Fonal records, Ikuisuus and other "playful" experimental music

Started by V.T.R, September 13, 2021, 04:07:24 PM

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V.T.R

There was old topic about Finnish experimental music and Fonal was mentioned, but I think that they and their likes deserve their own topic. And discussion about other bands/projects around the world in that style is welcomed here.

Fonal was formed already in 1995 and I think their highlight years was around 2003-2006(?) at least in Finland. After that it feels like nobody talks about them anymore in any particular scene around here. I am aware that their catalog has been reviewed in bigger media (Wire etc.) and big celebrities like Henry Rollins has worshipped this scene, but more is always more! And no talking about something doesn't always mean that people don't listen to it :)

I must confess that it was during this year when Kemialliset Ystävät, Es and Tomutonttu finally clicked to myself too. I needed something new to listen, something that wasn't harsh noise, ambient, too "challenging", too musical but still entertaining and interesting. I remembered Fonal and was hooked.

I think their aesthetics and overall sound can be too hippie for diehard followers of nastier side of noise and PE, but there must be even couple of fans here? Personally I enjoy Tomutonttu the most. His weird surreal sounds are always fun to listen. Naive and weird. Like somesort of childrens music played under the influence of acid hehe! Focus on detailet sounds and layers and good mixing. Kemialliset Ystävät freakfolk is also great stuff and their discography have enough variation from straight up Third Ear Band worship to their newer stuff, which is even more freaked out and psychedelic. Es is more easy listening, but still absolutely solid loop based krautrockish atmospheres. Kesämaan lapset (Summerlands children) album's name pretty much tells how it sounds; warm summer nostalgia. There are also lot of other kind of projects like Launau, Shogun Kunitoki etc, but I have mostly concentrated to the more experimental bands like three above mentioned.

Two other recommended labels in the same vein from Finland are Ikuisuus and Magma Tones, but I'll get back to those later.

I know that there are TONS of this kind of stuff around the world, but it's easier to get known by recommendations so keep em coming. "Homemade" feel and aesthetics with GOOD SOUND like Tomutonttu and Kemialliset Ystävät have. All kinds of playful and fun "outsider noise" can also be discussed here.

post-morten

I've tried to get into this group of bands for a long time, and gave them all fair amounts of listening time. This goes especially for K.Y., Avarus, and Kiila. And while I don't deny they all have their moments, there's a limit as to how much toy pianos, pots & pans clanking, squeaky violins, and wobbly underwater effects I can take. Having said this I absolutely adore Lau Nau's solo work and have a soft spot for Islaja too. Shogun Kunitoki are cool as well, but I don't see them as aligned with this freak folk scene; from what I recall they got their own unique thing going, unless they changed direction since I last looked their way.

APPLE

Quote from: V.T.R on September 13, 2021, 04:07:24 PMI know that there are TONS of this kind of stuff around the world, but it's easier to get known by recommendations so keep em coming. "Homemade" feel and aesthetics with GOOD SOUND like Tomutonttu and Kemialliset Ystävät have. All kinds of playful and fun "outsider noise" can also be discussed here.

Kuupuu- yokehra is a good LP from the mid-2000s Finnish scene. Handmade, intimate and slightly spooky mix of whispered vocals, lo-fi loops, strange instruments and domestic psychedlia.

On a different note, I really like the new LP from Aaron Dilloway & Lucretia Dalt. Playful is good word to describe it. Short tracks of bubbling electronics, grinding loops and squelching sci-fi sounds.

impulse manslaughter

Gothenborg projects like Blod or Enhet För Fri Musik are worth checking out. Last albums of both are highly recommended if you're into lo-fi folk & home electronics. You've got to be fast though because their releases seem to sell out fast. Years ago I listened a lot to lo-fi weirdness like Caroliner, Kingdom Scum, Melted Men, etc.

Lysergikon137

Quote from: post-morten on September 13, 2021, 08:10:28 PM
I've tried to get into this group of bands for a long time, and gave them all fair amounts of listening time. This goes especially for K.Y., Avarus, and Kiila. And while I don't deny they all have their moments, there's a limit as to how much toy pianos, pots & pans clanking, squeaky violins, and wobbly underwater effects I can take.

This is my feeling on this realm of music. Was feeling it early in the year with a lot of Kemialliset, tomutonttu, and Uton (of Magma Tapes) but ultimately none of it really stuck besides one Kemialliset album of b-side collections and the YKSI material on Magma Tapes (which is kinda more harsh noise, the second tape reminds me of Haare).
look behind the golden sun... face to face with the black sun...
https://njanssen.bandcamp.com/

n a a r a

the other day I was listening to Current 93 and some Fonal shit and then I realized that this so called forest-folk scene is basically a playful and sometimes major-chord version of neo folk :D

FreakAnimalFinland

Those who read finnish (or want to use translator) can check this article about Finnish experimental music:
https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2021/06/18/omaehtoisesti-yhdessa-kotimainen-kokeellinen-musiikki-versoo-monissa-eri

Published by national radio this summer. Featured in article are Arttu Partinen of Avarus, Laura Naukkarinen of Lau Nau, Marja Ahti who has some great experimental albums out and I recall being talked on this forum too? If not, that mistake should be corrected. Also bunch of other people. Finnish NOISE is not part of this article. I got couple guys contacting me saying it was odd that among 20+ Finnish labels, FA was not mentioned among active ones in the scene. Well...  I am not really part of experimental music scene, but industrial-noise. There is cross-over, but they are quite different types of sound and culture and I am sure too obvious cross-over would change the tone of article to something else, hah..

