Friday, January 17, 2014

Höyry-Kone - Hyönteisiä Voi Rakastaa (1995 Ad perpetuam memoriam)



You can love insects, their second best album. J.E. Liljeström from Anekdoten (Sweden) brought H-K (Finland) and ADP (record label) together, when these two bands met in London at a pub after a David Allen concert. A short nice history behind to understand why this was recorded in Sweden, not in Finland.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra-jJb7idVE

Friday, January 10, 2014

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Khan - Space Shanty (1972 Decca this CD Esoteric)



So big positive surprise! Key words: Great Steve Hillage, National Health, egg, Hatfiled & North, Canterbury. It is a shame this album was once ignored by those who had money enough to buy albums and still is. This is better than many of those big English prog bands albums of 70s.  Canterbury!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ_toJNTEvQ

Anekdoten - From Within (1999)


Heja Sverige! Anekdoten sounds a bit like Coldplay or Radiohead but it does not disturb me too much. I used to like Coldplay and Radiohead but have got a bit bored with them lately. Anyway Anekdoten is not just an anecdote. On the whole they are a very classy group. There may be something KC -like sound scene too but not until their "Red", which btw is the top where KC finally grew and ended. There is one excellent track over the others on the album: "Hole". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE-ua2gwWfw

Uzva - Uoma (2006 Silenze CD)


Can't say which one is better Uoma or Niittoaika. They continue where they got it with Niittoaika and at first they sound a bit too smooth lounge music for my taste, but the two long pieces Arabian Ranta and Vesikko rise it on more interesting level and as a big Zappa fan i'm glad to hear there some sophisticated Zappa passages without sounding like aping Zappa at all. At times there are some Santana effects too.
Arabian ranta http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erNMw-xOP8A
Vesikko http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvvbFPxlP2U

Uzva - Niittoaika (2002 Silence CD)




Niittoaika=Harvest time is high quality Finnish canterbury scene music. They don't try to ape that style but make it sound fresh and modern. Along with Höyry-Kone, Uzva is one of the best jazz-folk-prog groups from Finland. In some passages Niittoaika unfortunately goes too near lounge music but even then it is very listenable lounge. People seem to hear there Mahavisnu, Zappa, KC, GG to mention some, but i hear just Uzva. Mostly fresh and clean.
Afrodite http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScWXu3Slz-E

Brainchild - Healing Of The Lunatic Owl (1970 A&M this CD Aurora)


Smooth and classy Chicago -style brass-prog for my taste. They were from Britain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZn81lXJvz4

Höyry-Kone - Huono Parturi (1995 Ad Perpetuam Memoriam)



Höyry-Kone's Huono Parturi is no doubt one of the best Finnish progressive rock albums. Tenor Topi Lehtipuu has later gained international reputation as one of Finlands huighly individual artists in the fields of opera. On this album they do their very own music even one may hear there some King Crimson echoes too. There are no weak passages on this slightly eccentic but solid masterpiece. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHMkPsRKme8