Fonal Records is a Finnish independent label run by Sami Sänpäkkilä that began releasing mainly domestic music in 1995. Fonal has a catalog of over 50 experimental, folk, ambient and popular music releases and has organized concerts for its artists across Europe and North America. Artists include internationally-acclaimed bands such as Kemialliset Ystävät, Islaja, Es, Kiila, Risto, TV-Resistori and Paavoharju, among others. Fonal has received broad attention in media outlets such as The Wire, Pitchfork Media, The New York Times, Dusted, Foxy Digitalis and WMFU, just to name a few.
Most Fonal CDs are housed in cardboard packages that Fonal has designed and manufactured in Finland. The size is the same as a jewel case or digipak, but contains no plastic.
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FR 101CD
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Hem. Någonstans is the fourth album by Lau Nau. This time she takes us to the fleeting borderline between contemporary classical and experimental music, true to her idiosyncratic style. The electroacoustic orchestrations pilot the listener through an archipelago of cloud constellations to rest on massive pillows of sound. Pekko Käppi, the emperor of the jouhikko (a traditional Finnish string instrument), plays all of the string arrangements on Hem. Någonstans. The album is an instrumental soundtrack to Lotta Petronella's 2015 documentary HOME. Somewhere, a boldly poetic film that takes place on the most remote islands of Finland, asking the question, "Will the human soul ever find a home?" Lau Nau's music adds its soul to the film and acts as its fourth character, alongside the three main subjects. Laura Naukkarinen aka Lau Nau (born 1980) is one of the more interesting names in the Finnish music scene. She composes, records, and produces her music mainly by herself. Her first solo albums were released in the US by Locust Music (Kuutarha (2004) and Nukkuu (2008)), and she has been touring the world ever since. Lau Nau began composing film music by accompanying silent films and contemporary dance and theater. Her original score for Jan Forsström's 2013 film Silmäterä (The Princess of Egypt) was nominated for a Jussi Award for Best Music, and her 2012 album Valohiukkanen (FR 088CD/LP) was nominated for the Teosto Prize, one of the most prestigious art prizes in the Nordic countries. At the time of this release, Lau Nau tours and plays concerts in a family-friendly tempo and accompanies silent films while working on her next album and preparing compositions for theater.
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FR 099CD
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The long-awaited debut album by Olimpia Splendid gives the listener that familiar, hypnotic, and noisy electric guitar music that the band first showcased in 2013 with the Nuttu Nurin 7" EP (FR 093EP). The six compositions on Olimpia Splendid sweep the listener along right from the beginning, as the magical, rough sound pierces consciousness. Olimpia Splendid was founded in the summer of 2010 in Finland's capital, Helsinki. Out-of-tune guitar-and-vocal music with drum machine loops composed and performed by Heta Bilaletdin, Jonna Karanka, and Katri Sipiläinen, each of whom was educated at Finnish art schools. Recorded at Studio Orvokka, Helsinki, in winter 2013 on eight-track and mixed on reel-to-reel tape by Ari Salonen. Mastered by Rashad Becker.
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FR 097LP
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Goodiepal or Gaeoudjiparl van den Dobbelsteen, whose real name is Parl Kristian Bjørn Vester, is a controversial Danish/Faroese musician and composer. The eccentric and self-made Goodiepal has influenced the course of modern music through radical excursions into computer technology and media art. Until recently, he has been employed as a teacher at DIEM (Danish Institute for Electroacoustic Music) at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, Denmark. Goodiepal declared intellectual war against the stupidity in modern computer music and media art, which is to say against The Royal Academy of Music, when he quit the job in 2008. As of 2012 he lives somewhere in Europe and is married to the road. Fonal Records releases a live recording from 2000 in Roskilde. The package is a luxurious double picture vinyl that comes with a four-page 30x30cm insert.
