Browse by Label: FONAL (FINLAND)

Artist:	KIILA
Title:	Heartcore
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 015CD

Fonal is the leading label of new outsider music from Finland and here are some of their most significant releases to date. The first full-length by the Finnish duo Kiila, released in 2001. Packed in a beautiful 6-page digipack, it contains 9 tracks and a total of 39 minutes of music. Kiila makes music with everything that's around, and a massive array of instruments have been used here: clockwork, bowed saw, bowed guitars and bass guitars, drums, percussion, computers... you name it. The album is full of heart and has received many warm words from all over the world. As Niko-Matti Ahti explains in the liner notes, "Heartcore has preserved a lot of sustained work and spontaneous expression. We have spent time and energy on listening to music, talking and thinking about it. We have listened to these songs as to our favorite records: critically, carefully and with devotion, often and for long periods of time, in many situations and states of mind. The main difference between these processes -- listening to our favorite records and listening to Heartcore -- has been that we have changed the sounds on Heartcore whenever necessary. We have omitted sounds, played new ones or modified existing ones. We have thought about arrangements, searched for sounds and altered structures. The whole time, however, making music has been subordinate to listening to it." Last copies of this edition, licensed to the Say Hey label in the U.S.

Artist:	ES
Title:	A Love Cycle
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 017CD

2006 repress; new cover artwork and a bonus tracked added ("Suuri Hoyhen" from a K-RAA-K label sampler). The second album from Es aka Sami Sänpäkkilä. On this album, the main source of sound is three turntables bought from flea markets for $10.00 a piece. Those, and a few effects are the only sound sources that have been used. The atmosphere maintains its course of melancholy through these romantic, and at times heartbreaking sound collages. The adjacent loops that you hear begin to create new dimensions and layers of sound. And when you listen to the songs, you can almost hear those forgotten melodies that you have always searched for in your heart. Recognizable (and acknowledged) exemplariness can be heard when thinking of such artists as the loop 'n' scratch artist Philip Jeck and Terry Riley.

Artist:	KEMIALLISET YSTAVAT
Title:	Kellari Juniversumi
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 021CD

Reissue of this album, originally released in 2002. Kellari Juniversumi has been hailed as a masterpiece and has been out-of-print for a long time. Reprint includes a new 24-page booklet. Many are the rumors that revolve round the Tamperean tribe called Kemialliset Ystävät ("Chemical Friends"), regarding, for instance, the recipe for their brand of magic potion and their ethnic background. Contradicting common beliefs, this group does not consist of elves, gnomes or some lesser-known folk of the forest, but is mainly the product of one human risen from the rotten ditch of Nekala (a Tampere suburb). With his vast set of allies, he has by the power of his spirit carved a whole multitude of caves into the cellar of an otherwise unsuspect-looking house. From that "Cellar Yuniversum" (a rough translation of the disc's name) originates this record, which is actually their first, as its many predecessors have been either halves of a long player, or virtually unobtainable partial re-releases. "Now, at last, as we venture deeper into the cellar than ever before, we see the aforementioned elves and gnomes in their festivities, as the urbanization process has cut down the Tampere backwoods and has thus forced them to flee into the caves of Kemialliset Ystävät, who naturally are on good terms with all tiny earthlings with pointed ears." --Ralf Normaali, a lowlife from the capital area.

Artist:	ES
Title:	Kaikkeuden kauneus ja käsittämättömyys
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 028CD

This second print includes a bonus song. Kaikkeuden kauneus ja käsittämättömyys ("The Beauty and Inconceivability of Everythingness") is the third solo album by Sami Sänpäkkilä, released in 2004. Features members of Kemialliset Ystavat and Avarus. As the artist describes, "There are many sources of sound that can be interpreted as music concrete: pulsars and noise culled from my SETI-at-home processes, hammering in the apartment downstairs, C-vitamins wheeze and scissors cutting my hair. I also used many conventional instruments on this album. One of the most important was a piano which is heard on most of the songs. I do not have a piano, so I had to go to my friend's to record all the piano parts." Guest collaboration on this album includes Ville Leinonen, who wrote lyrics to the title track and who sings. The songs on this album explore the same themes heard on the previous two Es records; melancholy, pathos and hope. The overall mood is darker, gloomier and more ominous. The album is self-reflective -- it is about trying to create a better place to live in instead of explicitly judging or criticizing the world. This album is dedicated to the sad, the depressed, the insomniacs, the strayed, the fearful and the lonely.

Artist:	KIILA
Title:	Silmät Sulkaset
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 030CD

Originally released in 2004 on (K-RAA-K)³. On the second full-length release by Kiila, the band gently conjures up mildly otherworldly tunes with a peaceful air and feathered eyes. What was once free-pop played by two is now free-folk played by seven. The language of the songs has reverted back to Finnish, and the human voices rest on a warm texture of sounds from an array of acoustic and electronic instruments. Carefully-arranged songs alternate with those improvised on the spot, all bearing the mark of a handcrafted article.

Artist:	ISLAJA
Title:	Meritie
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 032CD

This is Islaja's debut, originally released in 2004. Islaja might well be a forgotten islet somewhere or a name of a courageous sword-swinging heroine in a forgotten fable. For certain, Islaja is a young woman that has sang and played an album full of heart-rending, intimate music. On Meritie, Islaja whispers in a fever and sings an Oriental monkey. At times, it is impossible to tell where the sounds are coming from. The variety of instruments is vast, but all have their space. Islaja has exceptional sense of harmony that alone makes the album a magical listening experience. The voice of Islaja sounds bravely over the screaming, crazed seagulls. It is stunningly honest. This is a great victory in these times of sadness.

Artist:	KEMIALLISET YSTAVAT
Title:	Alkuhärkä
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 033CD

Their second full-length album on the Fonal label, originally release in 2004. "After recovering from a long illness, I started searching through the shores and woods. I finally managed to locate Mr. Anderzén in the middle of an Arctic desert. He sat there cross-legged, eyes closed, calm as if on top of a mountain or in the bottom of the sea. No trees nor any other objects apart from ourselves interrupted the plain white landscape. Sun dragged itself slowly over the horizon. The air was still. 'My retreat will soon be over.' His husky voice seemed to emerge from the field of snow itself. I didn't see his lips moving. As I asked about the last nine months he had been away, he mumbled something about contemplation. 'Remember what Cocteau wrote in Opium about revealing the essence of plants? -- I have gained sights of that different kind of speed of vegetation and I have heard the screams of plants he talked about.' After six long days of silence spent mostly eating reindeer meat, Mr. A spoke again: 'I had the strangest of dreams. There was no space, no people, no traces of action, just this plasmoid machine out of which erupted sounds. And then, as I was receiving those aural secretions of an ultra-physical automaton from the seventh uppermost world, I woke up due to a butterfly itching in my ear. There I was, all covered with sweat, heart beating furiously, yet the ear was empty. It took a long time to be able to sleep after that night.' Heed my words, dear friends; that butterfly preserved in the ears of ours which weren't there, is Alkuhärkä." --Ralf Normaali

Artist:	ISLAJA
Title:	Palaa Aurinkoon
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 036CD

This is the second full-length by Islaja, originally released in 2005. Palaa Aurinkoon was born in two different places that have been sewn together with a binding of words within a rich sound world. Here and there, Islaja's friends have lent their voices to this world. Loose guitar paths, long strokes of wind instruments, glasses and toys that clink, rattle and tinkle, rhythms, keyboards and Islaja's wonderful, many-faceted voice coo in a miraculous net. The album is a spontaneous texture of muscle, cartilage and liquid, everything organized in such a surprising way, that one can't believe right away that it's a human being, but soon enough, it becomes clear that it's a most ingenious creature. It evolves by itself. It tells us how everything metamorphoses, it relies on itself and infuses belief into the listener that one can change the world.

