I picked up the following comment about “Juuristo” from the Facebook site of Jyrki Portin, the artist behind Aarniseppä: “I hope that the listener gets to experience something about the eternal charms of the forests on the album”. From an artistic perspective, Jyrki is not only a sound artist but has a particular interest in photographic art and so his world is visual. His living environment moreover is nature. As he puts it: “Old woods and swamps have always been my personal inner space”. “Juuristo”, which broadly translates as “Root System”, sets out to convey stories of the woods, the life of trees, their roots and fungal threads / mycelium, and the natural communication between trees. Jyrki explains that he also wanted to show the mysterious and mystic feeling that can be felt in woods, along with the resultant calmness and freedom to think more expansively. The range of musical tools that he uses is wide, and to this end Jyrki is supported by others in his Aarniseppä project. Predominantly electronic instruments are used along with woodwind instruments, gongs, bells and a ning-juh, which I now know is a Siberian stringed instrument. A very important element for sound artists in general, and in particular for a work with this theme, is field recordings which feature throughout.
“Juuristo” consists of three ambient pieces. The first, “Vanhan Metsän Sisin” (Inside The Old Forest) starts with a calming, penetrative drone. The buzzing sound reminds me strongly of my own experience of being in the forest in Malaysia and being surrounded by unidentified sounds. There is an intermittent voice, which kickstarts multiplying levels of intensity and spread of activity. The sounds, while electronic and ambient, in fact come across as a form of communication and at one point as song. The energy is palpable. Sound art rarely has tunes but here and there this does. The electronic sound in the background is as if someone or something is communicating or enunciating language. A bird-like cry passes through. I imagine any accompanying video to have a flower, or I guess given the theme, a tree root or plant in a state of growth. Make no mistake, this is highly experimental but its direction and output make it dynamic and gripping. An echoing voice passes through but the deep buzzing drone remains with faint fluty sounds and the sound of lapping water. Birds tweet above the deep and patient electronic movements. It’s an intriguing soundscape but one which reflects life through the busyness and the range of sounds. I hear the sounds of the swamp, dripping water, wind, echoes and clear signs of burgeoning life. Things are happening inside this old forest. This is almost saying that the old forest will never die as although this soundscape may be alien to humans and our conventional communication patterns, there is a tangible world of mystery which “Vanhan Metsän Sisin” represents. This world drifts along, punctuated by cries and always accompanied by that drone and deep, mysterious waves. As this twenty-four minute piece progresses, I sensed the onset of darkness and a wide range of internal and external forces entering the woods and spreading their array of influences and colours. It ends with a recognisable folksy flute section as if to cebrate the process we have been aurally witnessing. We are taken back into the woods with “Erakon Paluu Haapamaahan” (The Hermit’s Return to the Land of Aspen). Again it is dynamic. Sounds like electrical fields emanate as if something is trying to break through. The third piece is the title “Juuristo”. The gong sounds. Permanence is represented in the steady drone. But life in all its forms is depicted in the distorted electronic bird tweets. It’s interesting musically but the range of sounds emanating from the synthesiser and from the natural world make an exciting mix. The progress of sound is then machine-like as if something is being produced in a scientific way. It occurred to me that this music should go with Sir David Attenborough’s “Hidden Planet”. The difference is that instead of seeing on a TV screen bustling creatures or in this case tree roots and trees themselves, which are in a state of motion as they lead and develop their lives and those of the mycelium, here the music leads us to visualise this constant development through listening. Musically, it’s far out yet tangible as if we are encountering things which are living. While in a one-dimensional human way, it’s hard to make sense of these sounds, there are several living entities at work here. Musically, there are a few moments where the tonality resembles early Kraftwerk. We then head down the scale. The drone now sounds like a heartbeat. “Juuristo” develops in many directions, but always in a direction where there is the sense of developing life. The development is colourful. I didn’t find it gloomy or challenging at all. Through the music Aarniseppä represents action like a living being spreading its wings. And as its creator suggests, it is a mysterious and indeed mystical world that we’re experiencing. Unlike much sound art, which is based on loops and repetition, this comes across as more dynamic in its slow and thoughtful way. The layers of experimental sound define progress and interaction in nature. It is as we are witness to a new world developing. In the final section, the sounds expand to sound symphonic but above all majestic.
It’s perhaps a curious analogy but in Ephel Duath’s 2009 album “Through My Dog’s Eyes”, Davide Tiso invites us to take the perspective of a dog. Here Aarniseppä presents us with his appreciation of nature, the forest, the trees, their life, development and relationships. Clearly to experience all this one has to be there, and to some extent this is replicated with field recordings, but just as writing about music isn’t the same as music itself, this creation is an artistic extension and interpretation. Jyrki’s range of artistic projects, and his proximity to nature and trees, give him the advantage of a wider and closer perspective than simply an abstract concept. I sense Jyrki the photographer in this work. This is also reflected in the careful preparation of the artwork for this LP and the input of artist Riku Riipa and the photographer and daguerrotypist Jalo Porkkala. It then comes down to the listener. It’s very easy and I suppose inevitable to try to relate sounds to human experience. If I’d done that without adjustment, I’d have missed out on the direction and expanse of “Juuristo”. By opening up my mind I found that it was possible to relate to and enjoy the gamut of sounds coming from the forest. These are sounds that Aarniseppä has created with great expression. With sound recordings mixed with the predominantly electronic waves and artistic representation of life, the resultant output is vivid and thought-provoking.
What comes from the sounds of “Juuristo” is “life”. Imaginatively experimental, the sounds created are suggestive and do not belong to the text book of everyday life. It’s as if there’s a discussion going but not in human everyday language. The result is a vivid and mentally stimulating soundscape. Jyrki’s old forest is full of sounds, of interactions, of expanse, of things happening. This is a remarkable and dynamic work from Aarniseppä.
(9/10 Andrew Doherty)
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