MATTI KARJALAINEN & UNTO LAINE

Electronissimo Avantgardissimo

LP / IKU-051

 

  

Released on vinyl LP in April 2018, together with 

labels Jumi Kustannus and Gafoni.

"Teoksen päälinja edustaa viime vuosituhannen puolella syntynyttä, mutta nyt jo kuopattua uusrahvaanomaista luomu-avantgardismia, joka itse valmistamillaan sähkötyökaluilla porautuu ajoittain hieman punaviiniltä tuoksuen syvälle undergroundin juurien tuolle puolen. Teoksen keskiö säteilee riemukasta vapauden tunnetta, koska sen rakenteita ei ole tiukasti - onneksemme ei edes löyhästi - köytetty sävellajeihin, rytmiikkaan, eikä muihinkaan perinteisen musiikkikulttuurin hikisiin toteemipaaluihin. Pystyssä päin se kuohuu raikkaasti pärskyen eteenpäin itselleen valitsemaansa kapeaa ja rosoista uomaa pitkin aina onnelliseen loppuun saakka."

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Matti Karjalainen - Acoustic guitar, bongo drums & percussion, vocal and mouth sounds, self made (analog) electronic circuits

Unto Laine - Electric guitar, flute, harmonica, percussion (including feet), vocal and mouth sounds, self made (analog) electronic circuits

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Recorded during a long weekend session at the laboratory of the Department of Electronics of Tampere University of Technology (TTKK) in August 1973. The whole work was done by using tape recorders, three signal generators, one digital noise generator, two microphones and a number of self made (analog) electronic circuits and different combinations of all these elements. All the ideas in these recordings, the producing, recording and mixing of the sound material, as well as the composition of the pieces Matti Karjalainen and Unto Laine, in August and September 1973.

Digitalization Matti Karjalainen, Espoo 1997; Pekka Poramo and Pekka Ruotsalainen, Tampere 2015. The digital finishing of the pieces and the remix of the pice 9 Unto Laine, Fiskars 2017. Mastering Risto Ylihärsilä. Cover design Sampo Karjalainen.

This work is dedicated to the memory of Matti Karjalainen

(1946-2010) and Risto Poramo (1951-2001).

Edition of 250 copies.

SOLD OUT


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KEMIALLISET YSTÄVÄT

Siipi Empii

LP / IKU-053

This album is also available in cassette format and 

digital download from Leaving Records.

Kemialliset Ystävät is a long running musical collective headed by Finnish multimedia artist Jan Anderzén. The groups rotating contributors include virtuosic musicians, sound artists, mad electronic music professors, field recorders, singers, amateurs and professionals. Ikuisuus presents the projects latest LP, entitled Siipi Empii (loosely translated from Finnish to A Wing Hesitates.) Anderzén explains, "The English translation unfortunately loses all the music and rhyme of the Finnish title but the meanings still there, kind of. The title is aiming to describe the movements of a butterfly and the weight/heat of the idea that every single flap of the wing can cause a storm/revolution." He has described the groups sound as sometimes "like an orchestra flying around in a tornado." These themes embody Siipi Empii, a wildly weird dose of electronic folk music crafted through sheer force of nature, an abstract organism guided gently by Anderzéns deft artistic touch.

A collaborative spirit can be heard throughout each of the albums twelve imaginative tracks. According to Anderzén, "The music stays alive only because of the input from my collaborators … The method produces half random, half directed sound events where independent elements intertwine into unpredictable music." As part of the process, he sends out "musical skeletons" to hiscollaborators. They then react and contribute their own sounds and ideas. One batch of skeletons came with a motivational letter including a quote from Johan Huizinga, below:

We moderns have lost the sense for ritual and sacred play. Our civilization is worn with age and too sophisticated. But nothing helps us to regain that sense so much as musical sensibility. In feeling music we feel ritual. In the enjoyment of music, whether it is meant to express religious ideas or not, the perception of the beautiful and the sensation of holiness merge, and the distinction between play and seriousness is whelmed in that fusion.

Siipi Empii's compelling arrangements do contain a playful edge that softens its more experimental tendencies. Unpredicability is the order of the day, as dogs bark, springs boing, and electronic woodwind sections deconstruct themselves over beds of contemplative marimbas. Disembodied voices recite touching poetry, just more instruments playing freely in the endlessly mutating stream of sound. Every element feels perfectly weighed and expertly arranged, as if by gravity itself. Anderzén says: "Battles with gravity are a recurring theme in my work, something to do with changing perceptions of normal." Siipi Empii is a joyous and playful paradox, beckoning you to embrace its loopy strain of intensely original expression.

Ikuisuus and Kemialliset Ystävät make sense together. Both
entities have a passion for blurring the lines of genre and
exploring creative new frontiers. In Anderzéns words, "The work needs to be free from predetermined themes or ambitions." Experimentation is the ideal, and the process is sacred. They strive to find a language to convey something that cant be expressed with words. You may hear and feel something you've never heard or felt before, and that is the aim. Perhaps Anderzén best encapsulates the album in his translation of the first tracks title: "Äimä is an
ancient word for a large needle with a big round hole. In an old Finnish saying äimä describes a reaction where ones jaw drops open in awe / confusion. Tähkä is an ear in the botanical meaning. So we are talking about some sort of potential for astonishment." 

Kemialliset Ystävät on Siipi Empii is Jan Anderzén 

with Marja Ahti, Niko-Matti Ahti, Francesco 

Cavaliere, Roope Eronen, Sam Hamilton, 

Jonna Karanka, Sami Pekkola, Petra Poutanen, 

Samuli Tanner, Antti Tolvi, 

 Jaakko Tolvi and Paul Wilson. 