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FR 096CD
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Formed in the early days of the current decade, Jarse are a power duo from Turku who swear by the name of psychedelic minimalism. Det gar runt igen is the band's meticulously-honed debut album -- one that has been nearly finished for years but, owing to a number of unlucky coincidences, hasn't seen the light of day until now. Among the stand-out moments on the album are a five-minute guitar solo, the longest yet on a Fonal release, as well as the title-track, which redefines the Swedish-language psychedelia in Finland. These are the tools with which Jarse blaze the trail for the psychedelic revolution. The album also features colleagues from related outfits Kiila and Shogun Kunitoki, and it was mastered by Risto Ylihärsilä of label-mates Risto. As a band, Jarse didn't materialize out of thin air: the members have served time in other bands such as Shogun Kunitoki, Kiila, Pymathon, Kemialliset Ystävät, Taco Bells, Dimi's Re-connected (who operate Erkki Kurenniemi's erstwhile instruments) and Pollot. During their short existence, Jarse have toured extensively beyond the band's native borders, enrapturing audiences in Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, France, Switzerland, Britain, the Netherlands and Belgium, as well in as all the Nordic countries, Iceland included. The band has visited most of these countries more than once. Jarse shows feature a self-built lighting system synchronized with sound and other measurable vibrations. The stereoscopic cover art was made using the cross-eye technique. For practical reasons, the artwork has been left for the end user to finish. To achieve the intended effect, remove the record itself and place the empty cover on something soft. If you bought a CD, open the cover. When you observe the cover, you'll see several numbered crosses. Stick a pin into each cross, using a different color for each number. Don't push the pins all the way down; the appropriate depth is up to each album buyer's personal preference. As a result, you'll have created a stereoscopic installation. If you wish, you can also do this using pins from the official Jarse pin collection, sold separately. Jarse are currently working on a follow-up to their debut, a full-length soundtrack to the movie classic Conan the Barbarian (1982).
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FR 096LP
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LP version. Formed in the early days of the current decade, Jarse are a power duo from Turku who swear by the name of psychedelic minimalism. Det gar runt igen is the band's meticulously-honed debut album -- one that has been nearly finished for years but, owing to a number of unlucky coincidences, hasn't seen the light of day until now. Among the stand-out moments on the album are a five-minute guitar solo, the longest yet on a Fonal release, as well as the title-track, which redefines the Swedish-language psychedelia in Finland. These are the tools with which Jarse blaze the trail for the psychedelic revolution. The album also features colleagues from related outfits Kiila and Shogun Kunitoki, and it was mastered by Risto Ylihärsilä of label-mates Risto. As a band, Jarse didn't materialize out of thin air: the members have served time in other bands such as Shogun Kunitoki, Kiila, Pymathon, Kemialliset Ystävät, Taco Bells, Dimi's Re-connected (who operate Erkki Kurenniemi's erstwhile instruments) and Pollot. During their short existence, Jarse have toured extensively beyond the band's native borders, enrapturing audiences in Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, France, Switzerland, Britain, the Netherlands and Belgium, as well in as all the Nordic countries, Iceland included. The band has visited most of these countries more than once. Jarse shows feature a self-built lighting system synchronized with sound and other measurable vibrations. The stereoscopic cover art was made using the cross-eye technique. For practical reasons, the artwork has been left for the end user to finish. To achieve the intended effect, remove the record itself and place the empty cover on something soft. When you observe the cover, you'll see several numbered crosses. Stick a pin into each cross, using a different color for each number. Don't push the pins all the way down; the appropriate depth is up to each album buyer's personal preference. As a result, you'll have created a stereoscopic installation. If you wish, you can also do this using pins from the official Jarse pin collection, sold separately. Jarse are currently working on a follow-up to their debut, a full-length soundtrack to the movie classic Conan the Barbarian (1982).
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FR 098CD
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Fonal Records present the debut album by Pöllöt. Pöllöt are a Finnish rock band formed in Turku in 2012. Previously, the band has released a tape called Ekat demot (trans. "Early Demos") and played shows in Finland. Despite their brief history, the band have caused a stir in the music press and won over audiences up and down the country. Their music is a combination of the effortless joy of playing together and their catchy lyrics and melodies. The lyrics are boldly experimental little stories, adventures in the mysteries of daily life. Mood-wise, the material ranges from upbeat rock songs to rather more peaceful numbers. The members of Pöllöt have in the past played in bands such as Cats On Fire, The New Tigers, Lau Nau, Kiila, Jarse, Barry Andrewsin Disko, Goodnight Monsters and Kauppilan Puutarha. Jaakko Tolvi (guitar and vocals), Janne Kauppinen (guitar and vocals), Markus Jalonen (bass), Ville Hopponen (drums) and Jukka Herva (keyboard and vocals) have, between them, played on dozens of releases. There are three vocalists in Pöllöt. "Tapetaan aikaa," sung by Jaakko Tolvi, is a real Pöllöt rocker with a murder-story lyric to boot, while "Valonsateet," sung by Janne Kauppinen, is a beautiful little pop tune. The album closer "Sade loppuu" is a multi-part mini-epic about making jam. Even though the songs have been carefully written and arranged, there's plenty of space for improvisation and surprises. The music of Pöllöt sounds as though it has always been there. Pöllöt recorded their debut album in August 2013 at Aanikuva Studios in Turku. The album was mixed and produced by Jari Suominen (of Shogun Kunitoki/Jarse fame). The mastering was done by Samuli Tanner. In the studio, the aim was to capture the idiosyncratic sound of Pöllöt. The album cover was designed and created by Timo Marila.