Artist:	PAAVOHARJU
Title:	Yhä Hämärää
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 037CD

This is the first full-length release by Paavoharju, originally released in 2005. Recorded during 2001-2005, Yhä Hämärää reflects inner landscapes. Concrete places inform and partially create those inner views. Some highly inspiring places: Durde, densis, home, Pöllänlahti, toilet, graveyard, sewers, disco, the beach at Redpoint, rooftops at night, an alcoholic's home, churches, Uukuniemi, foggy fields, sauna, bed. As the band themselves proclaim: "Everything the light touches (and doesn't touch) is our home."

Artist:	PAAVOHARJU
Title:	Yhä hämärää
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	LP
Price:	$21.00
Catalog #:	FR 037LP

LP version. This is the debut full-length release from Finland's Paavoharju. CD originally released in 2005. The group is a collective project of ascetic born-again Christians. The sound is something between Bollywood music, church hymns, beautiful pop tunes and ambient esoteric noises. The lyrics are very spiritual in sound and text. Paavoharju sing of branches touching the surface of the water and walking down a black street to an old inn. Waves of static and echo mingle with acoustic guitar blistered by electronic hum, haunting female vocals are backed by broken piano interludes, weirdo electronic harpsichords mingle with chiming organ in a rococo, medieval pastiche set as devout forest singalong. Probably one of the most eclectic releases of 2005, and a true testament to the burgeoning Finnish scene. Fonal Records hosts a fierce new force and sound into the world.

Artist:	KEMIALLISET YSTAVAT
Title:	Lumottu Karkkipurkki (Vapaa Systeemi)
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 038CD

Originally Lumottu Karkkipurkki was released on cassette on the Huutomerkki label, and re-released on double 8" lathe-cut on the Celebrate Psi Phenomenom label. Now finally available on CD, remastered and remixed, originally released by Fonal in 2005. Notes from Ralf Normaali: "Lumottu Karkkipurkki ("the enchanted candy jar") is a musical work with two concepts: a song cycle based on an obscure Finnish children's book of the same name. The plot is simple; a boy buys a candy jar from an old, witchy shopkeepress. Every time the boy takes a colorful drop, his surroundings change unexpectedly and completely. He meets strange beings in the nearby forest. The atmosphere is exciting and slightly scary. Ville eats all the drops and craves more, but the woman with the shiny green ring is gone and so are the candies. The other concept, 'Vapaa Systeemi' ('free system') has something to do with plucking stringed instruments." Lumottu Karkkipurkki is for the creepy, late hours of the night.

Artist:	SHOGUN KUNITOKI
Title:	Tasankokaiku
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 041CD

Originally released in 2005. This is the debut release by Shogun Kunitoki, a quartet based in Helsinki, Finland. They have been exploring the frequency spectrum since 1998, patiently perfecting their own idiom, a music of a past-future that draws from the myriad synthetic sounds of the 20th century. Elements borrowed from '50s electronic pioneers, '60s psychedelia and minimalism, '70s experimentalism and '90s revivalism, come together in concise, instrumental compositions built on rhythmic interplay between simple, repetitive motifs and between the players. Rejecting the cold bleakness of the digital domain, Shogun Kunitoki choose to craft their sounds using worn analog equipment in order to give electronic music a soulful, human warmth.

Artist:	VILLE LEINONEN & VALUMO
Title:	Varpunen
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	7"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	FR 042EP

"During summer 1998 Ville Leinonen & Valumo made their first visit in a recording studio in Savonlinna, their hometown. Now this almost eight years old session of two songs has been released by Fonal Records. 'The Sparrow' is the same fragile little bird that appears on two old classic Finnish Christmas carols (Freezing to death on Christmas morning and locked in the cage of Sylvia). The poor bird is dying, the end is near. Will the famous gunslinger save it in time? 'Hey, my sister' leads us to late '90s smalltown-angst, too small circles. To a turning point of the darkest sequel of this reality show. Big Brother is about to lose his mind because of his little sister."

Artist:	ES/SAMI SANPAKKILA
Title:	Early Filmworks 1996 to 2006
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	DVD
Price:	$21.00
Catalog #:	FR 045DVD

"As an artist, Sänpäkkilä is someone who transcends conventional boundaries: film, music and visual art each vie for his attention. In fact, these separate areas are integrated in his work to such an extent that he could with equal justification be considered a visual artist, a filmmaker or a musician. His experimental short films are most notably characterised by a certain suspension. For instance, Sänpäkkilä portrays repetitive jumps, trudging through snow or waking up repeatedly. This suspension is also present in the soundtracks to his works. The resulting entity is hypnotic, trance-inducing. It has been said that every trance is an attempt to solve a problem. This should be understood broadly: a 'problem' could be anything, positive or negative, that calls for a decision or a solution. For the artist, it could be a problem or a challenge related to his work, and whilst dealing with it he falls into a state of waking dream. The spectators, however, do not have to concern themselves with the artist's problems. Each of them has a trance of their own, a train of thought that produces the ideas, solutions or answers for which they are prepared and which are useful to them. A trance does have an intrinsic value, though. It is a creative state in the twilight zone between sleep and a waking state. Trance can also be described as movement, like the jumps in 91: 11-12 or the running in 'Surrealistin Kaksi Vasenta Kättä.' This movement can lead to the recuperation, as well as the regeneration, of the mind and the senses. While it may initially be less obvious, another prominent quality of Sänpäkkilä's art is spirituality." Region Free. PAL & NTSC (double sided for worldwide play).

Artist:	CHAMELLOWS
Title:	Rat Hearts
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 046CD

This is the first full-length release by Chamellows (aka Sleeping Bags), originally released in 2006. Chamellows is a project by Laura Naukkarinen (Lau Nau) and the visual artist Mikko Kuorinki. Some of these songs have been recorded as far back as 10 years ago. Some were previously released on 50-150 limited edition 7"s and cassettes. They still sound fresh and new today, almost like a more demented Moldy Peaches album or The Shaggs at their best. However, they are more experimental, weaving amazing melodies and rhythms into songs that will keep playing in your head as often as the top 10 record of the week.