I got bunch of UTON stuff and seen him live. Same for Tomutonttu. Some of the Kuupuu stuff I like a lot, others are not my taste at all.  It would be good to see more recommendations of this type of stuff. In Finland, as the article describes, YLE radio actually has even two experimental music radio programs. Frekvenssi has played things like Temple Of Tiermes, along this more warm hearted experimental scene. I think they are not playable outside Finland for copyright reasons?

If you happen to live in Finland, you can accees the programs: https://areena.yle.fi/audio/1-50748123
Two episodes are focused on new finnish sound art.
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FreakAnimalFinland

LAU NAU "Puutarhassa" CD
Akti
Really good CD, that is fairly short. Half an hour, with 4 tracks. One has quite a lot of melodic synth.. kind of arpeggio patterns. Which is fine, but least interesting part of the album. Title translates as "In garden", and album starts with (and includes overall many moments of) summer time field recordings, full of insects, birds, nature sounds. Eventually there are also rain, melancholic organ drones, ethereal female choir voices, neat reverb drenched minimalist piano chords etc. Each track has its own core elements, but field recordings and slow atmosphere ties it well together as almost like one piece flowing from moment to another. Definitely recommended album of recent Finnish experimental sound recordings.
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FreakAnimalFinland

SUNHIILOW "Beyond the Cycle" LP
Ikuisuus 2021
LP of very relaxing hippie drone type of thing. Very much in lines of 50 years old psychedelic soundscapes involving minimal "eastern-esque" melody patterns. Good stuff in its style, but I guess its almost like some guys who are not really that deep into noise, hear any harsh noise release and say it sounds the same as the rest of genre. Sunhiilow LP is kind of like that, but in its own genre.

ANTTI TOLVI "Taikuri tali" LP
Ikuisuus 2014
This is pretty tough to swallow. Songs like Liitävä saunatonttu, Sateenkaarisade and so on, I get impression that I may not be among the focus group of this experimental sound. Toying around with warm, colorful, playful sounds & electronics. Nice clean vinyl cut, just like on the Sunhiilow above. Funny collage cover, but touch to swallow.

ALTAAT / EUTER LP
Ikuisuus 2020
Best of these 3 LP's. Droning, experimental, especially Euter gets even a bit noisier. This one I would recommend to get. If one likes Haare at his most clean drone works, without the feedback and grit, this LP may be only couple step forward to that direction.

 
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FreakAnimalFinland

SAMULI TANNER "Music for 1-year-old Samuli Tanner" LP
Ikuus 2021
Originally 2017 cd, but reissued on LP. With this LP, I was thinking this:
Quote from: post-morten on September 13, 2021, 08:10:28 PMthere's a limit as to how much toy pianos, pots & pans clanking, squeaky violins, and wobbly underwater effects I can take.
Haha... This LP is kind of half way that. It can be irritating, but at the same time this challenge of playful sounds-noises walks the line of good/irritating just enough on the leaning to good side..




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FreakAnimalFinland

Niko Karlsson "Valosta Valoon" LP
Feeding Tube Records 2017
One half of the Altaat duo (commented above). I did pick up recently also his Niko Karlsson & Topias Tiheäsalo ‎LP (2018) put out by Anoema Recordings (Merzbow, Mikawa, Pain Jerk / Wiese, Marhaug, etc) expecting more experimental and noisy, but that album turned out to be finger picking acoustic guitar works. This LP consist stuff recorded between 2011-2016 and starts neat ambient/drone experimentation and eventually evolves into slow acoustic guitar folk. Perhaps the "folk" is a bit exaggeration. Sometimes when listening the strong tonal drone and human voice harmonies on top of that, makes me think of even some Popol Vuh things. This album certainly leans more into harmonic minimal drone, that consists lots of acoustic elements. Very good and recommended!

UTON "Anno Mundi" 2xLP
Crazy Iris / Crissy 2015
Not so long ago his YKSI (hwn project) was moderately criticized using topics from French social turbulence along his noise works. He did indeed live in France for a while. Don't know how long, but I had impression he lived there quite long period? Double LP consists recordings done during years when he was living in France. Discogs lists style of releases to be: "Abstract, Rhythmic Noise, Ambient, Drone, Experimental, Noise, Musique Concrète"... haha. It is diverse, and it goes to many places, but I would still feel the experimental drone would cover most of things what happens here. It is never NOISE, but gets noisy. It is barely rhythmic noise, even if you will hear occasional loop or repeating pattern. This is good album from him and double LP worth of stuff, and could return to it instantly...