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FR 098LP
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LP version. Fonal Records present the debut album by Pöllöt. Pöllöt are a Finnish rock band formed in Turku in 2012. Previously, the band has released a tape called Ekat demot (trans. "Early Demos") and played shows in Finland. Despite their brief history, the band have caused a stir in the music press and won over audiences up and down the country. Their music is a combination of the effortless joy of playing together and their catchy lyrics and melodies. The lyrics are boldly experimental little stories, adventures in the mysteries of daily life. Mood-wise, the material ranges from upbeat rock songs to rather more peaceful numbers. The members of Pöllöt have in the past played in bands such as Cats On Fire, The New Tigers, Lau Nau, Kiila, Jarse, Barry Andrewsin Disko, Goodnight Monsters and Kauppilan Puutarha. Jaakko Tolvi (guitar and vocals), Janne Kauppinen (guitar and vocals), Markus Jalonen (bass), Ville Hopponen (drums) and Jukka Herva (keyboard and vocals) have, between them, played on dozens of releases. There are three vocalists in Pöllöt. "Tapetaan aikaa," sung by Jaakko Tolvi, is a real Pöllöt rocker with a murder-story lyric to boot, while "Valonsateet," sung by Janne Kauppinen, is a beautiful little pop tune. The album closer "Sade loppuu" is a multi-part mini-epic about making jam. Even though the songs have been carefully written and arranged, there's plenty of space for improvisation and surprises. The music of Pöllöt sounds as though it has always been there. Pöllöt recorded their debut album in August 2013 at Aanikuva Studios in Turku. The album was mixed and produced by Jari Suominen (of Shogun Kunitoki/Jarse fame). The mastering was done by Samuli Tanner. In the studio, the aim was to capture the idiosyncratic sound of Pöllöt. The album cover was designed and created by Timo Marila.
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FR 091CD
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In 1910, the illustrator George Herriman created the Krazy Kat comic strip. Ignatz, a vicious mouse, was Krazy Kat's arch enemy, and his favorite pastime was to throw bricks at Krazy Kat's head (who misinterpreted the mouse's actions as declarations of love). Brussels-based artist Bram Devens uses Ignatz as his alter-ego, and comes armed with his own pile of bricks; sparse, emotive songs born of the human condition, wrapped in effects, corroded by tape, driven forth by improvisation and spontaneity. Can I Go Home Now? is Ignatz's first Fonal release, but it is his fifth full-length album -- his seventh if you count the Kraak 2011 cassette compilation and 2010's Mort aux Vaches live LP on Staalplaat. Recorded in Schaarbeek, Brussels, Belgium between 2011 and 2012 on four-track and computer, the album sees Devens shift his focus toward more exclusively song-based compositions, cut largely from unabridged electric and acoustic guitar. Ignatz's songs stem from a familiar stripped folk framework, with Devens' delivery recalling the louche primitivism of V.U. or Henry Flynt -- but these songs sound inverted, cast adrift, their cool touch belying a stymied heat beneath the surface. Where Devens' fretwork is adorned, it is executed with a refined coarseness. Autonomous loops entwine each other. Songs brush past percussion, bass notes, or a scant keyboard motif. A voice recedes from the heart of the song into a dislocated, cracked drawl. And yet if Ignatz does occasionally recall the ghost of Jandek, there are moments of warmth and beauty, as sunlight glistens on the ice. Devens' personal experiences echo throughout the album's artwork and the title itself, as well as the music. "The artwork is a drawing of a dog, a boxer called Gibbe. It is a drawing by myself from 1994 made in Budapest, Hungary, just after Gibbe died at the age of 13 from meningitis. A family holiday went bad. Because we did not want to leave him in Hungary we decided to wrap him in plastic and tie him on the roof of the car and drive back to Belgium (which took us 2 days and the body started to smell). This was the last holiday I spent with my parents, and this moment defined the end of my childhood, more than any other." Ignatz has toured Europe, the United States, Canada, and Japan, playing with, amongst others US Girls, Ducktails, Six Organs Of Admittance, Heatsick, Sir Richard Bishop, Chris Forsyth, Es, LSD March, Greg Malcolm, and Bridget Hayden.