Artist:	ISLAJA
Title:	Ulual YYY
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 049CD

Islaja's third album, originally released in 2007 on the Fonal label. Ulual YYY, to the listener, is a journey deep into dreams and fairytales, but to the artist herself, it is a reality. Her songs tell us about the decay of our age, its demise and immorality, its plunge into heartless consumer culture. Islaja herself does not burn in that same fire. Her fire is an inner fire. Behind her eyes and in her heart you can see and hear her true charisma. True dedication and utter disrespect for the artificial authority made by men. Yet, she is not the self-destructive Nico or the eccentric Björk. Her songs are poems and stabbing knives. Islaja is Merja Kokkonen, a young visual artist and musician living and working in Helsinki, Finland. Islaja records her music at home using a rainbow of instruments to accompany her personal vocal delivery sung in Finnish. She has performed with Avarus, Kemialliset Ystävät and is also a member of Hertta Lussu Ässä, a free-folk super trio with members of Lau Nau and Kuupuu.

Artist:	KEMIALLISET YSTAVAT
Title:	Kemialliset Ysävät
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 050CD

This is the fourth full-length album by Kemialliset Ystävät on the Fonal label, originally released in 2007. Pulsating, radiant and turbo-charged, this music shares the groove of a junk pile AND a wild foal. It comes with the lovely smell of the chemical they spray on apple trees. It's a highly ambitious effort originally planned to become a defiant message in a bottle, limited edition of one, addressed to the Man. Kemialliset Ystävät has been rocking out for some time now and there is no end in sight. Without all the experiments of the past, this record would not exist, and there's still plenty of fresh perspective in the mix, too. Listen to Roope drum his belly, Laura play tambura and Jaakko go berserk on a Chinese flute. Lots of energy went into the mixing: a million voices from friends are twisted into one hypnotic, over-the-top sound textile that vibrates and grows in every direction, resembling a living organism, a merry beast. Give it a hug and you will gain power -- it is like shooting up echinacea. Wrap it around you and tune in to the blizzard. Sit down and blast as loud as possible.

Artist:	PACCHU, FRICARA
Title:	Stories of the Old
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	7"/Book
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 051EP

Includes a 7" vinyl and a 40-page full-color book. Fricara Pacchu started out as a rapper in The Backdoor Funkers, as a member of Slow Convulsion, Rorererot, Avarus, etc., but not until techno-rock-trio Maniacs Dream was Pacchu able to find his shattered inner plectrum. Hence, the music on this 7" is the consequence of using a plectrum. On his earlier cassette releases: "Where do you go after you've single-handedly destroyed the entire canon of recorded psychedelic musics? Into techno, apparently."

Artist:	ES
Title:	Sateenkaarisuudelma
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	2CD
Price:	$21.00
Catalog #:	FR 052CD

Originally released as a 2LP by the (K-RAA-K)³ label in 2005, Sateenkaarisuudelma is Fonal label-head Sami Sänpäkkilä's fourth solo album under the name Es. The 2CD release is a trilogy containing three independent parts: "Sateenkaarisuudelma," "Maailmankaari" and "Pianokaari." Sateenkaarisuudelma was conceived from live songs performed on tour with Black Forest/Black Sea's Miriam Goldberg on cello, Jeffrey Alexander on guitar and effects, and Fursaxa's Tara Burke on vocals and keyboard. "Maailmankaari" I and II were recorded at Boston's WMBR radio station. Featuring rushing piano cadences and stabs, the sounds of burbling streams and static, softly chanting vocals, spectral, psychedelic ambience, dark koan/drones and endlessly looped guitar and electronics, this double album is a contemplative journey into a sound quite beyond freak-folk or Finnish quaintness. Other musicians include members of Kemialliset Ystävät, Kiila and Lau Nau.

Artist:	LEINONEN, VILLE
Title:	Suudelmitar
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 053CD

Originally released on CD by Poko Records in 2004, this is the debut full-length release by Ville Leinonen. This is a musical journey to the shores of imagined inner lands and to the Scandinavian forests of hopes and dreams. These songs are moments of beauty from nature, cities and villages. It's autumn in Finland. Freezing wind blows from Itämeri -- the sea. Rain washes the streets of Helsinki. Suudelmitar expresses knowing and understanding foreign cultures as they appear in common everyday life and music. Sweet and nostalgic flamenco-styled guitar and strident, trilling flute evoke a troubadour, street musician vibe. Bossa nova grooves are carefully orchestrated with horns and male and female jazz duets, and there's even a surprising sitar jam. Laid-back indie lounge for world travellers riding on a joyful breeze.

Artist:	ELEANOORA ROSENHOLM
Title:	Vainajan Muotokuva
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 054CD

This is the debut full-length by Eleanoora Rosenholm. Eleanoora Rosenholm comes from Pori, Finland and is a project began by Noora Tommila, Pasi Salmi and Mika Rättö. They crafted a genius pop album with murderous lyrics inside the dark stone walls that surround SS-Palace studio. The time came to take the show on the road and the band evolved into a full 8-piece. Weird, almost avant synth-pop harmonies with creepily-sweet Finnish vocals, sometimes vocoded. Combining the best of karaoke-backed dance tracks with propulsive '80s sheen and tastes of Bow Wow Wow/Lizzy Mercier Descloux-esque tribe-pop irreverence. Totally addictive and hook-ridden, like you can't stop eating candy -- this is weird-disco any housewife serial killer would be proud to dance to.

Artist:	PAAVOHARJU
Title:	Laulu Laakson Kukista
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 055CD

This is the highly-anticipated second full-length release on Fonal Records from Finland's Paavoharju, a collective formed around two brothers -- Lauri and Olli Ainala and their troupe of associates. The group is a collective project of ascetic born-again Christians. Laulu Laakson Kukista (A Song About Flowers of the Valley) evokes the sounds of raindrops falling on a sheet metal roof melting together with an old television's random dot-pattern noise. Backwards pianos, backwards vocals, tilted organ and baroque beats lean against sweeping operatic soundscapes and gossamer back-porch folk singalongs. Leena Uotila's soft voice echoes in empty, dusty rooms. Cat-owls gather to the skies, apple trees are blooming and waves rock a barrel against the pier. Suddenly all this started to form esoteric mildew to cassette's magnetic tape. Sources of inspiration include Tuote Savonlinna, Saimaa, Miekkoniemi, Tove Jansson, Caspar David Friedrich, John Bauer, William Blake, Hugo Simberg, The Shadows, Burzum, Spede Pasanen, Boards Of Canada, luola, Es, Tapio Rautavaara, Raamattu, Deaf Center, Ville Leinonen, lo-fi, Portishead, Joose Keskitalo, Winsor McCayn, Pikku Nemo, Miasmah, Ingmar Bergman, Deathspell Omega, Ragnar Rock, and Ed Gein. Mind-bending devotional rock-opera from the deepest Finnish forests.