Mastered by Matthewdavid.

Edition of 300 copies

15 € (+ shipping)

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BALDRUIN

Vergessene Träume 

LP / IKU-052

"It’s said that German philosopher Immanuel Kant hardly ever left his home town. Yet he managed to pull off some of the most influential thinking to date. How did he manage to do that? Well, a daily routine based on reasoning interrupted by long walks did the trick and – voilà! – another “Critique” was done!

Johannes Schebler’s body of work released under his Baldruin moniker may not exactly be as groundbreaking as the old geezer’s from Königsberg, but it’s fair to point out that his discipline is comparably versed and experienced when it comes to making his music. During the years past he hardly ever left town, avoided exhausting and time consuming nonsense such as touring and instead stayed inside preparing and releasing over a dozen albums since his first recordings back in 2009. He snuck out for a walk once in a while – especially to have a cheap lunch or dinner downtown – but other than that he kept himself busy watching Midnite Movies and messing around with a myriad of musical instruments. (And yes, an occasional painting was finished here and there, too!)

In short: Johannes is quite a regular guy following a well-arranged, unhurried 24/7 routine. Given this almost boring day in, day out one might wonder how he manages to piece together his colorful, imaginative and meticulously manufactured sonic miniatures? Well, it’s obviously that kind of untroubled artistic existence that leads to a mindset to create a slightly unsettling music quite far from the artist’s own experience. It’s not real, it’s phantasy. It’s art, it’s entertainment – and it’s meant to be fun. Keep in mind: Listening to „Vergessene Träume“ („Forgotten Dreams“) is like visiting a fairground’s Tunnel of Horror or a field trip to an other-worldly theme park: Tracks like „Begegnung im Labyrinth” („Encounter in the Maze“) or „Das Mysterium der Kreidefelsen“ („The Enigma of the Chalk Cliffs“) hint at the playful and surreal character of the music.

Music that is deeply informed by the colorful works of composers like Franco Battiato and the iconic and imaginative horror-movie soundtracks of Goblin („Susperia“) and the likes. So, don’t mistake Baldruin’s fanciful, vaudevillian approach with the omnipresent depressive and dystopian post-postmodern aesthetics. Baldruin’s far from being a bleak bloke and such is his music: It’s the brainchild of a rich, child-like imagination, a celebration of the comical ‘n creepy yet life-affirming forces in life. Enjoy the ride!"

Edition of 250 copies.

15 € (+ shipping)

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PINE SMOKE LODGE

Ex Libris

CS / IKASUS-056

Edition of 51 copies

6 € (+ shipping)

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NEW GALACTIC WINDOWS 2

compilation 

CS / IKASUS-055

 

NGW2 compilation tape is an unattached sequel to the first part of the series, that was released in 2014. Like its prequel, this compilation contains 60 minutes of previously unreleased music from 6 different artists/bands. The basis of the tracks was the name of the compilation, that each artist was given free hands to interpret in their own way. The end-result is a diverse collection of different tracks, that range from abstract representation to more straight-forward intonations and more rhythmical formations.

Edition of 100 copies.

5 € (+ shipping)

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NEW GALACTIC WINDOWS

compilation

CS / IKASUS-044

Second edition of this compilation, which
was originally released in 2014.

Including: Tsembla, Nuslux, Uton,
Olli Aarni, Tulasi, Varropas. 
Total: 60 minutes.

Edition of 40 copies.

5 euros (+ shipping)






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F. AMPISM

The Unstruck Sound Centre

LP / IKU-049

"Premiere loop-age and analogue slurping from Brighton’s F.Ampism. Put simply this record is a jitterbug in a bubbling pond, coz this collection of nine fine sound pieces are all about fluid movement and itchy digit fidgets. Songs like ‘The Loosest Caduceus’ ripple like time waves, setting off yeasty fireworks behind my eyes. ‘Sand/Blood/Glass’ becomes a relic from my formication nightmare. And ‘Absolute Beyond Ill’ drives gravity back into a wood-lined barrel. Oh yeah Ampish-man YEAH! The exotic is never far from your soft lugs in this particular sound centre – picture Colin McPhee dropping his early Gamelan recordings in rose water – the bronze gongs get sticky with heady perfume right? This record is the perfect partner for reflective fellowship and riotous merry making." 
 - Joe Posset / Radio Free Midwich blog

Edition of 250 copies.

13 € (+ shipping)

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ANTTI TOLVI

Church Organ

2x CS / 2x C70 / IKASUS-053

Recorded (one take, no overdubs) in old 
church of Kemiö, Finland 23.9.2015. 


Edition of 100 copies.

10 € (+ shipping)

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BLACK TRUMPETS

Blue Blew It 

CS / C40 / IKASUS-054

KEIJO VIRTANEN: guitar, vocal, mouth-harp, maraca 

ALEX REED: ukulele, bass, drums, volcas, c5, 
omnichord, organ, samples, backing vocals

 All music recorded at Keljo, Jyväskylä, Finland

5€ (+ shipping)

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BERSABEA
"The Newest Historic Site" 
LP / IKU-047
 

"Bersabea is a collaboration between Niko-Matti Ahti and Birgir Örn Jónsson. The music follows an open-ended inquiry. Improvisations, samples, voices, field recordings and other aural flotsam gets collaged into bite-size pop donuts, and vice versa. Niko-Matti and Birgir live in different countries in the northern hemisphere. The music is stitched together somewhere in between. Nothing is premeditated, nothing is arbitrary. Everything is playful, joy and terror abound. "The Newest Historic Site" is 
Bersabea's first full length."

Edition of 300 copies.

13€ (+ shipping)

BERSABEA website

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