It's a real treat to hear new music from Finnish multimedia wizard Jan Anderzén, whose sonic space program goes by many names. When he's defying gravity in a group setting, Anderzén prefers to don the moniker Kemialliset Ystävät, or "chemical friends." In the early 2000s, the artist and his crew of fellow Finns were counted among a global cabal of DIY experimentalists, churning out CD-Rs and cassettes filled with rudimentary neo-folk weirdness cross-pollinated with abstract noise, strange samples and a dash of uncanny pop know-how.
Now, as Anderzén's list of collaborators continues to morph and he matures as an artist, his music retains a refreshing sense of playfulness, as he tugs at the boundaries of what exactly music is supposed to be.
Almost entirely electronic in nature, his new record Siipi Empii — which translates loosely as "a wing hesitates" — features lovely micro-melodies and oddly charming found sounds: bouncing springs, gurgling, chirping, disembodied voices, and other pseudo-naturalistic incantations.
The contributions of his song-mates remain paradigm, and Anderzén acknowledges this wholeheartedly; the psychedelic group-think "produces half random, half directed sound events where independent elements intertwine into unpredictable music." This lack of predictability is what makes Siipi Empii worth investigating repeatedly.
Each experience with this album is like a spark, traversing a singular path through the night sky as it races toward the heavens, having originated from Kemialliset Ystävät's creative flame.
(Leaving)Now, as Anderzén's list of collaborators continues to morph and he matures as an artist, his music retains a refreshing sense of playfulness, as he tugs at the boundaries of what exactly music is supposed to be.
Almost entirely electronic in nature, his new record Siipi Empii — which translates loosely as "a wing hesitates" — features lovely micro-melodies and oddly charming found sounds: bouncing springs, gurgling, chirping, disembodied voices, and other pseudo-naturalistic incantations.
The contributions of his song-mates remain paradigm, and Anderzén acknowledges this wholeheartedly; the psychedelic group-think "produces half random, half directed sound events where independent elements intertwine into unpredictable music." This lack of predictability is what makes Siipi Empii worth investigating repeatedly.
Each experience with this album is like a spark, traversing a singular path through the night sky as it races toward the heavens, having originated from Kemialliset Ystävät's creative flame.
