Jyrki Portin, the artist behind Aarniseppä described his music, when I asked, as “a special mix of ambient, electroacoustic, jazz, prog, chamber music, field recordings, drone, folk and psychedelic”. But the story here transcends mere description. Just as an actor can bring to a scene or description from a book or script something that you didn’t realise was there, so too Finnish sound artists all have a wider story to tell, and here is no exception. Jyrki’s cv is remarkable. “Allonmurtaja”, which translates as “Breakwater”, is Aarniseppä’s seventh recording as a sound artist. It complements and integrates with Jyrki’s particular interest in photographic art, which has led to his work being displayed at countless groups, collaborative and solo exhibitions in his native Finland and across Europe. Jyrki isn’t one for social media promotion. His recourse to action lies in creating visually orientated sound art and determining his own boundaries. In line with Jyrki’s outlook on creating things that are visual and physical, the specially boxed limited edition “Aallonmurtaja” is a vinyl LP with a CD inside.
“Allonmurtaja” comprises two pieces: “Seita” and Meri Kartuu. “Seita” refers to a sacred place of the Sami people. A magical world of mystery unfolds. The echoing sound of dripping water accompanies the resonation of bell. A Mediterranean-style guitar passage creates a goose-bumping scene of tranquillity and beauty. The bells chime amid a ghostly background. It’s like standing in the middle of the woods as it is getting dark, with invisible wildlife all around. As with many sound artists, Aarniseppä calls in the sounds and impressions of nature. A melancholic tune is played. All the while the horn, the bells, the lapping water and electronic sound waves pass through and create an extraordinary atmosphere. A truly mystical and wondrous experience is being developed and expressed. Sound waves drift in and out, cascade, impose themselves. The momentary tweeting of birds and other life forms remind us of natural reality as this music sweeps along and fills the air. Seagulls mingle with the overriding extra-terrestrial immersion. The ambience transforms between the overriding force on the one hand and a quieter, supernatural element on the other, as if nature itself is reflecting. For much of this I the listener am less in a dream or trance than conscious of the cultivated depiction of a physical presence which Aarniseppä creates through this sequence and combination of sounds. “Seita” ends with us back in my imaginary forest and its life, but leaving us in no doubt of the surrounding spiritual presence. It is a powerful and welcome invasion of our consciousness.
The album has a number of renowned collaborators from the world of sound art. Aarniseppä’s tools are a number of analogue synthesisers, wind instruments including rare ones, self-built traditional folk instruments, guitars, Tibetan bowls, gongs, percussion, drums and field recordings. So it can be seen that through this wide collection of instruments, folk traditions combine with nature, creativity and a good deal of invention and imagination to create a world which is physical, life-affirming, mystical and spiritual.
The drone which passes through “Meri Kaartu” (The Sea is Curving) is reminiscent to my ears of being in a tropical forest with the ringing communication of the various living forms in there. For me, these are the sounds I’d hear when hiking through the jungle when climbing up Penang Hill in Malaysia. The drifting sound of bells add magic to the scene. It is a personal experience. Others will have a different impression of these suggestive sounds. I visualise a Buddhist temple, but it could be a wintry scene with icicles. Deep, minimalist sounds float over the quiet drone. It is a world of subtlety. Echoing sound waves guide us through this mysterious world. We could equally be at the bottom of the ocean, with the mysterious calls of sea life. There is some logic in this interpretation as Jyrki lives in the coastal town of Kokkola in the Ostrobothnian region close to the Baltic sea. It is for us to choose but whichever way you look at it, this ambient world transcends the everyday world and acts as a continuum of floating scenes which pass in front of us. It’s in fact quite scary as a sense of isolation develops in the wondrous and beautiful kingdom that Aarniseppä casts before us. Drifting, drifting … there is a deep sense of loneliness and sadness, yet the sound of birds tweeting reminds that there is life. The synthesised drone is sombre, fading away gradually as the birds and the gulls engage in communication. The music becomes darker and more deliberate. The distant and melancholic tones, always interrupted by the birds and accompanied by a low drone, are measured and allow us to reflect and contemplate this dark place, its life forms and its meaning. Again its calmness and ambience give a spiritual air. This is not a series of happenings. There’s no rush. The sound waves subtly communicate a state of living. It’s like breathing. It’s beautiful.
I make no secret of the fact that I enjoy sound art, although I can’t say I’m a fan of pure folk music, with which this can loosely be associated. What attracts me to it is its experimental nature and the invention, both in the sense of the artists’ choice and construction of instruments and of the wide-ranging musical sound patterns. Moreover, the fact that the music is linked to both the environment and to other artistic and domains gives it more definition and identity in a real-world, visual and audible sense and also in a spiritual way. “Aallonmurtaja” is all these things. Jyrki as the leader of Aarniseppä acts as our guide, invading our senses, capturing our imagination and painting pictures for us to fill in with our own interpretations. There were many of those, I found, as we participated in this journey. We are in the depths of nature and beyond, “Aallonmurtaja” is vivid, calming, disturbing, inspirational and thoughtful. In turn, it enables us to breathe and to reflect.
(9/10 Andrew Doherty)
https://ektrorecords.com/product/aarniseppa-aallonmurtaja-lp
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