Artist:	PAAVOHARJU
Title:	Laulu Laakson Kukista
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	LP
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 055LP

LP version. This is the highly-anticipated second full-length release on Fonal Records from Finland's Paavoharju, a collective formed around two brothers -- Lauri and Olli Ainala and their troupe of associates. The group is a collective project of ascetic born-again Christians. Laulu Laakson Kukista (A Song About Flowers of the Valley) evokes the sounds of raindrops falling on a sheet metal roof melting together with an old television's random dot-pattern noise. Backwards pianos, backwards vocals, tilted organ and baroque beats lean against sweeping operatic soundscapes and gossamer back-porch folk singalongs. Leena Uotila's soft voice echoes in empty, dusty rooms. Cat-owls gather to the skies, apple trees are blooming and waves rock a barrel against the pier. Suddenly all this started to form esoteric mildew to cassette's magnetic tape. Sources of inspiration include Tuote Savonlinna, Saimaa, Miekkoniemi, Tove Jansson, Caspar David Friedrich, John Bauer, William Blake, Hugo Simberg, The Shadows, Burzum, Spede Pasanen, Boards Of Canada, luola, Es, Tapio Rautavaara, Raamattu, Deaf Center, Ville Leinonen, lo-fi, Portishead, Joose Keskitalo, Winsor McCayn, Pikku Nemo, Miasmah, Ingmar Bergman, Deathspell Omega, Ragnar Rock, and Ed Gein. Mind-bending devotional rock-opera from the deepest Finnish forests.

Artist:	ELEANOORA ROSENHOLM
Title:	Älä Kysy Kuolleilta, He Sanoivat
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 060CD

This is the second full-length release from Finland's Eleanoora Rosenholm on the Fonal label. Campy synth-pop melodies, dramatic guitar riffage and simple programmed beats dance over sweet Finnish vocals. It all sounds like a score to a happily-weird Euro disco-musical, but underneath it all is this vague threat or dark fear, which may explain the band's own description of this album: "Eleanoora Rosenholm and her six orphan brothers step up on the altar hunted by an unexplainable grief and misery. The nun has been desecrated in the monastery and the school's principal mutilated in the primary school's woodshed. A Russian prisoner of war draws his last breath on a snowy potato field. The relentless fist of war strikes fire in the horizon. We will never understand why things in life turn out the way they do, for they form and grow deeper meaning despite us. Chaos has its own will and its boot does not step to the General officer's lash." Yup.

Artist:	ELEANOORA ROSENHOLM
Title:	Älä Kysy Kuolleilta, He Sanoivat
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	LP
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 060LP

LP version. This is the second full-length release from Finland's Eleanoora Rosenholm on the Fonal label. Campy synth-pop melodies, dramatic guitar riffage and simple programmed beats dance over sweet Finnish vocals. It all sounds like a score to a happily-weird Euro disco-musical, but underneath it all is this vague threat or dark fear, which may explain the band's own description of this album: "Eleanoora Rosenholm and her six orphan brothers step up on the altar hunted by an unexplainable grief and misery. The nun has been desecrated in the monastery and the school's principal mutilated in the primary school's woodshed. A Russian prisoner of war draws his last breath on a snowy potato field. The relentless fist of war strikes fire in the horizon. We will never understand why things in life turn out the way they do, for they form and grow deeper meaning despite us. Chaos has its own will and its boot does not step to the General officer's lash." Yup.

Artist:	SHOGUN KUNITOKI
Title:	Vinonaamakasio
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 062CD

This is the second full-length release by Shogun Kunitoki, an instrumental quartet based in Helsinki, Finland. With Vinonaamakasio, Shogun Kunitoki expand the boundaries of their self-created sonic universe with a wider array of sounds and rhythms. Where their debut, Tasankokaiku (Fonal, 2005), squeezed cosmic dust into fiery balls of molten lava with gravitational push and pull and followed the planets whirring through the void on looping trajectories, Vinonaamakasio zooms in to explore the surface of newfound heavenly bodies, outlines the jagged shapes of exploding volcanoes, rolls with the moonlit waves through the cracks of sleeping, phosphorescent coral reefs, and marches in step with the six-legged insect armies making their trails through the steaming jungle. Every atom of this newborn planet of sound vibrates, synchronous to the seething psychedelic stew that throbs under the surface and burns your feet if you let them stop moving. The group's first album came out of nowhere, and established the previously-unknown band as one of the most original instrumental groups to have emerged after the post-rock boom. Tasankokaiku's psychedelic mix of minimalist form and maximalist sound that draws equally from the academic avant-garde and the left-field rock canon from the '60s to the present day has won the group a small but fervent fan base. After its release, Tasankokaiku was immediately recognized by reviewers and music fans as a compelling cocktail of accessibility and ambitious aspirations, a kaleidoscopic mix of edgy 8-bit bleepiness and soft-focus psychedelia. Vinonaamakasio picks up where that record left off, but this time absolutely explodes into the cosmos with an unrelenting squall of swirling organ patterns, droning guitars, ring modulator death-rays, and an impenetrable wall of percussion, sweeping the past 30 years of Krautrock, psych, prog, and electronic innovation up into your dizzy, expanding head-space.

Artist:	SHOGUN KUNITOKI
Title:	Vinonaamakasio
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	LP
Price:	$21.00
Catalog #:	FR 062LP

Picture disc version. This is the second full-length release by Shogun Kunitoki, an instrumental quartet based in Helsinki, Finland. With Vinonaamakasio, Shogun Kunitoki expand the boundaries of their self-created sonic universe with a wider array of sounds and rhythms. Where their debut, Tasankokaiku (Fonal, 2005), squeezed cosmic dust into fiery balls of molten lava with gravitational push and pull and followed the planets whirring through the void on looping trajectories, Vinonaamakasio zooms in to explore the surface of newfound heavenly bodies, outlines the jagged shapes of exploding volcanoes, rolls with the moonlit waves through the cracks of sleeping, phosphorescent coral reefs, and marches in step with the six-legged insect armies making their trails through the steaming jungle. Every atom of this newborn planet of sound vibrates, synchronous to the seething psychedelic stew that throbs under the surface and burns your feet if you let them stop moving. The group's first album came out of nowhere, and established the previously-unknown band as one of the most original instrumental groups to have emerged after the post-rock boom. Tasankokaiku's psychedelic mix of minimalist form and maximalist sound that draws equally from the academic avant-garde and the left-field rock canon from the '60s to the present day has won the group a small but fervent fan base. After its release, Tasankokaiku was immediately recognized by reviewers and music fans as a compelling cocktail of accessibility and ambitious aspirations, a kaleidoscopic mix of edgy 8-bit bleepiness and soft-focus psychedelia. Vinonaamakasio picks up where that record left off, but this time absolutely explodes into the cosmos with an unrelenting squall of swirling organ patterns, droning guitars, ring modulator death-rays, and an impenetrable wall of percussion, sweeping the past 30 years of Krautrock, psych, prog, and electronic innovation up into your dizzy, expanding head-space.

