AMN Reviews: Various Artists – Anthology of Electroacoustic Music From Finland (2023; Unexplained Sounds Group)

The sound mapping project continues, this time featuring odd and experimental music from Finland. The music herein is heavily acoustic with ample folk overtones, but well-grounded in tape music experimentation. Thus, there is a strong emphasis on blending conventional instrumentation with electronically-mediated sounds.

The leading track, Pekko Käppi’s Transrational Folk Song n.9, is a short piece based on a propulsive set of looped rhythms. Waves of synth and effects are in the foreground along with snippets of distorted guitar that grow into atmospheric wails.

Perhaps it does not scream “folk” to some ears, but one cannot help thinking of that label for Kohellus’s 17-minute Kalanvihreä. Muted acoustic strings combine with spacey synth melodies and drones. This evolves into flute-driven themes, summing up to analog warmth with a retro feel.

Heikki Lindgren contributes two pieces, each with a different collaborator. The forging of the Kanteleis with Rauno Nieminen is an amalgam of processing and drones with acoustic instruments, but includes rather unusual and fractured timings. Kirkkoherra Penkoi Arkistoja with Mika Rintala begins with ominous bass accompanied by crackling and rubbing noises as well as instrument-generated abstractions. By the midpoint, improv centered on horns, strings, and synth has taken over

Aarniseppä also provides a pair of recordings. Dance of the Gnomes includes tribal percussion, bursts of sax, twisted strings, and breathy but echoing patterns of synth and effects. The sheer weirdness of this track makes it compelling. The Swan Cult begins with recordings of said birds in dialog with a sax. But it quickly transforms into open-ended improv with conventional rock drumming, and then into rough-edged drones and effects.

Rounding out the compilation are efforts from Teemu Korpipää involving sparse smatterings of tuned percussion, Hulva’s blending of field recordings and chamber music, and [ówt krì]’s dark atmospheres, jaw harp, and throat singing.

Anthology Of Electroacoustic Music From Finland is another distinct and compelling entry in the sound mapping project. As with many of the other releases featuring music from a particular geography, this album is heavily influenced by local traditions. But the tracks herein also reflect Finland’s lesser-known penchant for experimenting with electroacoustic. The result is weird and wonderful. Highly recommended.