The haunting synthpop rendition by Belaboris of 'Rakkauden jälkeen' ("After love"), a song originally performed in 1968 by Finnish chanteuse Carola (1941 - 1997). The song is a Finnish translation of 'Was ich dir sagen will' by Udo Jürgens. Carola's original @ YouTube.
Belaboris was a Finnish all female group featuring Minna Soisalo on vocals, best known as the lead in Mika Kaurismäki's film Klaani ("The Clan - Tale of the Frogs"). The band moniker is taken from a combination of the names of the two famed horror film actors Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. Belaboris was produced by famed Finnish indie producer and punk journalist Miettinen and left behind only a couple of singles released between 1982-1984 featuring, among others, a cover version of the 60's Scandinavian pop hit 'Rakkauden jälkeen' and Serge Gainsbourg's 'Babypop'.
Finnish bassist, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Pekka Pohjola has died at the age of 56. Pohjola came first into prominence as a bass player for Finnish progressive rock/"deep pop" band Wigwam, where he played from 1970 to 1974. After that he concentrated on his solo career, even though his solo debut Pihkasilmä Kaarnakorva came out already in 1972 when he was still in Wigwam. Pohjola also played with Mike Oldfield, The Group and Made In Sweden.
For the main bass line in his song 'Midnight in a Perfect World' on the 1996 Entroducing... LP, American trip-hop artist DJ Shadow sampled Pekka Pohjola's 'Sekoilu seestyy' ("The Madness Subsides"; off Pohjola's 1974 album Harakka Bialoipokku, which was published in England as B the Magpie).
De Stijl label announces a vinyl re-release of Shh!, the heavily collected 1970 album of Helsinki's controversial experimental improvisational/performance act The Sperm, originally out on the band's own O Records and featuring in its line-up such people as Pekka Airaksinen (known also for many solo albums now enjoying an international cult reputation), Jan-Olof Mallander (nowadays an art critic) and Mattijuhani Koponen (a poet/actor and the most notorious member of the band, who had a prison sentence after having a performance of a simulated sexual intercourse on a grand piano). Also guitarist Vladimir "Nikke" Nikamo, who had a brief stint in early Wigwam, participated in the compositions of this album.
Press release notes from De Stilj:
"soon forthcoming is a totally legit LP only reissue of this amazing Helsinki monsterpiece from 1970. Shh! is primarily a document of Pekka Airaksinen's experimental compostions, consisting of primitive samples, guitar loop feedback and musique concrete.
Sperm also functioned as a wildly theatrical live act ala Dionysis in '69, that would arrange underground happenings, occasionally inspiring a rallied public outcry against the derisive act of public sex atop a grand piano.
Artist: Kemialliset Ystävät / Sunroof! Title: Split #19 Cat.no.: 12FAT076 Label: Fat Cat Records (UK) Date: 27 October 2008 (UK, Europe & rest of world) / 21 October 2008 (USA & Canada)
Tracklist:
A1. Kemialliset Ystävät: Taivaassa on loivemmat mäet A2. Kemialliset Ystävät: Hyvällisen tähdellistä A3. Kemialliset Ystävät: Yöllä tulen ja raapasen tulen karvoihin! A4. Kemialliset Ystävät: Pirtua raamatun kansissa A5. Kemialliset Ystävät: Tässä maassa kun näin makailen B1. Sunroof!: Little Ornamental Lake Of Death B2. Sunroof!: Spiritual Forgery B3. Sunroof!: Extinction Fantasy
Press release notes from Fat Cat Records:
Another album-length release, the nineteenth 12” in our acclaimed Split Series presents two immensely vital and influential artists whose fiercely focused and highly individual music has genuinely pushed boundaries and an aesthetics of movement / excess in two very different, yet complimentary ways, creating their own distinctive sound-worlds.
Led by Jan Anderzén, Kemialliset Ystävät (it translates as ‘chemical friends’) are a loose collective from Tampere in southern Finland. Existing in dialogue amongst (and beyond) the hugely creative / diverse microcosm of the Finnish scene including artists like Avarus, Lau Nau, Es, Paavoharju, Islaja, Anaksimandros, and labels like Fonal, 247 Laatijaa, and Lal Lal Lal, Kemialliset Ystävät has become an influential node on the outsider noise / folk / psych underground, finding international acclaim. Whilst many Kemialliset Ystävät recordings are solo productions, Anderzén has also employed many friends within this scene as floating / occasional members through the years, and other players on these tracks include Sami Sänpäkkilä (1, 2, 3, 5), Roope Eronen (3), Niko-Matti Ahti (3, 5), Tomas Regan (3, 5), Markus Mäki (3, 5), and Elissa Määttänen (5).