Artist:	RISTO
Title:	Sähköhäiriöön
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 063CD

This is the third full-length release by Finland's Risto for the Fonal label. Risto was formed in 2002 to bring to life the visions of singer/keyboard player Risto Ylihärsilä. In addition to him, the line-up includes Tuomas Eriksson on guitar, Minna Kortepuro on bass, and an ever-changing drummer. Sähköhäiriöön is a slightly more serious ride than before. There are darker overtones within the Finnish lyrics and sound and influences ranging from The Beatles to Risto's one year-old first-born son can be heard. Risto used lots of old vintage gear to record this album, and the result is a Finnish pop rallying cry, with sometimes ballad-y, sometimes searing keyboard and piano-work, recorded, mixed and mastered entirely by Risto himself. Risto continues to receive more and more attention and has gathered a loyal and large fan base in their native land with their intense performances and genre-spanning pop/rock. Sähköhäiriöön should please the most fervent fan as well as draw in some newcomers to their sound: a mix of anthemic rock, boozy bar-ballads, and smiling, theatrical Euro-pop.

Artist:	ES
Title:	Kesämaan Lapset
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 064CD

This is Fonal label-head and filmmaker Sami Sänpäkkilä's fifth solo album under the name Es. Recorded during a 3-year period, it is a mixture of pop and sacred soundscapes with influences varying from contemporary indie-rock to ancient classical music. The name translates to "The Children Of The Summerland," and is an homage to Finnish cult folk legend Pekka Streng's album Kesämaa ("Summerland"), which is one of the artist's favorite Finnish albums ever made. Various quirky instrumentation is used on Kesämaan Lapset; from high-end analog synthesizers and upright pianos to cheap flea market Casios. A few special guests make an appearance on this record, including Laura Laurila (violin), Tuomas Eriksson (Risto) (trombone) and Elissa Määttänen (vocals). On "Ennen Oli Huonommin," squiggling, rapid-fire synth noises battle a chorus of angels against a droning and static-y backdrop. On "Haamut Sun Sydämestä," high-pitched cries ride on top of a melancholy piano line, while what seems like thousands of pitched-shifted orchestras and bleeps multiply and rise atonally. The title track is a stunning, epic drone-piece with chanting vocals in a golden forest of sound: strings and horn lines, sinuous, ethereal synths and organ mantras. Recorded at home in the bedroom and abroad on various travels, Es has crafted a haunting summer album that evokes a strange, nostalgic, visceral response, like gazing at childhood photographs.

Artist:	ES
Title:	Kesämaan Lapset
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	LP
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 064LP

LP version. This is Fonal label-head and filmmaker Sami Sänpäkkilä's fifth solo album under the name Es. Recorded during a 3-year period, it is a mixture of pop and sacred soundscapes with influences varying from contemporary indie-rock to ancient classical music. The name translates to "The Children Of The Summerland," and is an homage to Finnish cult folk legend Pekka Streng's album Kesämaa ("Summerland"), which is one of the artist's favorite Finnish albums ever made. Various quirky instrumentation is used on Kesämaan Lapset; from high-end analog synthesizers and upright pianos to cheap flea market Casios. A few special guests make an appearance on this record, including Laura Laurila (violin), Tuomas Eriksson (Risto) (trombone) and Elissa Määttänen (vocals). On "Ennen Oli Huonommin," squiggling, rapid-fire synth noises battle a chorus of angels against a droning and static-y backdrop. On "Haamut Sun Sydämestä," high-pitched cries ride on top of a melancholy piano line, while what seems like thousands of pitched-shifted orchestras and bleeps multiply and rise atonally. The title track is a stunning, epic drone-piece with chanting vocals in a golden forest of sound: strings and horn lines, sinuous, ethereal synths and organ mantras. Recorded at home in the bedroom and abroad on various travels, Es has crafted a haunting summer album that evokes a strange, nostalgic, visceral response, like gazing at childhood photographs.

Artist:	KIILA
Title:	Tuota Tuota
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 065CD

This is the third full-length album by Finland's Kiila. Born of peaceful, focused work and intense rehearsals with friends, interspersed with sleep and meal-times, Tuota Tuota ("Well, Well") features an eight-strong core line-up -- but, as always, the composition of the group varies according to need. This is an album that consists of many details: the sound is full, the web of acoustic and electric instruments more varied and carefully orchestrated than before, and now, it is completely unnecessary to separate the electronic from the non-electronic components. Different traditions of folk, psych and pop music intermingle with electronic music and improvisation, tones and sounds. From Incredible String Band-ish folk-troubadour jams to gentle acoustic fireside ballads rendered in plucked guitar and scratchy fiddle lines ala Vetiver or Espers, to freakier space-jazz meanderings, this album's ultimate reward lies in its commitment to solid, glorious song-structure rooted in a long-established folk-rock tradition. The motifs in the songs are not easy to convey in English, but the titles reveal some clues: master of the house, elk antlers, tree bark, sound of rapids, fog, letters, calves, fingers. The words sound archaic, anachronistic or timeless, the language of myth, even -- but can it be something else, too? Tuota Tuota is an excellent culmination of Kiila's history and cultural landscape, proving them to be among Finland's finest founders of the new-growth forest sound.

Artist:	KIILA
Title:	Tuota Tuota
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	LP
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 065LP

LP version. This is the third full-length album by Finland's Kiila. Born of peaceful, focused work and intense rehearsals with friends, interspersed with sleep and meal-times, Tuota Tuota ("Well, Well") features an eight-strong core line-up -- but, as always, the composition of the group varies according to need. This is an album that consists of many details: the sound is full, the web of acoustic and electric instruments more varied and carefully orchestrated than before, and now, it is completely unnecessary to separate the electronic from the non-electronic components. Different traditions of folk, psych and pop music intermingle with electronic music and improvisation, tones and sounds. From Incredible String Band-ish folk-troubadour jams to gentle acoustic fireside ballads rendered in plucked guitar and scratchy fiddle lines ala Vetiver or Espers, to freakier space-jazz meanderings, this album's ultimate reward lies in its commitment to solid, glorious song-structure rooted in a long-established folk-rock tradition. The motifs in the songs are not easy to convey in English, but the titles reveal some clues: master of the house, elk antlers, tree bark, sound of rapids, fog, letters, calves, fingers. The words sound archaic, anachronistic or timeless, the language of myth, even -- but can it be something else, too? Tuota Tuota is an excellent culmination of Kiila's history and cultural landscape, proving them to be among Finland's finest founders of the new-growth forest sound.

Artist:	TOMUTONTTU
Title:	Tomutonttu
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 066CD

Fonal Recods re-releases this long sold-out debut by Tomutonttu, originally released in 2007 by Beta-lactam Ring and previously only available in a 400 copies-only 220 gram vinyl format. Tomutonttu ("Dust Gnome") is a human called Jan Anderzén, a visual artist and the leader of respected avant-garde sound group Kemialliset Ystävät. Toy reed streams, mutilated vocals and groovy loops of animal noise are some of the colors used to create the whirling mess that is the lonely song of Tomutonttu. It is like a confused and confusing detail of the Kemialliset Ystävät freedom-flow -- a microcosmos of strange sound creatures and dirt flying around in the stereo space, interacting with a logic all of their own. Harkening early electronic experimenters and avant composers of the past such as early Die Tödliche Doris and Meredith Monk, this album is like listening to 500 library records all at once, or walking through a labyrinth of motherboards, or laying on a scientist's table with electrodes attached to your body while you are exposed to every noise, light, and color in their various range of spectrums. Tomutonttu has collaborated live with Mike Bernstein (Double Leopards, Religious Knives), Joshua Burkett, Tara Burke (Fursaxa), The Skaters, Glenn Donaldson (Jewelled Antler), Sami Sänpäkkilä (Es) and Clay Ruby (Davenport), and has recently played a series of concerts for school kids at the planetarium in his home town of Tampere, Finland.

