    A brand new Kompleksi track. Dedicated to those who did not turn their heads away.

    http://phinnweb.org/kompleksi/sounds/(e)motions.mp3


    (e)motions

    I'm a lonely freak
    and people laugh at me
    behind my back

    But I don't really care
    no feelings to spare
    I'm not going to crack

    So many people turn their heads away
    when they see me,
    pretend I don't exist or I'm invisible
    To be or not to be?

    My so called friends
    who used to say hello
    don't know me any more
    I must have my name on someone's shit list
    but all details are covered in the mist

    (chorus:)

    I don't feel emotions
    I just go through the motions
    I don't really feel a thing
    I don't complain and I don't explain
    I must have my soul missing

    No matter how hard I try
    I can't shed one little tear
    Maintaining my composure
    I'm unable to cry

    (chorus)

    I stare myself for hours in the mirror
    to see if I'm really there
    A failing strategy
    wasted lives make waste,
    not tragedy

    (chorus)

    Friday, May 11, 2007

    More On Javelin's 'Moscow 1980' Remix




    Eliot Van Buskirk writes at Wired Blog on Javelin's remix of our 'Moscow: 1980', a version which seems to have gathered a bit of a following in the Net, judging by search results and Last.FM:

    "If you ever wondered what it might have been like to attend the 1980 Olympics in Moscow as a child with your older brother who is in the military, Kompleksi's 'Moscow 1980' would be a good place to start. The track caught my own brother's ear while he was browsing MySpace, and he decided to produce a remix/cover version.

    The original bears a listen, but I really like what he made by manipulating instrumental samples of from that (yes, with permission), and layering in vocals by sisters Larkin Grimm and Annelise Grimm, recorded 'in a warm attic in Georgia [U.S.].' The result is a perfect demonstration of social networking's power to transform media by enabling collaboration.

    It's not quite a remix, because it has new vocals, and it's not quite a cover, because most of the instrumentation stemmed from the original version. Whatever it is, it is itself original, and it never would have existed without MySpace or the 1980 Olympics."

    Wednesday, May 09, 2007

    Martin Rev of Suicide to Tampere's Monsters of Pop Festival



    Martin Rev, the keyboardist of New York's legendary electronic duo Suicide will arrive to Tampere's Monsters of Pop festival that's going take to place on 9-11 August 2007. Rev's solo works have been released on such labels as Finland's Puu/Sähkö Recordings.

    Alongside Martin Rev, other confirmed acts of Monsters of Pop will be Pluxus (a Swedish electro/synth act which appeared at our Club Telex in 2001 and whom I interviewed then), Paavoharju (an internationally acclaimed Fonal Records act, combining ethereal pop/folk with spiritual overtones even to Bollywood sounds), Sister Flo, The Micragirls (my own favourite, a very energetic all-female garage rock band of a cultish reputation), Kukka (a welcomed, albeit brief, return from a Tampere synth/indie band which sadly split after some very promising demos in the late 90s, and whose members have continued in such projects as Risto and Moppi & Aivokurkiaiset), Don't Be A Stranger (Sweden), Anssi 8000 & Hot Coke, Islaja, Cats On Fire, The Rollstons, Genzale, Tolbiac, Obi Blanche, Sweeties and Aksu.


    Martin Rev interview

    Other Martin Rev search results @ YouTube


    Pluxus: 'Kinoton'

    Links:

  • Monsters of Pop: official site
  • Monsters of Pop @ Myspace
  • Saturday, May 05, 2007

    Sähkömetsä: Finnish Experimental Cinema 1933-1998





    A newly released book Sähkömetsä - Videotaiteen ja kokeellisen elokuvan historiaa Suomessa 1933-1998 ("Electric Forest - The history of video art and experimental cinema in Finland 1933-1998") -- edited by Kirsi Väkiparta, lavishly illustrated and published by Kuvataiteen keskusarkisto (Central Art Archives of Finnish National Gallery) -- is the first attempt to trace the complete history of Finnish media art in cinema and video. The book features such writers as film director Mika Taanila, researchers Hannu Eerikäinen and Kari Yli-Annala, and Perttu Rastas, who has specialized in video and media art since the mid-80s.