VÄKIPYÖRÄ "live in" 7" and "HER NAME WAS AVANT GARDE BUT ALL THE BOYS CALLED HER SATAN NUMBER TWO" 8" lathe cut
Some of these oddities of Finnish experimental sound, where presence is very minimal online. You can't find these Väkipyörä ep's listed from discogs, not really much of sound samples or where to contact even. Well, that is not entirely true of course. Those who are interested in ltd 30 copies lathe cut, can navigate here: https://flycatcher.fi/2019/11/04/act-21-vakipyora-her-name-was-avant-garde-but-all-the-boys-called-her-satan-number-two/
Both releases look as if you'd get some funny hats and goofing around with toy instruments, but it is surprisingly how.... I'm not sure if dark is right word here, but that was my first impression. Having slightly lo-fi drones and guitar sounds topped with samples, it ain't really industrial or power electronics by any means, but I was surprised that I first thought those genres rather than what covers made me expect! Both releases are short, and are odd exactly because of that. Someone putting out ep with this simple stuff. Not negative remark. I liked both!

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FreakAnimalFinland

This is perhaps matter of debate, if the Finnish experimental / electro acoustic music as a whole fits under topic of "playful" experimental music.

This compilation is not playful in ways of costumes and toy sound clatter, but it is experimental, it is certainly playful and even joyful. Very few artists here cross-over into darker and noisier side of Finn scene. Perhaps [owt-kri] and especially his harsh noise side project. Most of others you'd be more likely to hear from National broadcasting radio station experimental programs.

Those interested in what is going on in Finland, besides multiple noise compilations, couple weeks ago was published glass master Digipak CD in edition of 200, which is kind of anomaly in scene where seems to be no buying audience, heh.. but it has handful of noteworthy tracks:

https://unexplainedsoundsgroup.bandcamp.com/album/anthology-of-electroacoustic-music-from-finland

QuoteThere is a long tradition of Electroacoustic music in Finland beginning in the 1950's with the experimentation of tape music. Finland's first electronic musical instrument the "Sähkövalopiano" or "Electric Light Piano" was built before this in 1894. It was constructed in the Polytechnic Institute (now Aalto University) in Helsinki. Finland also has a tradition of blending archaic traditional music in the contemporary music scene. The Kalevala tradition for example dates back centuries before today and the instruments associated with it were used to accompany shepherds on their lonely watches, or village dance parties bringing joy and sense of belonging to communities. These musical traditions have been revitalised by being used in a modern context. Even with the emerging of new technologies to open new horizons for composing music, the avant garde movement and a plethora of new and continuously evolving music genres, the very root of Finnish Kalevala tradition has stayed alive and has been brought to the present, not only in its original form, but also being integrated into electroacoustic realm by the musicians willing to experiment. Rauno Nieminen, a master luthier of archaic instruments and a musician, explains this best: "An instrument or a musical culture can stay alive only if it will be adapted to the music that new generations are creating". This compilation is proof that the Finnish musical tradition and its instruments are still alive and taking steps to new sound territories.

Heikki Lindgren

Facts about electroacoustic music history in Finland from the studies of Petri Kuljuntausta.

Traditional instruments used in the record (among others): bowed lyre, overtone flute, kantele, jaw harp among others.

Highlights:
Hulva, mostly processed violin, with all sorts of shimmer-reverb drenched type of easy, yet nice methods.
Heikki Lindgren + Mika Rintala, distorted flute sounds and synthesizers creating neat multilayered textures that are drifting and oscillating. Especially flute is good, synths a bit too "line-in" vibe.
Heikki Lindgren + Rauno Nieminen - The forging of the Kantele is just as name says. Source sound kantele, processed with current day digital technology.

Critique would be that it appears clear that everything or pretty much everything here is recorded in ways people record "these days". While on Finnish noise compilation, you can hear plenty of variation of recording methods and overall sounds, the production values on the CD is pretty much similar despite sound and compositions vary. It all sounds generic computer mixed and edited contemporary production. In field of experimental, one would assume there is room for wider experimentation in production?

Perhaps Teemu Korpipää - Lokkiranta II is only track that takes advantage of slightly more lo-fi source materials, including field recordings with hissing quality that avoid sounding like big part of current day field recordings sound.

One track that seems totally out of place, is the 17+min psychedelic eastern mysticism reeking hippie jam of Kohellus. Not even atrocious in its genre, but very little if anything to do with "electro acoustic music" and also if talking about Finnish musical tradition and its instruments are still alive, this track is more like example of sound that is trademark of global and international and utterly generic.
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