Risto: 'Putoan kaivossa'

Risto: 'Putoan kaivossa' (2009, directed by Sami Sänpäkkilä)

From Risto's forthcoming album Sähköhäiriöön (Fonal Records, FR-63 CD/LP/download). Release date March 4th 2009.

Directed and written by Sami Sänpäkkilä.

Music by Risto.

Actors: Risto Ylihärsilä, Tuomas Eriksson, Minna Kortepuro, Alina Toivanen.
Make up: Kati Kivijärvi.

Higher quality version: http://www.vimeo.com/3253434

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Artist: Risto
Title: Sähköhäiriöön
Format: CD/LP
Cat.no.: FR-63
Date: 4 March 2009

Tracklist:

1. Sähköhäiriöön
2. Elävä ihmisjumala
3. Ihmisen kaltainen
4. Ilta-aurinko hymyilee
5. Viikkoja
6. Onko paha uni nyt päättynyt?
7. Rokkipojan laulu
8. Ihmeauto KITT
9. Hiljaa, hiljaa
10. Putoan kaivossa

Total length: 34 minutes

Album info & soundfiles @ Fonal

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And lest we forget, here's the latest video by another Fonal artist, Eleonoora Rosenholm:


Eleonoora Rosenholm: 'Ambulanssikuskitar' (2008, directed by Pete Veijalainen)

Shogun Kunitoki: Vinonaamakasio (Fonal Records)

Shogun Kunitoki: 'Riddarholmen' (directed by Sami Sänpäkkilä, 2009)

The analogue electronic act Shogun Kunitoki will release their new album Vinonaamakasio (Fonal Records, FR-62, CD/LP) on 11 March 2009.


Shokun Kunitoki Strobe Light Kit (soldering guide)

From Fonal:

"For those looking for the ultimate psychedelic experience, the Shogun Kunitoki: Vinonaamakasio (FR-62LP) will be available as a picture vinyl LP featuring two animation loops that can be viewed using this magical Shogun Kunitoki strobe light (FR-62SL).

A true fan will buy the Shogun Kunitoki Strobe Light Kit (FR-62SLK) and build it him/herself. In this video you can see step by step instructions on how to solder the kit together. In addition to the kit you need a 9V battery which is not included in the package.

Available directly from Shogun Kunitoki website and the Fonal Records shop upon the release date 11.3.2009."

Artist: Shogun Kunitoki
Title: Vinonaamakasio
Format: CD/LP/digital download
Label: Fonal (Finland)
Cat.no.: FR-62
Date: 11 March 2009 (Finland)/18 March 2009 (worldwide)

Tracklist:

1. Vinonaamakasio
2. Mulberg
3. Riddarholmen
4. Fuzzabeth Crackleby
5. Holvikirkko
6. Corda
7. Svileto
8. Ratalintu
9. Nebulus

Press release notes:

With their second album Shogun Kunitoki expand the boundaries of their self-created sonic universe with a wider array of sounds and rhythms. Where their debut, Tasankokaiku, squeezed cosmic dust into fiery balls of molten lava with gravitational push and pull and followed the planets whirring through the void on looping trajectories, Vinonaamakasio zooms in to explore the surface of newfound heavenly bodies, outlines the jagged shapes of exploding volcanoes, rolls with the moonlit waves through the cracks of sleeping, phosphorescent coral reefs, and marches in step with the six-legged insect armies making their trails through the steaming jungle. Every atom of this newborn planet of sound vibrates synchronous to the seething psychedelic stew that throbs under the surface and burns your feet if you let them stop moving.

For those looking for the ultimate psychedelic experience, the Picture LP edition features two animation loops that can be viewed using the Magical Shogun Kunitoki Strobe Light. Please note you need both the Picture vinyl and the strobe light to see the animations.

Ignatz: 'The Water'

Ignatz: 'The Water' (2008)

From the Kraak Records release Ignatz: III CD/LP (K056). Ignatz is a Brussels-based artist Bram Devens.

Available from kraak.net.

Directed and cinematography by Sami Sänpäkkilä/Fonal Records.
Assistant: Julie Vanopdenbosh.

Eleonoora Rosenholm: New Album

Eleonoora Rosenholm: 'Tammen varjossa' (2008)

Eleonoora Rosenholm, the peculiar theme band of vocalist Noora Tommila, Pasi Salmi and Mika "Circle" Rättö on the exploits of a murderous house wife, have now released their new album Älä kysy kuolleilta, he sanoivat ("Don't ask from the dead, they said"; FR-60 CD/LP, Fonal Records) in Finland (worldwide release date: 8 October 2008). Preceding the album, digital download EP Tammen varjossa ("In the shadow of an oak") is also now available online, including one non-album track and two live tracks.

pHinnWeb's first impressions of Eleonoora Rosenholm, Oct 2007

Fonal Night, 19 October 2007

Islaja: 'Rohkaisulaulu'

I checked out the theme night of Fonal Records at the Lost In Music festival of Yo-Talo on Friday. I haven't heard the latest releases of Islaja (a.k.a. Merja Kokkonen) but even some Stooges-like moments and some machine rhythms were heard now. This time the set of Kemialliset Ystävät [about whose manSEDANse set and the rest of the festival some weeks ago I would still like to get something together for this blog before too long - the procrastinating pH.] consisted of some sort of tribal blues sound, and on the black & white background video the boys were seen running around in the woods, looking like it was part of some sort of live role-playing ritual? Eleanoora Rosenholm (who will release their album on Fonal soon) I had never heard before. Their live sound paradoxically made me describe it as "lounge meets 70s Eurovision pop with some progrock flavour", so it will be interesting to hear what this will sound like on record. One song surprisingly made me think of Regina and their chanteuse Iisa Pajula. I think Eleanoora Rosenholm does hold some potential, and the audience seemed eventually to warm up to the songs, even though being unfamiliar with them. Some extra delights for a friend of old analogue electronics like me were spared to the end of the night when after around 2:30 am Shogun Kunitoki entered the stage with their arsenal of vintage keyboards. Playing an intense set, perhaps in the style of the late 60s proto-electronic veterans like Silver Apples and Lothar and the Hand People, I just had to watch it to the end, even though I was already starting to feel extremely drowsy at this late hour. A nice night, all in all.

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

[MP3s] From Shogun Kunitoki's Tasankokaiku CD

Listen to full length audio samples (mp3/96kbps) from Shogun Kunitoki's brand new album Tasankokaiku ("Plains Echo") on Finland's Fonal Records:

'Montezuma'

'Tropiikin kuuma huuma' ("The Hot Heat of Tropic")

Soundwise this instrumental album with its droney organ-heavy sound makes me think of Terry Riley (especially his 1968 minimal drone masterpiece A Rainbow in Curved Air) , The United States of America (a great experimental 60s band) and The Doors!

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Listen to more Fonal Records material at Fonal Jukebox