With nearly 50 releases (in all manner of formats) since its inception in 1995, Kemialliset Ystävät has remained a constantly moving enigma. Almost entirely self-taught and using a bewildering array of instruments and approaches, their sonic arsenal includes detuned guitars, bass, traditional / vernacular instrumentation (mandolins, balalaikas, etc.) hand percussion, all manner of electronic instruments, effects, toys and circuit-bent items, treated samples and vinyl manipulation. Playfully taking their own unique and unpredictable path, they have layered and fused together traditional Finnish (at times almost medieval-sounding) instrumentation and melodies with avant-garde electronics, psychedelic folk / rock, noise, electro-acoustic, and percussive tribal rhythms, creating a sense of ritualistic magic and flexible, group-mind improvisation, with the whole often subjected to brutal and precise editing.
A dense, tangled mass of independent roots, their music is rhizomatic, richly textural and riddled with obsessive detail, bizarre juxtapositions and hypnotic structures. Patterns form and dissolve again before fully apprehended. Whilst individually marked, the five tracks they’ve contributed to this 12” flow together as sections of one whole to form a fluid, simmering and restless journey through woozy loops, blurred harmonies and vocal contortions. With occasional jump-cuts, and all manner of spluttering, splattering electronics, its shimmering sense of tension eventually resolves as forms emerge – sometimes fleetingly, sometimes with a longer, more coherent rhythmic / melodic pull.
Brilliantly twisted and prolific, Anderzén’s home-baked output extends beyond his music to a vast flood of drawings, paintings and collaged artwork. Fans for a long while, FatCat’s initial hookup with Kemialliset Ystävät occurred in February 2006, when the band were invited to play at FatCat’s ‘Open Circuit’ Festival in belgium, at which they also played a live improvised collaboration with Múm. A fantastic live unit, they will be touring the UK / Europe this Autumn.
Belgian artist Guy Peellaert has died at the age of 74. He was known from the controversial sleeve illustration of David Bowie's dystopian 1974 album Diamond Dogs (where Bowie appeared as a human-canine character whose genitals were deemed so offensive that they were airbrushed away from the release), also from the book Rock Dreams (1973), featuring Peellaert's fantasy illustrations of some of the biggest icons of rock history (with commentary by the rock critic Nik Cohn), and several film posters for such as Taxi Driver.
On the subject of people planning a new Finnish experimental music portal (which I recently mentioned also here) I was asked to give my opinions to this discussion at Charmlist (I take a licence to reproduce my own text here, slightly edited) as someone who has maintained since 1996 a site that at the moment lives at pHinnWeb.org (2 gigas (if I remember correctly), hosted by Nebula.Fi's Web hotel, 15 euros a month + a registering fee of ca. 17 euros/year).
I have to say that these days the pHinnWeb site works mostly as an archive and portal to other sites, because I just don't have time and energy to update it the way I used to. The scope has been from techno and electro to some indie pop to experimental, so that wide spectrum might in its part explain my fatigue. (Probably the separate blog part of it -- the one you're reading now -- is at the moment most active, but there's a lot of content that has nothing to do with music.)
There's also the fact that I've always maintained pHinnWeb as a one-man project, having minimal technical knowledge on such things as coding etc. Yes, there have been many times I've wished there was a bigger team running it, where everyone could concentrate on their own area of expertise and knowledge, but so far there has been no luck in finding collaborators. And I'm concentrating more on my own creative work these days, anyway, so I've accepted the fact that pHinnWeb goes on its life just as a slow-moving, often hibernating dinosaur. Also, because of my own recent family and work circumstances I haven't been able to contribute to pHinnWeb or its mailing list the way I used to, so things have been a bit quiet on that front, too.
So, some problems in a nutshell:
One voluntary person running a wide project like this is not enough: share responsibility and recruit new people all the time, people with varying interests and technical/artistic skills.
Maintaining a long-term interest and energy in maintaining it year after year: ditto.
Re: discussion forums - keep it bilingual if you can: it seems because of language barrier many people just are timid to have a more detailed discussion in a tongue that is not their own (I've noticed this problem with my own mailing list).
Avoiding besserwisserism, arrogance and hostile factionalism: "That guy doesn't know anything about music/the scene"; still, these know-it-alls often curiously tend to keep their mouths just shut when it comes to actually contributing something. It's easier to criticize someone else's work from one's comfortable armchair than to go out in the cold and create and maintain something yourself.
Difficulties of "datamining". Media in general being interested in more mainstream things. Many Finnish underground artists and scene being so low-key, isolated, insular; not exactly keen on hyping themselves, it seems. Maybe it's the Finnish mindset - being modest, not boasting yourself, etc. (Artists being in general difficult beasts sometimes, requiring kid glove tactics and being discreet.)