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FR 091LP
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LP version. In 1910, the illustrator George Herriman created the Krazy Kat comic strip. Ignatz, a vicious mouse, was Krazy Kat's arch enemy, and his favorite pastime was to throw bricks at Krazy Kat's head (who misinterpreted the mouse's actions as declarations of love). Brussels-based artist Bram Devens uses Ignatz as his alter-ego, and comes armed with his own pile of bricks; sparse, emotive songs born of the human condition, wrapped in effects, corroded by tape, driven forth by improvisation and spontaneity. Can I Go Home Now? is Ignatz's first Fonal release, but it is his fifth full-length album -- his seventh if you count the Kraak 2011 cassette compilation and 2010's Mort aux Vaches live LP on Staalplaat. Recorded in Schaarbeek, Brussels, Belgium between 2011 and 2012 on four-track and computer, the album sees Devens shift his focus toward more exclusively song-based compositions, cut largely from unabridged electric and acoustic guitar. Ignatz's songs stem from a familiar stripped folk framework, with Devens' delivery recalling the louche primitivism of V.U. or Henry Flynt -- but these songs sound inverted, cast adrift, their cool touch belying a stymied heat beneath the surface. Where Devens' fretwork is adorned, it is executed with a refined coarseness. Autonomous loops entwine each other. Songs brush past percussion, bass notes, or a scant keyboard motif. A voice recedes from the heart of the song into a dislocated, cracked drawl. And yet if Ignatz does occasionally recall the ghost of Jandek, there are moments of warmth and beauty, as sunlight glistens on the ice. Devens' personal experiences echo throughout the album's artwork and the title itself, as well as the music. "The artwork is a drawing of a dog, a boxer called Gibbe. It is a drawing by myself from 1994 made in Budapest, Hungary, just after Gibbe died at the age of 13 from meningitis. A family holiday went bad. Because we did not want to leave him in Hungary we decided to wrap him in plastic and tie him on the roof of the car and drive back to Belgium (which took us 2 days and the body started to smell). This was the last holiday I spent with my parents, and this moment defined the end of my childhood, more than any other." Ignatz has toured Europe, the United States, Canada, and Japan, playing with, amongst others US Girls, Ducktails, Six Organs Of Admittance, Heatsick, Sir Richard Bishop, Chris Forsyth, Es, LSD March, Greg Malcolm, and Bridget Hayden.
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FR 093EP
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Olimpia Splendid are Heta, Jonna, and Katri, an all-female trio from Finland. They formed the band in 2010, having also played in the likes of Toblerones, Bananas, Snällas Blood, Hertta Lussu Ässä, Hockey Night, and Kuupuu. Nuttu Nurin, their debut 7" offering on Fonal Records, is comprised of three exclusive, interlocking tracks. The album is a murky collage of live recordings and rehearsal jams, bearing witness to a band in their element.
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FR 092LP
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Antti Tolvi is a self-taught, multi-talented musician. He has played in numerous bands including Lau Nau, Rauhan Orkesteri, and Lauhkeat Lampaat. Born in 1977 in Panelia on the west coast of Finland, he began making music with his brothers, untutored. From 2000-2001 he studied classical Indian music in Varanasi, and this marked a turning point in his perception of music. On returning to his native Finland, he became embroiled in free jazz for a number of years, until a recent relocation to the countryside pushed him ever more towards solo improvisation -- deriving inspiration from, in Antti's own words, "harmonies, overtones, going into sound, no ends, no starts, from nothing comes something, just perfect, peace." Pianoketo can be seen as a culmination of Antti's musical experiences to date. Featuring three extended meditations on a theme, all played on solo piano, it is a sound that defies categorization, with nods towards classical, avant-garde, improvisation, psych, free jazz, and Indian music. A shimmering flux of tones and harmonies, each of Pianoketo's pieces seem to collect notes as they gather momentum, expanding and shifting form as Antti breathes life into them. At times, it is almost as if there are two instruments, the overtones working like feedback, playing counter-melodies as notes weave through each other. Antti's technique combines neatly with the personality of the instrument to convey an evocative, psychedelic nostalgia. He expands: "This record was recorded with binaural microphones, attached to the players' ears. While playing, as you move your body or head, there is a 'flanger' effect -- that's why the overtones are really flying. There's no overdubs, effects, or EQ. My main instruments have been saxophones, clarinets, flutes, and all kinds of wind instruments. On Pianoketo, I play piano as I play saxophone, just using 11 notes. Because I don't have to blow, I can focus more on other things. And actually soon I don't have to focus on anything, just listen to what my fingers are doing. It's amazing to find new melodies, harmonies, drones, rhythms, or whatever. And then I can follow that for a while, and then just let go and wait for a new direction. This piano had not been played for more than 40 years, so the tuning had dropped 'a little.' I tuned some notes, to get more overtones. Most of the notes have found their own resting place over the years, just resonating in sounds and vibes at Grandma's."
