Still deeply rooted in their high energy dancey arctic etnotekno sound, new album “Varokaa! Hengenvaara” is bands most pop-esque but also the wildest one so far.
It’s a diverse mix of four voices rapping and singing with evolving, primal yet experimental beats. A unique band sound where tiny Soviet made Notka accordion is the beating heart of trancey and raving rhythms, surrounded by splashing mysterious waves of modular synthesizer.
Danger is present in the album in many levels, both sound and content, social and personal.
Facing threats like climate crisis, dealing with personal dead ends, decision points and overflowing feelings toggles with more lighthearted expression and both worlds are presented in a way that makes your body as well as mind move. New more collective songwriting process also produced love songs for the first time in bands history. Here love and desire are radical forces, driving things into unknown, dangerous territories.
Album’s colourful world extends to visual art and costume design: Justus K. created a world where tradition, fashion and modern art meet, perfectly interacting with the music.
Suistamon Sähkö’s gigs are known for performative, boisterous stage presence where dance, costume design and video art play a big part. Their audience base has wide diversity of ages, genders and backgrounds. Creative combination of using and breaking traditions and roles is something that feels inclusive and exciting for many kinds of music and dance lovers. Soundwise there’s something primal and immediate that makes it easy to go along but it also keeps on revealing new layers of feelings, landscapes and associations as you spend more time with it.
NMR (photo: press Suistamon Sähkö)