"Tuntuu kuin jonkin Riston sivullisuuteen yhdistyisi Organin peräkammarinomainen lähestymistapa instrumentteihin tai sellaisina toimiviin laitteisiin."
"...oivallinen läpileikkaus Kompleksin kuusivuotisesta taipaleesta ja hieno kulttuurinen dokumentti erään kaksikon tähänastisesta musiikillisesta tutkimusmatkailusta."
You can also read at Desibeli an interview of Janne Martinkauppi of Verdura Records, talking together with Tommi Forsström, who runs another small label, If Society. Sorry non-Finns, again in our Fenno-Ugric language...
By its written description sounding perhaps like something in the style of infamous 'Revolution No. 9' off White Album (and the sound experiments John Lennon made with Yoko Ono), the unreleased 14-minute track 'Carnival of Light' by The Beatles, recorded in their psychedelic period of 1967, has become something of a myth among the fans and collectors. The track's release was planned for The Beatles Anthology 2 of 1996, but George Harrison (who died in 2001) vetoed it (some sources say the producer George Martin was not so hot of the idea, either).
I picked this up from ooooo mailing list (a Finnish list concentrating on experimental, improvisation, psychedelic/forest folk, free jazz and other leftfield music genres), thinking this project might be of interest to some readers of this blog. If you want to contribute, contact rrepeatt[at]gmail.com ...
[Forwarded message]
call for materials: web portal for finnish experimental art
Posted by: "pleaserepeat" rrepeatt[at]gmail.com Sat Nov 15, 2008 11:21 pm (PST)
dear all,
i am setting up a database / portal for Finnish experimental music and sound art. the site will feature detailed artist profiles, along with a calendar of upcoming concerts, links to relevant resources, record labels, organisations etc. although the focus is on music and sound, experimental artists working in other medias are also welcome. the aim is to provide a centralised internet presence for the experimental community, to document the scope of experimental art activities in Finland, and to encourage networking between artists of similar interests both nationally and internationally.
if you have worked in experimental music / sound / other art for some time, live and work currently or mainly in Finland, and are interested in participating, feel free to supply materials (in Finnish or English) to: rrepeatt[at]gmail.com.
please note that while people from all backgrounds (academic, underground, etc.) are welcome, some measure of established position is required for inclusion at least for the time being. otherwise the website will be neutral and objective, and only materials supplied by the artists themselves will be published. no profiles will be added without explicit participation from the artists themselves.
necessary information: - name / name of project, group, members etc. - year of birth / foundation - location - contact information (e-mail, official website) - trade (composer, musician, director, etc) - main instruments / tools (if applicable) - background (possible education, etc.) - close collaborators, group affiliations (for linking to other artists) - short description of main interests - longer description of interests/aims/ intent (important!)
optional materials: - photograph(s) - work history (discography etc.) - sound / video clips (in compressed format) - press clippings (scanned or typed)
please feel free to forward this invitation to possibly interested parties. thank you!
[End of forwarded message]
Another blog on Finnish experimental music just found: Äänellä (in Finnish)...
This news has been online for a couple of weeks, though I only found it now and, to be honest, it sounds like some misplaced and morbid April Fools prank. Anyway, as it is known, Nazi Germany was one of the pioneers in the first steps of TV broadcasting, and it transpires Adolf Hitler was the father of reality-TV, planning a "Big Brother" type of show on the domestic life of an ideal Aryan couple. And naturally broadcasting as prime time entertainment executions of traitors to Nazis. There's indeed something in current reality-TV's "survival of the fittest" ethos, which undoubtedly would have pleased Der Führer and his brown-shirt cohorts. Check the article @ Telegraph (UK). [Also @ Daily Mail.]
Mitch Mitchell, who played drums with The Jimi Hendrix Experience, has died at the age of 61. Mitchell was the last surviving member of The Experience, Hendrix having passed away in 1970 and the bassist Noel Redding in 2003.
Event: Music Got Me! - Vol. 2: Electro Venue: Out of Juice, Hämeenkatu 23, Tampere Date: Friday 14 November 2008 Time: 9 pm - 3 am Age limit: 18 Entry: 0 €
Sadly, this ninth annual Avanto festival will also be the last one, as Helsingin Sanomat informs. I participated myself in 2001 as a DJ to this event, which has every November combined avantgarde film and live performances from experimental music acts around the world, and I think this will leave a large gap to Finnish cultural life.
Sean O'Hagan interviews for The ObserverScott Walker, the enigmatic singer-songerwriter legend born in the USA in 1943 but having based for decades in the UK.
