jazz / post rock
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2016 will go down in the history books for a lot of things and most people will have mixed feelings about this year. I do too because a lot of stuff has happened over the past eleven/twelve months. Musically, this was a great year. Lots of brilliant albums have been released, which turns my end-year list from a difficult task into a giant problem. But, as a little hint of lists to come, I noticed one important thing this year. I'm finally a jazz fan. 2016 is the year that jazz bands finally managed to pull me over. Of course, the "dark jazz" scene has already delivered me a lot of awesome albums, but the more traditional version of the genre hasn't, until this year.
One of them is Virta, a trio from Helsinki, Finland. They have been working on this album for three years, which is actually a decent test to see if the music maintains its vibrant sound. Undoubtedly, several passages changed throughout the writing-process. I think that's inevitable with this kind of music. Yet, the endresult is an impressive whirlpool of jazz, post-rock and electronics, a sometimes confusing but always satisfying journey through the world of instrumental magic.
I think the correct term is "Nordic jazz", a variant of jazz that is known for its narrative atmosphere and its immense musical landscapes. Virta delivers exactly that and, luckily for me, mostly stays away from the nervous freestyle solos some other variants are known for. There are some of these to be found here, but they only come out when the rest of the music is strong enough to carry them. And believe me, dear reader, the music definitely is strong enough. When played loud enough, the heavy passages on this album are compareable to post-metal anthems.
Speaking about post-stuff, there is also plenty of that to be found on 'Hurmos'. I think this album can add a lot of musical value to the collection of post-rock and -metal fans, right in between your Godspeed You Black Emperor, Wang-Wen and Sigur Ros album for example. Furthermore, I'd suggest this to any fans of Boards Of Canada, Plaid, Dale Cooper and Mono fan out there, just because this album just might help you discover something new, something beautiful.
My favorite tracks are 'About To Fly', 'The Landing' and 'Uni' but I guess I'll just keep doing what I have been doing in the past few days: shove the album into my media player and put it on repeat. I suggest you do the same, especially with the winter coming up. It's time to crawl under a blanket, light the fireplace, get a glass of your favorite beverage and enjoy the musical scenery, gracefully delivered by Virta.
Serge
One of them is Virta, a trio from Helsinki, Finland. They have been working on this album for three years, which is actually a decent test to see if the music maintains its vibrant sound. Undoubtedly, several passages changed throughout the writing-process. I think that's inevitable with this kind of music. Yet, the endresult is an impressive whirlpool of jazz, post-rock and electronics, a sometimes confusing but always satisfying journey through the world of instrumental magic.
I think the correct term is "Nordic jazz", a variant of jazz that is known for its narrative atmosphere and its immense musical landscapes. Virta delivers exactly that and, luckily for me, mostly stays away from the nervous freestyle solos some other variants are known for. There are some of these to be found here, but they only come out when the rest of the music is strong enough to carry them. And believe me, dear reader, the music definitely is strong enough. When played loud enough, the heavy passages on this album are compareable to post-metal anthems.
Speaking about post-stuff, there is also plenty of that to be found on 'Hurmos'. I think this album can add a lot of musical value to the collection of post-rock and -metal fans, right in between your Godspeed You Black Emperor, Wang-Wen and Sigur Ros album for example. Furthermore, I'd suggest this to any fans of Boards Of Canada, Plaid, Dale Cooper and Mono fan out there, just because this album just might help you discover something new, something beautiful.
My favorite tracks are 'About To Fly', 'The Landing' and 'Uni' but I guess I'll just keep doing what I have been doing in the past few days: shove the album into my media player and put it on repeat. I suggest you do the same, especially with the winter coming up. It's time to crawl under a blanket, light the fireplace, get a glass of your favorite beverage and enjoy the musical scenery, gracefully delivered by Virta.
Serge
