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Cassette
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FTR 394CS
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"Five years after the magnificent Valosta Valoon LP (FTR 331LP, 2017), Finnish multi-instrumentalist, Niko Karlsson is back with a new swab of sound that is even more organic than its predecessor. This time out the focus is more on acoustic strings and percussion, with a minimum of machine-driven sounds, even when things get cinematically tense (especially on the B-side). But the bulk of Niko's new tape (which he had first suggested be released sans any artist info) is a mesmeric assemblage of small gestures that feel something like a meditation exercise taking place in the great outdoors. Acoustic strings swirl around your head like a flock of soft ravens, then expand spectral fingers to search your spine for arcane gifts. Gongs ignite barely visible fires in the distance. And you start to quiver until the earth shakes. That said, there are certainly a few more ominous passages where the sound gathers up more like storm clouds than sunshine, but the shade these portions cast are ultimately transitory. The music on Its Own Phantom has a charmed ruralist glow that is sure to delight wanderers of many stripes. So pick a fork. Any fork. The kingdom of heaven is within you." --Byron Coley, 2022
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LP
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FTR 331LP
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"Viewed from the American sub-underground (aka our headquarters), the Finnish scene always looks like a haven of freaks. Surely there are lots of dull rock, pop, and rap outfits from this chilly and heavily forested country, but they don't get exported, so we don't have to hear them. The Finnish bands we've known and loved are psych, prog, hardcore, free jazz, and post-form monsters of all shapes and sizes. A new name to add to the list of Deadly Finns (thanks, Eno) is Niko Karlsson. Well, not entirely new. He had a few very good and different bands called Navigations, Orange Hora, and Altaat (all of whom have recordings out there) and also cut a solo CDR for Spirit of Orr back in 2012. He also plays now and then in Lau Nau's band, and plays a little banjo and guitar on the latest Kiila LP (Näköpiirin Rajolla on Alt.vinyl). But Valosta Valoon ("Light to Light") is his first solo vinyl, so we think of it (in a way) as his debut to the wider world, and it is fully cooked. The sound is a mingling of guitar, percussion, and electronics, all swirled into an abstract sluice of music that hangs at the edge of consciousness. The music was recorded over a five year period (2011-2016) but it has that undateable quality we all love. Drones run into feedback surges run into gentle clamor, and on and on and on. There are a few parts that make me think of something Ben Chasny might have done if he'd found just the right psychedelics, but most of the record is beautiful surges of unique brain pummel. As sweet as ice." --Byron Coley, 2017 Edition of 300.
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