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FR 090CD
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Eeliks:en aka Eelis Mikael Salminen is a seven year-old boy in his first year at primary school. He also studies at Sara Hilden Academy's fine art school. He learned to read when he was three years old. His favorite bands include The Beatles, AC/DC, Beastie Boys, Robin, Kiss, Rolling Stones, Pikkuoravat and Prodigy. His favorite foods are lasagna, fish-sticks and salmon. Eelis began recording his album on his dad's iPhone, trying to make the songs as consistent as possible, but unfortunately he failed at his first attempt. Soon after though, he recorded more music because "his dad made him." He describes his music as a mix between electronic and dance music, and thinks the only one who might like it is (musician and Fonal head-honcho) Sami Sänpäkkilä. He sings in gibberish and in English. The album Suutre Teiter also features appearances from his little brother Niilo and friends Kalle, Siena and Oscari. Eeliks:en has declined to do live concerts. His explanation was simply: "I don't want to be Robin." (Robin is approximately the Finnish equivalent of Justin Bieber).
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FR 088CD
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Recorded in 2011 on Kemiö Island, in Turku, Tampere and Stockholm, this is Lau Nau's long-awaited third LP, Valohiukkanen. An articulate work of delicate beauty featuring nine new Lau Nau originals and one cover version, it is adorned by an array of instrumentation, and enhanced by the integration of rhythm and percussion -- a thing rarely heard on Lau Nau albums. Although it's safe to say the mood is still firmly rooted in the shadowy side of life, we are occasionally taken to a disco -- yet that, too, sounds as if it may have been organized by Death. Tonally and texturally rich and immersive, the new record includes contributions from Pekko Käppi on jouhikko, Jaakko Tolvi on drums, Antti Tolvi on bass and alto clarinet, Kristian Holmgren on guitar, synths and percussion and Matti Bye on grand piano and celesta. The cover photographs were taken by renowned Finnish photographer Susanna Majuri, as part of her "Imaginary Homeland" series. Lau Nau is the musical alias and persona of Laura Naukkarinen. Her debut album, Kuutarha, won acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork and Dusted, with The Wire naming the LP amongst their top 50 albums of 2005, and citing her Philadelphia show of that year amongst "60 concerts that shook the world." Valohiukkanen continues the path laid down by her previous records, but if her psych-folk roots are still visible then the branches are further reaching, the music imbued with a timeless, cinematic breadth of vision. Retaining her penchant for a fragile, spectral other-ness, these 10 interrelated snapshots draw the listener towards Naukkarinen's idiosyncratic, finely-honed sound-world, unconsciously paralleling other luminaries such as Smog, Sigur Rós, or Linda Perhacs with her singular sense of purpose.
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FR 089LP
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Goodiepal or Gæoudjiparl van den Dobbelsteen, whose real name is Parl Kristian Bjørn Vester, is a controversial Danish/Faroese musician and composer. The eccentric and self-made Goodiepal has influenced the course of modern music through radical excursions into computer technology and media art. Until recently he has been employed as a teacher at DIEM (Danish Institute for Electro-acoustic Music) at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, Denmark. Goodiepal declared intellectual war against the stupidity in modern computer music and media art, which is to say against The Royal Academy of Music, when he quit the job in 2008. As of 2012, he lives somewhere in Europe and is married to the road. Narc Beacon was first released in 2001 on CD format and in 2003 on a double LP picture vinyl with music on each A-side and etchings on each B-side. The vinyl quickly became a collector's item, commanding high prices on the second hand market shortly after it was sold out. A few extras were kept in a basement in Paris in order to compensate for the high prices which were expected. These are now available for sale and released on Fonal Records along with a brand-new gatefold sleeve by Finnish artist Pauliina Mäkelä.