    As the starting point of Finnish experimental cinema Mika Taanila has chosen Armas Jokinen's surrealistic short film Vappuhumua of 1933. A major name here must be the visual artist Eino Ruutsalo, who created in 1962-67 his experimental shorts where he painted and wrote directly to film, scratched it and pinned holes to it. Ruutsalo's films -- in their visual narrative not so different from some modern music videos, in fact -- featured music and sounds from such people as jazz composer Henrik Otto Donner and electronic music pioneer Erkki Kurenniemi (who also created some experimental film works of his own). The underground rock culture of the late 60s brought along a new generation of cinematic experimentalists, when such people as Peter Widén of The Sperm group showed his films on the band's gigs, often intending to shock and provoke; Taanila notifies that most of these works have sadly disappeared now.

    What remains of Widén's works is a fifteen minutes excerpt of Suomen Talvisota (1970), documenting the band rehearsals of Suomen Talvisota 1939-1940, a controversial rock/performance group featuring such luminaries of Finnish underground as M.A. Numminen. The group members and poets Markku Into and the late Jarkko Laine are seen in the film; also Finland's legendary President Urho Kekkonen is featured here, laying the cornerstone for Helsinki's Finlandia Hall in the cross-cut film excerpts!

    Also Timo Aarniala, these days best known as the underground comics artist and for his record sleeves (Underground-Rock by Suomen Talvisota 1939-1940 of 1970 probably being the most famous of them) did his share in the field of experimental cinema: among those works a 1968 short consisting of nothing else but the ever-repeating loop of the 20th Century Fox logo and that familiar fanfare... in music, J.O. Mallander's famous 'Kekkonen' (also 1968) perused exactly the same minimalist idea.

    The late 70s punk movement inspired in Finland such experimental film-makers as Pasi "Sleeping" Myllymäki, working in Super-8 format. Myllymäki, born in 1950, was about a decade older than the punk generation but was especially excited with its fanzine boom; also editing his own zine Maanalainen kaitaelokuva ("Underground Super-8 Cinema"). He was to create nearly 50 short films in between the years 1976 and 1985.

    Any acclaim for the works of Myllymäki and his collaborator Risto Laakkonen was slow in coming, but finally ten of these films were taken to the collection of Stockholm's Museum of Modern Art, and receiving screenings also around Europe and United States. However, by the mid-1980s Myllymäki's interest in experimental cinema started to wane.

    This was also the era when video gradually started to replace film as the favourite medium of experimental artists, being cheaper to use -- and of course, being recyclable. (Perttu Rastas adds, though, that there were some Finnish experiments in video already in the 1960s and 70s.)

    Of the later experimental film/video works a mention is deserved to such creators as Taanila himself, Ilppo Pohjola and Eija-Liisa Ahtila (at the moment internationally one of the most acclaimed Finnish visual artists whose Love Is A Treasure (2002) is even featured in the collections of MoMA); also to Sami van Ingen, Seppo Renvall, Veli Granö, Teemu Mäki, Anneli Nygren, Mox Mäkelä, Marikki Hakola, Matias Keskinen, Mikko Maasalo… and the team of Jimi Tenor (better known as a musician, of course) and Jusu Lounela, with their notorious forays into bad taste with such works as Urinator and Dr. Abortenstein.

    (As main sources here have been used Harri Römpötti's newspaper article "Kaitafilmiltä videolle, maan alta galleriaan", Helsingin Sanomat 30 April 2007, and the Turun Sanomat interviews of Mika Taanila and Pasi "Sleeping" Myllymäki, linked below.)

    Related links in English:

  • Sähkömetsä screenings @ Avanto Festival 2006

    Related links in Finnish:

  • Kirjan esittely Kuvataiteen Keskusarkiston sivulla
  • Maanalainen Suomi @ Kinoklubi/YLE Teema
  • Pasi "Sleeping" Myllymäen haastattelu Turun Sanomissa 26.4. 2007
  • Mika Taanilan haastattelu Turun Sanomissa 26.4. 2007
  • Sähkömetsä II @ SEA
  • Sedis kommentoi
  • Uusi suomalainen kokeellinen elokuva Filmihullussa

    pHinnWeb:

    FinnScene: The Early Years
  • Wednesday, May 02, 2007

    [videos] Imatran Voima: 'American Splendor'


    Imatran Voima: 'American Splendor' (2007)

    Filmed live @ Huge Bass, Turku, Finland 16 December 2006
    Editing & sound: Tatu Metsätähti
    3D: Ami Elovirta
    Camera: Miki Brunou, Jussi Toppari, Tapio Laitinen

    pHinnWeb Chart May 2007...



    ... can be found here.