Finnish IDM artist Lackluster (a.k.a. Esa Ruoho) announces two new online releases. Compcomp includes 20 tracks taken from Lackluster's various compilation releases over the past eight years. Remixcomp features 20 remixes by Lackluster from 2002 to 2008, released on vinyls, CDs, CDRs and digital downloads. Some have been made in Dublin, some in Kontula, one in Augsburg.
Exclusively available for digital FLAC/MP3 download at:
Sarah Palin, the Vice President candidate for Republicans, has inspired many spoofs, parodies and countless image manipulations spreading on the Net. Obviously there's something in this former-beauty-queen-gone-icebear-hunting-ultra-conservative which especially appeals to male fantasies. [One thing that is for sure is that our own 'Sara Pain' had nothing to do with her!]
One inevitable outcome in this booming mini-industry (something that is hard to imagine with Joseph Biden) is naturally an adult movie dedicated to her exploits called Who's Nailin' Paylin? (subtitled "Adventures of a Hockey Milf"), with the up-and-coming skin flick starlet Lisa Ann playing Governor "Serra Paylin" and the adult film veteran Nina Hartley as Hillary Clinton, and brought to us by no one else than The Hustler Video. Maybe there are alternative career prospects in sight for Ms. Palin after the current election defeat.
Michael Crichton, a prolific American bestseller novelist, film director and TV producer has died. The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park were among his best-known books, the cult sci-fi movie Westworld[trailer] (1973) one of the films he directed.
Onement is a label whose concept is to release records at ONE COPY ONLY.
Each recording is not reproduced - there is just one item.
NEW RELEASE: ONEMENT 2 ANTTI RANNISTO "Onement" Out now at one single full-length LP
Catalogue:
(0 : 0 / "4'33" (John Cage) / 100 cds / out of print) 1 : ROBERT HAMPSON / "Hearken" / one-copy 12" LP 2 : ANTTI RANNISTO / "Onement" / one-copy 12" LP (OUT NOW!)
About Antti Rannisto:
Antti Rannisto [b. 1978] is a Finnish minimalist whose ultra-spare sound was formed via a diverse background of various genres ranging from hip-hop to experimental music. He creates highly calculated music so stripped down to the basic elements that subtle shifts in panning, envelope, or phase become instruments in themselves. His palette is simple, pure, colorless, and free of any unnecessary sound or movement. It is minimalism in the truest sense. It is challenging music that demands attentive listening.
His side project Rannisto is for the more rhythmic, casual and sometimes also humorous works.
Yma Sumac (13 September 1922 - 1 November 2008), a legendary vocalist (whose memorable voice range covered five octaves) well known to the fans of 1950s exotica, lounge and "Incredibly Strange Music", has passed away.
No rest for DC Recordings, with yet another release in pipeline!
Artist: Vincent Markowski Title: Dirty Capsules Label: DC Recordings (UK) Cat. No: DCR101 Format: 12" / digital download Release Date: 8 December 2008
Tracklist: A. Dirty Capsules (5:42) B. The Number Arkiv (4:59)
Credits: Written & produced by Tom Tyler. Mastered by Guy at Electric.
Press release notes from DC Recordings:
More than two years have passed since Vincent Markowski delivered his remarkable musical debut 'The Madness of Moths'. The record itself was an ode to his obsession with butterflies and moths, and it was not out of character for these ways to lead him off into obscurity for a year or two, but little did we know how far this self-professed moth-man would drift this time.
Perhaps inspired by label cohorts The Emperor Machine, The Oscillation et al, Markowski has fixed his gaze firmly on the cosmos. Trading on his reputation as a celebrity lepidopterist he travelled to Russia in search of cosmonautical aid, the relics of the ex-Soviet space programme proving to be well within the grasp of such a famed moth-man. Quickly he was furnished with a vintage rocket and capsule, or "space-chrysalis" as he tells us it is called, and secured a launch from the cosmodrome in Baikonur. It was with great delight in August that we received the first transmission from Markowski as the orbit of his capsule came within range of DC's giant London-based parabolic ear, and with further delight we now present two excerpts from this transmission.
'Dirty Capsules' features shades of 'The Madness of Moths' with its echoing pulse, bass-driven melody, snatches of incomprehensible lyrics and haunting ambient atmospheres. 'The Number Arkiv' is an energic affair that features a rare dose of Markowski's own voice reciting numbers, part of his regime of mental calisthenics to prevent mental deterioration whilst in space. Expect more outbursts very soon as Markowski's capsule increases in velocity.
And you are always free to send your own chart contribution, too, and pHinnWeb will publish it there. Techno, electro, house, IDM, disco, rock, pop, indie, jazz, experimental, polka... anything goes. -> phinnweb [at] yahoo.com