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LP version. Recorded in 2011 on Kemiö Island, in Turku, Tampere and Stockholm, this is Lau Nau's long-awaited third LP, Valohiukkanen. An articulate work of delicate beauty featuring nine new Lau Nau originals and one cover version, it is adorned by an array of instrumentation, and enhanced by the integration of rhythm and percussion -- a thing rarely heard on Lau Nau albums. Although it's safe to say the mood is still firmly rooted in the shadowy side of life, we are occasionally taken to a disco -- yet that, too, sounds as if it may have been organized by Death. Tonally and texturally rich and immersive, the new record includes contributions from Pekko Käppi on jouhikko, Jaakko Tolvi on drums, Antti Tolvi on bass and alto clarinet, Kristian Holmgren on guitar, synths and percussion and Matti Bye on grand piano and celesta. The cover photographs were taken by renowned Finnish photographer Susanna Majuri, as part of her "Imaginary Homeland" series. Lau Nau is the musical alias and persona of Laura Naukkarinen. Her debut album, Kuutarha, won acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork and Dusted, with The Wire naming the LP amongst their top 50 albums of 2005, and citing her Philadelphia show of that year amongst "60 concerts that shook the world." Valohiukkanen continues the path laid down by her previous records, but if her psych-folk roots are still visible then the branches are further reaching, the music imbued with a timeless, cinematic breadth of vision. Retaining her penchant for a fragile, spectral other-ness, these 10 interrelated snapshots draw the listener towards Naukkarinen's idiosyncratic, finely-honed sound-world, unconsciously paralleling other luminaries such as Smog, Sigur Rós, or Linda Perhacs with her singular sense of purpose.
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FR 085CD
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Barry Andrewsin Disko is a pseudonymn of Jukka Herva. Hailing from Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland and the current home of Santa Claus, Jukka now lives now in Turku, Finland. Barry Andrewsin Disko (trans. "Barry Andrews' Disco") doesn't have anything to do with XTC's keyboard player or the Irish politician of the same name. The moniker comes from Christmas albums Jukka made as a teenager as presents for his buddies, a wryly humorous acronym that belies the care and attention to detail that has become synonymous with the name. These are the roots of his music that you can now hear on his debut album Kuka siellä? (trans. "Who's There?"). B.A.D.'s music is a multilayered, wobbly, hissy, filtered take on pop. Jukka utilizes a variety of instruments, from '80s synths, to samplers, drum machines, drums, cassettes and guitars, to name a few. In Finland, he is often cited as being a cross between Risto and Paavoharju. He also shares similarities with the open-hearted pastoral psychedelia of Syd Barrett (or perhaps more specifically, cult Finnish psych legend Pekka Streng) and Animal Collective in their most lo-fi form. Jukka has been recording the material for this album steadily, and without any specific plan for a release, for a number of years. The inception of the album was when Fonal offered Jukka a recording deal in late 2011, and Jukka and label boss Sami Sänpäkkilä began an intuitive, collaborative selection process from a shortlist of almost 20 songs. A compendium of sorts, some of the songs date to the early '00s. The cover is scanned from original woodcuts made by Kaisa Kunelius. They are abstract, but you can feel they effectively portray the themes of the album -- dreams, nature, tiredness, obmutescence and melancholy. "Kemijoki tulvii" (trans. "The River of Kemi Floods") deals with memories from Jukka's childhood, and is a farewell to his hometown of Rovaniemi and "Viime yönä" (trans. "Last Night") is a child-like song about sleeping that feels almost like a Michel Gondry movie in song-form. "Yö seuraa yötä" (trans. "Night Follows the Night") is Jukka's nocturne -- painting images of the Lapland and the polar night. So far, B.A.D. has released two cassettes and played concerts in Finland, Estonia and at the By:larm festival in Norway, gathering acclaim across Finland's music media.
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FR 087LP
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Vähän multaa päälle (trans. "Put a Little Dirt On Top") is a compilation on vinyl featuring exclusive tracks from bands that reside in Tampere, Finland. It was commissioned by the art exhibition Tampere 5th Triennial as a part of their exhibition catalog. Fonal only has 250 copies for sale, so it will definitely be a sought-out collector's item! The amazingly detailed LP covers are done by a fine artist from Tampere, Seela Dahlman. The LP features five artists. Motelli Skronkle is a legendary band that released three albums in the '90s and was founded by theater actors Hannu Raatikainen, Esko Varonen and the late Markku Peltola, who also acted in the Aki Kaurismäki movie The Man Without The Past. Veli-Petteri Rajanti had joined the band already before the first release in 1987. On this compilation, we hear the first new material from the band in over 10 years. Pekko Käppi is a well-known neo-folk artist in Finland and released his latest album Vuonna 86 in 2010. Ville Leinonen has released a multitude of albums, and three are on the Fonal Records catalog. On this compilation, we hear a more ambient and experimental track. Death Hawks is a bluesy, noisy rock group that put out their debut album in Finland. They've gone the way of Sun City Girls on this compilation with a three-part psychedelic trip. Tuusanuuskat, who released their debut album in 2011 on Fonal has made their most danceable track to date, a 9-minute dancefloor tune with experimental flavors added.