Artist:	TOMUTONTTU
Title:	Tomutonto
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 067CD

Fonal re-releases Tomutonto, a long sold-out gem by Finland's Tomutonttu (Jan Anderzén), previously released on LP in 2006 by the Ultra Eczema label. Anderzén is a visual artist and the leader of respected avant-garde group Kemialliset Ystävät, whose primitivism and tribal noise inclinations are reflected in these recordings. Echoed, chanting vocals, ethnic flutes, droning or rushing electronics, ritualistic mantras, low intonations, oscillations, ululations, sped-up tape squiggle, blistered bass tones and thudded percussion are just some of what you'll encounter here, creating a pastiche of sound of that will accompany you as you delve further and further into the neon cave.

Artist:	KEMIALLISET YSTAVAT
Title:	Ullakkopalo
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 069CD

This is the first release from Finland's Kemialliset Ystävät since 2007. Kemialliset Ystävät equals Jan Anderzén. He is one of the few Finnish musicians to have achieved renown in the international experimental circuit. In the case of Anderzén -- who also plies a trade as a visual artist -- this is not a matter of juxtaposition between experimental and mainstream, or a calculated career choice. Using music and images, he is busy creating a world that is a law unto itself, a world of exceptional freedom and beauty. Earlier KY albums have been peppered with contributions by individuals such as Islaja, the members of Avarus and Sami Sänpäkkilä. It is not easy to distinguish who plays what on Kemialliset Ystävät recordings. Rather than a side project consisting of solo parts, the band is an ecosystem within Anderzén's reality. One of the essential techniques applied by Anderzén is collage, in sound as well as image. He is no conventional instrumental virtuoso; his music is created with a fluctuating array of instruments and equipment. The focus is less on instrumental prowess and more on the overall sound and impression as well as the tension between the various materials. As a manipulator of these elements, Anderzén is in a league of his own. His sampler-based solo performances as Tomutonttu have left no doubt about that. A close listening of Anderzén's music reveals its near-architectonic precision. He is known for an exceptionally painstaking approach to creating his music. All this hard work is readily evident in the finished product, not as an accentuated complexity but rather as a clear, independent vision. Kemialliset Ystävät is like a natural phenomenon. It is difficult to imagine anyone having consciously constructed it, such is the ease with which it presents itself to us. To be in the presence of Anderzén's work is captivating in the same way, simple yet inexplicable, as it is to stare into fire. It truly takes a master to create such an experience, but listening to this Kemialliset Ystävät album evokes just that: a feeling of lightness.

Artist:	LO JENGI
Title:	Dans Les Toilettes Du Paradis/Eläköön Mummo
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	10"
Price:	$15.50
Catalog #:	FR 070EP

The French trio Reines D'Angleterre performed in Finland in 2009 at Mental Alaska's 10 year anniversary. At some point during this visit, someone had an idea of recording music, which led to a random group of people playing in a small basement room. The album was Recorded at Katajanokan Pommisuoja, Helsinki, by Asko Kananen on March 30, 2009 and edited by él-g and mixed by Mim in Brussels. Lö Jengi is Reines D'Angleterre, Islaja, Amon Düde and The Hoopo. On clear vinyl.

Artist:	ISLAJA
Title:	Keraaminen Pää
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 072CD

Islaja is the recording alias of Merja Kokkonen, a musician and visual artist from Helsinki, currently based in Berlin. A regular contributor to the more psych/folk and improv-oriented Kemialliset Ystävät and Avarus, Islaja's recordings are by contrast almost entirely self-contained, reflecting the more personal nature of her music, and a natural affinity towards an independent/DIY aesthetic. Her fourth album for Fonal, Keraaminen Pää (trans. "Ceramic Head") contains many shades of black. It also bears witness to a shift in perception and execution; yet the thread that weaves its way through all Islaja's work remains resolute, visible and intact. If Islaja's previous albums for Fonal appear to exhibit a more overtly pastoral nature, this in part feels coincidental, or secondary to something much larger and more difficult to define. From the earliest Islaja recordings, Merja has made the simplest of instrumentation work to her own ends, displaying a disquieting combination of innocence and fearlessness, and a seemingly innate ability to transcend the confines of a genre. It is the same singular approach and vision that informs Keraaminen Pää -- born largely of whatever instruments were on hand; if the sound has shifted into more electronic terrain, it remains as immersive and subtly evocative as ever. When sketching out the dimensions of Keraaminen Pää, Islaja was clear about one thing: the album should have a soul within, preferably silky thin and translucent, like a jellyfish swimming around in the ocean. During the recording process, however, Keraaminen Pää turned into a heavy, robot-molded disc of clay. It spins, shines, pops and crackles, all the while escaping definition. This is also is the first Islaja album to feature English translations of Merja's lyrics. The songs on Keraaminen Pää were written, composed, and recorded on three continents over a period of three years, with Islaja performing, recording and mixing the majority of the album herself. The recordings may recall the waves crashing on the Bight of Benin, the frogs croaking on Lantau Island, the starry sky above Roihuvuori, Helsinki, or maybe a one-euro pizza in Berlin. Less fractured and more fleshed out than previous Islaja recordings, the songs still careen recklessly, pulsing and shifting with a life of their own.

Artist:	ISLAJA
Title:	Keraaminen Pää
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	LP
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 072LP

LP version. Islaja is the recording alias of Merja Kokkonen, a musician and visual artist from Helsinki, currently based in Berlin. A regular contributor to the more psych/folk and improv-oriented Kemialliset Ystävät and Avarus, Islaja's recordings are by contrast almost entirely self-contained, reflecting the more personal nature of her music, and a natural affinity towards an independent/DIY aesthetic. Her fourth album for Fonal, Keraaminen Pää (trans. "Ceramic Head") contains many shades of black. It also bears witness to a shift in perception and execution; yet the thread that weaves its way through all Islaja's work remains resolute, visible and intact. If Islaja's previous albums for Fonal appear to exhibit a more overtly pastoral nature, this in part feels coincidental, or secondary to something much larger and more difficult to define. From the earliest Islaja recordings, Merja has made the simplest of instrumentation work to her own ends, displaying a disquieting combination of innocence and fearlessness, and a seemingly innate ability to transcend the confines of a genre. It is the same singular approach and vision that informs Keraaminen Pää -- born largely of whatever instruments were on hand; if the sound has shifted into more electronic terrain, it remains as immersive and subtly evocative as ever. When sketching out the dimensions of Keraaminen Pää, Islaja was clear about one thing: the album should have a soul within, preferably silky thin and translucent, like a jellyfish swimming around in the ocean. During the recording process, however, Keraaminen Pää turned into a heavy, robot-molded disc of clay. It spins, shines, pops and crackles, all the while escaping definition. This is also is the first Islaja album to feature English translations of Merja's lyrics. The songs on Keraaminen Pää were written, composed, and recorded on three continents over a period of three years, with Islaja performing, recording and mixing the majority of the album herself. The recordings may recall the waves crashing on the Bight of Benin, the frogs croaking on Lantau Island, the starry sky above Roihuvuori, Helsinki, or maybe a one-euro pizza in Berlin. Less fractured and more fleshed out than previous Islaja recordings, the songs still careen recklessly, pulsing and shifting with a life of their own.

