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Written in fRoots issue 376, Oct 2014


PUHTI
Pahan Laulu
Kihtinäjärvi K3JCD005 (2014)

The opening explosive bellow-sounds followed by Kimmo Pohjonen/Antti Paalanen style melodeon-chugging suggests that this is going to be another in that Finnish avant-squeezebox genre.
     And to some extent it is, but as it progresses it morphs into a rather different, strongly atmospheric piece of work.
     Puhti is actually the duo of singer and melodeonist Anne-Mari Kivimäki and dancer Reetta-Kaisa Iles, but this is Anne-Mari’s project, arranged from her concert Pahan Laulu – The Song Of Evil, whose sound design was by Kimmo Pohjonen and Samuli Volanto. She and Reetta-Kaisa are joined by co-arrangers, co-producers and players Sväng’s Eero Grundström on sundry noise-makers and processing and Matti Laitinen on kanteles and further gadgetry.
     A calm female vocal over an ominous, expanding dronal backing with kantele and distortion; an insistent dance tune with electronically processed tap-stamp footwork grows muttering voices, becomes increasingly wild and turns into an edgy song refrain before grinding to a slowed-tape halt. Grainy vocal harmonies, asthmatically wheezing processed melodeon and a heavy pulse on the traditional Jumala Rankaisee – God’s Gonna Cut You Down.

www.puhti.eu


© 2014 Andrew Cronshaw
 

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