NWOFHM! Pori's real Ässä, Circle main man Jussi Lehtisalo's label Ektro has been pushing the boundaries of the Finnish underground for years with its artist's shameless love for classic prog, kraut, drone, psychedelia and above all, classic hard rock and heavy metal. From the very outsider art of legendary one man band Keuhkot to the beautiful complicated simple beauty of Kuusumun Profeetta and from the extended psyched out kraut-jams of Lehtisalo's own Circle to Lehtisalo's Judas Priest meets Faust project Pharaoh Overlord, Ektro releases are to straight-edge kids what Tofu-sausages are for vegans.
Circle's 11th album (from 2004)! Grrreat prog/kraut jams!
"Guillotine marks one of the stranger turns in a career already dotted with absurd mood swings and radical shifts in direction. Circle’s newfound shambolic tendencies have less immediate appeal than the taut stateliness of past milestones, but that’s probably the point; time, energy and contemplation are required to penetrate Lehtisalo’s thick cloudcover of introverted perverseness."
-Dusted Reviews
Slow-moving abstract atmospherics, inspiring and determined wandering and a stagnant universe of winter are present on Circle's new double album MILJARD. New Wave of NWOFHWM!
The album was produced by Mika Rättö. Rocking has been traded for some quiet reading on the couch at home.
Speedkraut from Finland. This time Circle combines the slow-paced almost ambient feels of their previous record Miljard and destroys everything by placing 3 fast paced bursts of "speedkraut" aka Circle-fied versions of Discharge-type hardcore in the middle... Go figure.
"Brilliant, shockingly brilliant! Here with we present to you what we can only say is the headbangingest record yet from our Finnish friends Circle (containing also, paradoxically, a couple of their most gentle numbers)."
(Aquarius Records)
"These avant-garde trailblazers continue their unique work that they started in 1970. Chaos, fear, irrationality, the grotesque, the absurd, darkness, surrealism and underground are all fitting definitions for Faust but still only modest attempts to describe one of the most notable rock bands in the world."
-Ektro website
You've never, ever heard anything like Keuhkot, the one-man, multi-mediafunhouse commandeered by Kake Puhuu from his home in the forests of Pomarkku, Finland. This national treasure has been active since the late'80s, when began setting his bizarre, ranting vocals to Middle Eastern exotica, synthetic carnival melodies, and squawky no-wave guitar.
Kuusumun Profeetta's daring and scary venture into the realms of epic metal. If anyone has the lungs for it, it's Mika Rättö, the man who combines Pekka Streng, Ronnie James Dio and Freddie Mercury.
The CD reissue of Mummi Kutoo's self-titled debut is a must for anyoneinterested in Finland's currently hip psychedelic-folk scene (Lau Nau,Kiila, Avarus, etc.). It's also essential for fans of such post-hippiebeauties as the Incredible String Band, Roy Harper, Neil Young, and Pink Floyd.
"So, how to describe this? These songs are mild and melancholic, but also rather peppy. There's strings and violin and acoustic guitar and sad horns and clip-clopping, tip-toeing percussion. It all has a sort of genteel, old world charm...nice nice nice. It could be a soundtrack to a quirky Finnish indie film, or the recording of the house band in some really hip cafe where the everyone sits around nodding and smiling wistfully and tapping their feet."
-Aquarius Records
NWOFHM! "Hypno-improv-stoner-rock from Finland (file under psychedelic)" says band leader J.Lehtisalo (of Circle). We needn't say more. Also included: Tomi Leppänen (Aavikko) and Janne Westerlund (Sweetheart).
NWOFHM! "Hypno-improv-stoner-rock from Finland (file under psychedelic)" says band leader J.Lehtisalo (of Circle). We needn't say more. Also included: Tomi Leppänen (Aavikko) and Janne Westerlund (Sweetheart).
"Since their acclaimed debut album, Plain Ride have managed to further deepen their expression. Resulting in fresh and versatile music, which effortlessly combines the legacies of Hank Williams, Velvet Underground and NEU!, simplicity and unpretentiousness are indeed virtues."
One of the greatest records made in Finland ever. R&S combine kraut-repetition, cheesy synths, amazing songs, Rättö's unique voice, psychedelic chants and a Kraftwerkian stoicness.
Intensive desert rock grooves riding on loud metal war machines, sinister harmonies laid upon beastly delay drone growls, the most primal motorik boogie rocking confronted by exstatic pagan percussion rustle.
1. KAKKA-HÄTÄ 77
2. DWYERS
3. 22-PISTEPIRKKO
4. ARCADE FIRE
5. BECK
Mighty finnish post-rock soundscapes from the cradle of finnish experimentalism - Pori.cd: 13 €
Sweet electro from Finland! Everything from Múm-like minimalism to Pet Shop Boys -esque floor-fil...cd: 10 €