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FR 084CD
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This is the long-awaited CD release of Dolphins Into The Future's acclaimed cult 2009 LP ...On Sea-Faring Isolation, an album previously released on cassette by Lieven Martens' own label, Cetacean Nation, and on vinyl by Not Not Fun. In addition to the original tracklisting, the Fonal reissue includes a 15-minute bonus track "Various Possible Notes And Timbres Of The Mental Unit Molecule," recorded in 2011 on Okapoka Island. Dolphins Into The Future is one Lieven Martens, a Belgian currently living in the Azores, who has since 2007 steadily released a number of albums, EPs, 7"s and tapes on a variety of labels. Often mentioned in the same breath as contemporaries Skaters or Oneohtrix Point Never, Dolphin's vision is as smudged and somnambulant, but very much of itself. Amorphous and carefully framed, Martens' sound landscapes place field recordings and lo-fi instrumentation on a democratic plane, to create one seamless mass of bubbling, percussive flow. But if Martens taps into a pool of tropical references (as he undoubtedly does), such influences are relayed from an unashamedly outside perspective -- a deliberate refraction of nature, a re-imagined idyll, that shows him to be as close in spirit to the Romantics, or perhaps even film-maker Jean Painlevé's surreal take on aquatic life. Martens expands: "I create Cetacean Transfers. Dreamt by places like, Ho'okena, Ilha Das Flores, São João Do Pico, and Kealakekua. All the patterns, tones and harmonies are inspired by Nature's Tongue. The music is meant as a two dimensional (left, right, stereo) sound picture. A metaphorical landscape in which you could hike, or just stand by and relax. You're the Ruckenfigur. Watching a dramatic environment. And in analogy with this metaphor, I use various recorded elements of nature and sound, and re-create them into a new, Utopian Landscape. Like the deep minds of the Golden Age of Science Fiction, I prefer Beauty above suspense. In essence, my music is not synth music nor new age. It's more affiliated with landscape painting. And romantic poetry. Or poetic cinema. The bonus track, added especially for this compact disc, is the inner feedback. An epilogue on dry land. After the waking-sleep pick up, the proceedings are spinning forward in the deep kernel of our Bio Computer, in which radiates our stable core, The Mental Unit. This Unit is our heart and our center and remains with us during the whole of our incarnation. This additional audio experiment is a randomized poem on its various possible tunes, octaves and timbres."
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FR 083CD
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Fonal Records breaks new ground with its first-ever release by a band based outside its native Finland. Pretty Lightning's debut LP proper (following the 2008 tour-only CD-R released by a tiny Mississippi-based noise label), There Are Witches In The Woods could also be seen as a departure stylistically -- although in truth, such finely-honed aesthetics still comfortably align it with the Fonal roster. Pretty Lightning was formed in 2007 by two childhood friends, Christian Berghoff and Sebastian Haas, who grew up together in a small town in Southwest Germany, before relocating to Saarbrücken, a slightly bigger small town. In essence a raw, psychedelic-blues duo that on the surface could be seen as kindred spirits to the likes of Wooden Shjips or Moon Duo, Pretty Lightning also appear to mirror a freak-folk sensibility found in the likes of Sunburned Hand Of The Man and their Stateside compatriots. But they also reflect their closer geographic roots -- echoing the communal, ritualistic Krautrock of Amon Düül II or perhaps the primitivism of Sweden's International Harvester (both Berghoff and Haas are also part of the Saarlouis-based Datashock collective). But if such comparisons serve to place the band in some kind of loose context, they should not undermine such a heartfelt outcome, nor steer the listener away from the band's melodic leanings. There Are Witches In The Woods delivers hooks and harmonies on a grand scale. Recorded in Autumn 2010, the album is the result of the band shutting itself away in a cavernous room to capture the breadth of their sonic vision. Formed around a crux of drums, vocals and a variety of guitars, the arrangements are bolstered by shruti-drones, organ loops and Theremins, giving a sense of space and scope to 11 sweet, succinct chapters, and the album as a whole. Pretty Lightning are set to tour in support of the album throughout 2012, with further recordings planned later in the year.