Artist:	AINALA, LAURI
Title:	Unien Savonlinna
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	DVD
Price:	$21.00
Catalog #:	FR 073DVD

Lauri Ainala and his brother Olli formed the group Paavoharju in Savonlinna, Finland where the brothers met Emmi Uimonen, Jenni Koivistoinen and some other people. Lauri has been documenting everyone in and around Paavoharju for over five years, with anything that he's had at hand -- from broken digital stills cameras to any old video cameras. He currently lives in Helsinki and is preparing for the DVD release party and one of the only Paavoharju concerts in the foreseeable future in Korjaamo, Helsinki. Not so long ago in Savonlinna, there was another, hidden, Savonlinna -- the Savonlinna of dreams (Unien Savonlinna). It existed in deserted houses, in caves, in abandoned factories and barges -- anywhere the boys of Tuote were living. Self-made, serenely timeless, these romantic dens of filth, gilded by summer, also hid inside the most original musical visions and bands in Finland. The opera town did not notice them, but they rose onto the field of glory, around Finland and around the world. Paavoharju has been widely recognized worldwide, and they last took the stage at the 2009 Roskilde Festival. Joose Keskitalo has become one of the most important Finnish songwriters of the new millennium. And with their debut album Suomimorsiamen Pyhä Tie, Harmaa Getto became the most controversial name of 2009 in Finnish rap circles. The shacks where this spirit was nesting in Savonlinna are now torn to pieces, but luckily, not all pieces were lost. Lauri Ainala from Paavoharju has collected these pieces from all the years and has slowly built them into a unique DVD. The main dish on the DVD is a 50-minute film directed and produced by Lauri Ainala. The film could be described as an ambient film, since instead of detailed documenting, it aims to recreate the atmosphere of the Savonlinna of dreams. The stylistically unprecedented symbiosis of image and sound is assembled from material spontaneously shot throughout the years with digital pocket cameras and mini-DV cameras. In addition to the film, the DVD contains music videos (by guest directors Ville Kettunen, Sami Sänpäkkilä, Jenni Rope, and Topias Salonen), special live recordings, documentary clips, and a picture gallery. The DVD package also contains a booklet with a story by various writers, about a certain summer in a deserted dairy. The story is illustrated by authentic pictures from the scene. DVD features deluxe covers with a 20-page booklet. Length: 50 + 58 minutes. Music by Paavoharju, Joose Keskitalo and Harmaa Getto. Format: Region Free DVD (PAL & NTSC, two-sided).

Artist:	HAGNER, PETRI
Title:	Man With A Video Camera
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	DVD
Price:	$21.00
Catalog #:	FR 074DVD

Petri Hagner, born in 1971, is a Master of Fine Arts, a film director and a rock musician. In 1997, Hagner moved to Poland where he undertook studies at the National Film School of Poland (PWSFTviT) in Lodz. Before his studies, in 1993 through 1997, Hagner played in the rock band Circle. After finishing his studies, he returned to Finland to work as a freelancer in the film industry. About the film: Esko Lönnberg has left his middle-class job in Sweden and returned to his hometown of Pori, Finland. Now he has taken up filmmaking. His first project is a film about the rock band, Circle. The film follows Esko Lönnberg who is making the film. Lönnberg, a 59-year-old HVAC manager, left his job in Sweden and returned to his hometown of Pori, Finland, to pursue his artistic desires. In Pori, he found kindred spirits in the local experimental band Circle whose members are half of his age. The shooting for the Circle movie mostly takes place in the countryside where the band is recording their next album. The circumstances turn out to be chaotic, but Esko tries to keep the crowd together, even though he does not know himself if he is going to end up with fiction or non-fiction -- and problems ensue. Disagreements disappear, however, when the gang gets together to share sacred moments around the dinner table, to watch sports on TV or to play in the recording room, where Esko captures everything essential and unessential on video while the band plays. When filming the musicians in action, Esko almost becomes part of the band. He throws himself into the music with his whole body and does not pay much attention to what his instrument, the video camera, is recording. In spite of some discord and even heated tones, the making of the Circle movie radiates an air of friendship. It ties the crowd together, regardless of the weight of each individual performance. In the end, the greatest rewards seem to be the work itself and the shared experiences. Besides being an account of filmmaking, Man With A Video Camera is a film about the significance of choices in life and their consequences. The film premiered at Tampere Film Festival, 2010 and received an honorary mention in the over 30-minute movies category. This DVD release also includes Naked Sushi Lunch, a 30-minute documentary by Petri Hagner. 50 + 30 minutes. Region Free DVD (PAL & NTSC, two-sided).

Artist:	RISTO
Title:	176-671 (Ensimmäiset Askeleet)
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 075CD

Finland's Risto releases its long-awaited rip-off compilation! The group's full-length albums have been a success with critics and audiences alike and this CD collects together all the songs that people have been whispering about for the past years. This compilation includes songs from the albums Risto (Fonal, 2004), Aurinko Aurinko Plaa Plaa Plaa (FR 047CD/LP) and Sähköhäiriöön (FR 063CD/LP), which reached #7 on the official Finnish sales chart. There has been a lot of praise from even Risto's own idols: Tuomari Nurmio said that "Risto gives hope that the rock business can still come up with unusual, untrendy and totally fresh artists" and Kauko Röyhkä has noted that "Risto reminds me of myself when I was younger." On this compilation you'll also hear two new previously-unreleased songs, "Lyö" and "Seuraavan Sukupolven Psykopaatti." The music video for "Lyö" was recently released and was written by Risto himself and directed by Sami Sänpäkkilä.

