Album of the Month: Viljami Kukkonen – Jos Rakkaus tapahtuu

viljami

I don’t know Viljami Kukkonen personally. We’ve briefly met once after a concert and that’s all. Still I feel some kind of spiritual companionship with him. It doesn’t really make sense I guess, but that’s how it is. That’s kind of how it has been ever since I first heard his debut album Mörönsyötti. There’s no way of denying that for me it’s one of the best albums ever released. Yeah, you can throw your Pet Sounds or Revolvers against my face, but no, not even close. These are subjective matters. Those things are truly wonderful and monumental, but there’s nothing there that could match the connection I have with Mörönsyötti. The kindness and overall warmness of that magical record is something that always comforts me and eases my troubled mind. The last months have been tough. I’ve battled with headaches and numbness on my limbs. A normal person probably wouldn’t freak out at all, because I’ve been told several times that there’s nothing wrong except a tension neck. But try telling that to my neurotic mind when the symptoms kick in and I should be able to sleep. That’s the moment when my mind is good at not believing what the neurologist say, but despite that vulnerable state of being, there’s something in the world that makes sense. I have a friend called Mörönsyötti that I can listen to and I believe him when he whispers that I will be alright. I suppose it’s kind of weird, because there’s definitely a bit of fragility in there as well, but it’s presented in such a kind fashion that the human weaknesses turn into strengths.

But enough about Mörönsyötti. Viljami Kukkonen has a new album called Jos Rakkaus tapahtuu and it’s another wonderful release. After that preview above, I assume you won’t take it negatively, if I say that this isn’t as important to me. Only a couple of albums have ever been that important, so it’s certainly no wonder that this one isn’t either. Nevertheless, I think this one is also absolutely brilliant and there’s still that highly personal connection as well. This next sentence doesn’t make much sense, but this kind of defines the person that I would like to be. Not that I could ever achieve such warmness. It just sounds so everlastingly beautiful to my ears. I can’t really describe it, but I can feel every note. I know that this is not a very informative post and I apologize for turning Viljami’s music into something way too subjective. That might be rather annoying and doesn’t even showcase the content of the album. So forget everything I said and just listen to this. Keinuta mua is probably my own favourite song on this one (love the backing vocals), but this is the wonderful opening track Joko lähdetään, one of the many highlights of this lovely album.

Viljami Kukkonen at Facebook

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Viljami Kukkonen – Jos Rakkaus tapahtuu

viljami

You might have been wondering where is that post about new Viljami Kukkonen album Jos rakkaus tapahtuu. This is not actually it, but I already put this beauty on that album of the month box in the right frame. I plan to write that album of the month piece about it sometime during my winter holiday (the first week of February). However, because I’m a big fan and still rate his debut as the finest Finnish album of the current decade, it felt wrong to ignore this new one for so long. So I wrote this quick piece just to say that it’s now out and available on CD & digital. Vinyl release should follow within a month or two. It’s a beautiful record and gives me much more pain relief than these red triangle pills that the doctor ordered. This is the opener Joko lähdetään. More about Jos rakkaus tapahtuu in early February.

Viljami Kukkonen at Facebook

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Video of the Day #155: Tomi Nordlund & Syvä Joki

nordlund

I’ve been meaning to write a little post about Tomi Nordlund & Syvä Joki for months. They are a fairly new Tampere-based group, but the members have been making great Finnish pop music for many years in various shapes and forms. Tomi Nordlund had Cry Bar, Antti Suonio fronted The Props, Mikko Levonen has a power pop duo Heartjet and Noora Porola is a member of the almighty Satan’s Fingers duo. And that’s far from everything. Anyway, Tomi Nordlund & Syvä Joki is a new folk rock group who released two songs last year. I especially like this second one Meidän aikaa that came out in December. Such a great song if you ask me. There’s something very Aknestik-ish in the end of that chorus, but I will always count that as a good thing.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQC2pzVpFP0]

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/181621417″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”100″ iframe=”true” /]
 
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/161963515″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”100″ iframe=”true” /]
 
Tomi Nordlund & Syvä Joki at Facebook

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Vähäsarja – Vähäsarja

vähäsarja

Vähäsarja’s debut album will see the light of the day next month when it comes out on Helmi Levyt. I’m really looking forward to this one. This guy isn’t just another good singer-songwriter. He stands out from the crowd in a good way. There’s something unique and captivating in his songs every time. I’ve only heard two songs from the forthcoming album so far, but I really like both of them. I’ll get back to this when the album arrives in February. Here are those first outtakes Lähden vuorille and Herra on mun kanssa.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mM9kA42VuA]

Vähäsarja at Facebook
Helmi Levyt Website

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