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FR 083LP
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LP version. Fonal Records breaks new ground with its first-ever release by a band based outside its native Finland. Pretty Lightning's debut LP proper (following the 2008 tour-only CD-R released by a tiny Mississippi-based noise label), There Are Witches In The Woods could also be seen as a departure stylistically -- although in truth, such finely-honed aesthetics still comfortably align it with the Fonal roster. Pretty Lightning was formed in 2007 by two childhood friends, Christian Berghoff and Sebastian Haas, who grew up together in a small town in Southwest Germany, before relocating to Saarbrücken, a slightly bigger small town. In essence a raw, psychedelic-blues duo that on the surface could be seen as kindred spirits to the likes of Wooden Shjips or Moon Duo, Pretty Lightning also appear to mirror a freak-folk sensibility found in the likes of Sunburned Hand Of The Man and their Stateside compatriots. But they also reflect their closer geographic roots -- echoing the communal, ritualistic Krautrock of Amon Düül II or perhaps the primitivism of Sweden's International Harvester (both Berghoff and Haas are also part of the Saarlouis-based Datashock collective). But if such comparisons serve to place the band in some kind of loose context, they should not undermine such a heartfelt outcome, nor steer the listener away from the band's melodic leanings. There Are Witches In The Woods delivers hooks and harmonies on a grand scale. Recorded in Autumn 2010, the album is the result of the band shutting itself away in a cavernous room to capture the breadth of their sonic vision. Formed around a crux of drums, vocals and a variety of guitars, the arrangements are bolstered by shruti-drones, organ loops and Theremins, giving a sense of space and scope to 11 sweet, succinct chapters, and the album as a whole.
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FR 082CD
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Acclaimed Finnish singer/songwriter and sonic sculptor Ville Leinonen releases his 13th album via Fonal Records. 2010's Majakanvartijan Uni began a new decade way ahead of its time. This album goes beyond that time, even, creating a whole new gang of Cenobites. Enter the fields of little newborn insect babies facing the thrash metal warfare of your mind. As with Raastinlauluja (Ville's debut from 1997), there are soundscapes born of metal objects being scratched into life by all manner of electric devices, only now these are high fidelity and widescreen. Guitar feedback resonates from the moldy stone walls, having been cultivated during the 9 month recording process at Le Zen Tomb studio, Paris. The revolutionary Afghan theater band L'Orch d'al-Fajr visited these recording sessions for a few strategic nights while having some free days on their European tour in February 2011, playing no small part (especially on the second half of the album). Elsewhere, the Finnish pop singer Paula Vesala also makes an appearance, joining Leinonen to duet on "Ensimmäistä Kertaa" (trans. "For The First Time"). The organic poetry of nylon-string guitar and heartfelt vocals (even more touching than on 2004's Suudelmitar) will tear you wide open on the first side. But Auringonsäde/Pommisuoja is most definitely a tale of two halves.
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FR 079EP
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A hypnotic bow to electronic music pioneers from a modern living room spiced with psychedelic guitar riffs, Jarse is a project by Jari Suominen (Shogun Kunitoki, Kiila). The intro on the track is the first recording featuring Jari's brand new self-built synthesizer based on the original design and schematics of the Sähkökvartetti, the instrument used by the first electronic band in Finland, led by M.A. Numminen.
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FR 078CD
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Tuusanuuskat is a collaboration between Es and Tomutonttu. The name of the project Tuusanuuskat is a play on words derived from the phrase "tuusan nuuskana," (trans. "total shambles"). It is a Finnish saying that is used when something has broken to a million pieces. The phrase is generally used in a playful context, and often received with laughter. If you Google "tuusan nuuskana," some of the first hits you'll get are: "After birth; private parts tuusan nuuskana," "Ferrari tuusan nuuskana" and "Steve Jobs mansion tuusan nuuskana." Yes, they have chosen their name wisely. Es is a project of Sami Sänpäkkilä, a musician, filmmaker and the head of Fonal Records. To date, he has released five full-length albums, and made tons of short films and music videos. He also scored the soundtrack to the Swedish award-winning film Apflikorna. His music and films are experimental moodscapes that explore the themes of melancholy, pathos and hope. Tomutonttu (trans. "dust gnome") is a human by the name of Jan Anderzén, a visual artist and leader of the respected avant-garde sound group Kemialliset Ystävät. Toy reed streams, mutilated vocals and groovy loops of animal noise are just some of the colors used to create the whirling mess that is the lonely song of Tomutonttu. His discography is a labyrinth reflecting the nature of his music. Together, they have prepared an experimental cocktail that sounds like two drunken masters of music, conducting the protons and neutrons travelling from their instruments to their skulls and back, to create a musical nucleus. The CD packaging displays Fonal's customary attention to detail. It includes a striped acetate film, that when placed over the cover, creates an animated sequence of images. The illusion works on the persistence of vision principle. The cover is designed and produced by Jari Suominen (of fellow Fonal recording artists Jarse and Shogun Kunitoki).
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