Artist:	ELEANOORA ROSENHOLM
Title:	Hyväile Minua Pimeä Tähti
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 076CD

Fonal Records releases the third Eleanoora Rosenholm album Hyväile Minua Pimeä Tähti (trans. "Caress Me, Dark Star"). A project begun by Noora Tommila, Pasi Salmi and Mika Rättö, Eleanoora Rosenholm is ostensibly a persona created by the band, which narrates the dramatic and disturbed odyssey of a suburban housewife. The group, which has now evolved into a seven-piece band (with Mika typically fulfilling the role of writer and overseer), comprises the most exquisite music-makers from the Finnish harbor town of Pori. The third installment is an even gloomier prospect (if possible) than before: this time the protagonist, housewife serial killer Eleanoora escapes into the heart and the city of a Dark Star. Although musically in a similar vein to previous albums Vainajan Muotokuva (FR 054CD/LP) and Älä Kysy Kuolleilta, He Sanoivat (FR 060CD/LP), the sound of this record is even more dramatic, expansive and nuanced. Musically taking its cues from film soundtracks and disco, laced with echoes of Scandinavian and electronic pop, this apparent juxtaposition against the album's subject matter frames a dislocated voice in everyday reality. Trumpets and clarinet lend an epic maturity to the modern atmosphere. The result is a landmark, down-to-earth-futurism, A Space Odyssey in Pori -- something unexplainable that has to be experienced by oneself. These colorful stories are the brainchildren of Mika Rättö, one of the most creative forces in the Finnish contemporary rock scene, perhaps most familiar from acts such as Circle, Rättö Ja Lehtisalo and Kuusumun Profeetta. The role of Eleanoora is played by vocalist Noora Tommila who is a sensitive interpreter, relaying a vast emotional range, from quiet fragility to vociferous preaching. The album was composed by Rättö and analog synth wizard Pasi Salmi (Magyar Posse). Previously mainly masterminding in the background, the recording sessions inspired Rättö not only to grab the drumsticks but also to sing a whole song in his distinctive falsetto. Apart from this band, who else could turn Gregorian choir influences into a potential modern club-hit?

Artist:	ELEANOORA ROSENHOLM
Title:	Hyväile Minua Pimeä Tähti
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	LP
Price:	$21.00
Catalog #:	FR 076LP

LP version. Fonal Records releases the third Eleanoora Rosenholm album Hyväile Minua Pimeä Tähti (trans. "Caress Me, Dark Star"). A project begun by Noora Tommila, Pasi Salmi and Mika Rättö, Eleanoora Rosenholm is ostensibly a persona created by the band, which narrates the dramatic and disturbed odyssey of a suburban housewife. The group, which has now evolved into a seven-piece band (with Mika typically fulfilling the role of writer and overseer), comprises the most exquisite music-makers from the Finnish harbor town of Pori. The third installment is an even gloomier prospect (if possible) than before: this time the protagonist, housewife serial killer Eleanoora escapes into the heart and the city of a Dark Star. Although musically in a similar vein to previous albums Vainajan Muotokuva (FR 054CD/LP) and Älä Kysy Kuolleilta, He Sanoivat (FR 060CD/LP), the sound of this record is even more dramatic, expansive and nuanced. Musically taking its cues from film soundtracks and disco, laced with echoes of Scandinavian and electronic pop, this apparent juxtaposition against the album's subject matter frames a dislocated voice in everyday reality. Trumpets and clarinet lend an epic maturity to the modern atmosphere. The result is a landmark, down-to-earth-futurism, A Space Odyssey in Pori -- something unexplainable that has to be experienced by oneself. These colorful stories are the brainchildren of Mika Rättö, one of the most creative forces in the Finnish contemporary rock scene, perhaps most familiar from acts such as Circle, Rättö Ja Lehtisalo and Kuusumun Profeetta. The role of Eleanoora is played by vocalist Noora Tommila who is a sensitive interpreter, relaying a vast emotional range, from quiet fragility to vociferous preaching. The album was composed by Rättö and analog synth wizard Pasi Salmi (Magyar Posse). Previously mainly masterminding in the background, the recording sessions inspired Rättö not only to grab the drumsticks but also to sing a whole song in his distinctive falsetto. Apart from this band, who else could turn Gregorian choir influences into a potential modern club-hit?

Artist:	TV-RESISTORI
Title:	TV-Resistori
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 077CD

TV-Resistori, the flagship of Finnish indie-pop, finally present their third album, which has been under construction since 2007. The album fuses a broad array of influences into one seamless entity, appealing to aficionados of American roots music and modern indie kids digging Jenny Wilson or Belle And Sebastian. The beautiful vocal harmonies of Päivi and Ykä (the singer-songwriter of the group) flourish, while the cheap bubblegum keyboards have been mostly exchanged for warm, acoustic sounds from upright piano, to banjos or drums made out of suitcases. Although these mature, timeless songs lean towards Finnish schlager, Motown or even country music, it doesn't mean things have gotten boring or middle-of-the-road -- they're just more confident. TV-Resistori can still shake, rattle and roll like young stallions let out to the fields for the first time after the winter. Nevertheless, to balance the upbeat dance numbers, their tape has also captured one of the most touching bluegrass ballads of this century, "E.S.O.P.M.J.M.V.M.P.S.O. (Pallo)." Don't let the song title fool you.

Artist:	TV-RESISTORI
Title:	TV-Resistori
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	LP
Price:	$21.00
Catalog #:	FR 077LP

LP version. TV-Resistori, the flagship of Finnish indie-pop, finally present their third album, which has been under construction since 2007. The album fuses a broad array of influences into one seamless entity, appealing to aficionados of American roots music and modern indie kids digging Jenny Wilson or Belle And Sebastian. The beautiful vocal harmonies of Päivi and Ykä (the singer-songwriter of the group) flourish, while the cheap bubblegum keyboards have been mostly exchanged for warm, acoustic sounds from upright piano, to banjos or drums made out of suitcases. Although these mature, timeless songs lean towards Finnish schlager, Motown or even country music, it doesn't mean things have gotten boring or middle-of-the-road -- they're just more confident. TV-Resistori can still shake, rattle and roll like young stallions let out to the fields for the first time after the winter. Nevertheless, to balance the upbeat dance numbers, their tape has also captured one of the most touching bluegrass ballads of this century, "E.S.O.P.M.J.M.V.M.P.S.O. (Pallo)." Don't let the song title fool you.

Artist:	TUUSANUUSKAT
Title:	Nääksää Nää Mun Kyyneleet
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 078CD

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).

Artist:	TUUSANUUSKAT
Title:	Nääksää Nää Mun Kyyneleet
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	LP
Price:	$21.00
Catalog #:	FR 078LP

LP version. 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 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 covers are designed and produced by Jari Suominen (of fellow Fonal recording artists Jarse and Shogun Kunitoki). Limited edition run of 500 copies.

Artist:	LEINONEN, VILLE
Title:	Auringonsäde/Pommisuoja
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 082CD

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.

Artist:	PRETTY LIGHTNING
Title:	There Are Witches In The Woods
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 083CD

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.

Artist:	PRETTY LIGHTNING
Title:	There Are Witches In The Woods
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	LP
Price:	$21.00
Catalog #:	FR 083LP

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.

Artist:	DOLPHINS INTO THE FUTURE
Title:	...On Sea-Faring Isolation
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	FR 084CD

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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Artist:	JARSE
Title:	Alas
Label:	FONAL (FINLAND)
Format:	7"
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	FR 079EP