KUUSUMUN PROFEETTA

Kukin Kaappiaan Selässään Kantaa (the fancy title means "Everyone carries his own cupboard in his back") is the first album of KUUSUMUN PROFEETTA, which was a direct continuation of MOON FOG PROPHET founded in 1994. The line-up did not change when the Pori-based quintet started performing in Finnish instead of English, and the band members themselves made it clear in a prog magazine interview that it's only depending on the used language which one of the monikers is used. But admittedly there also was a notable stylistic change. After recording in 1999 the progressive magnum opus Taunting Tin Bells Through the Mammal Void (released in 2002), the band felt like they had reached the end of one particular path. "Shifting to Finnish language and acoustically oriented expression wasn't a result of any firm decision but rather a naturally found new path", the bassist Mikko Elo declared.

If MFP was often compared to Peter Hammill /VdGG for the intensity, this delicate album of folky psychedelia may be best associated with the early 70's late cult artist PEKKA STRENG. One critic wrote (my translation is rough): "On top of the soft rhythms, acoustic guitars and sparkling electric piano, Mika Rättö lays out his unbelievable lyrics and melodies approaching naivety. The combo plays reducedly around one feeling, from which the vocalist's awesome lyrical world raises up powerfully." So, as you surely have figured out by now, the full enjoyment of this album would require the understanding of Finnish language -- as one could say about Pekka Streng as well.

Several songs such as the opening track (= "At the turn of the century") have a charmingly light-jazz acoustic sound reminiscent of PENTANGLE with the electric piano addition. Mika Rättö's at times falsetto-approaching and intimate singing style reminds me of ROBERT WYATT. The third track (= "Candles light up early") beautifully concentrates on acoustic guitar and moody vocals. Even the instrumental piece 'Aamuyön tunteina (= "On the wee small hours") is loaded with mood. On 'Kysymysten sali' (= "The hall of questions") Rättö is reading a philisophically inspired narrative on top of a relatively uptempo and jazz-flavoured bright playing that reminds me of Pekka Streng's song 'Puutarhassa'.

'Kukkana niityllä (= "As a flower on a meadow") has a nearly hypnotic, sweet and relaxed beat, and the vocals are deliberatley naiive in high register. 'Askeleita rannalla (= "Footsteps on a shore") is another instrumental. Electric guitar weaves bluesy melodies over the slow and hazy psychedelic backing. Pink Floyd might have recorded this for their More soundtrack. The next song's title means "Princess Pink", and it's equally hazy up to Rättö's meditative singing. The final song 'Akvaario' (= "Aquarium") is perhaps my favourite because of its calm melancholy that keeps lingering on one's mind. The moving lyrics deal with being an outsider.

It was years since my last listening of this album which charmed me already on the first listening long ago, and I didn't remember how much I really like this. Definitely not for everyone's taste, and a great deal will be lost if you don't speak Finnish.

I find it sad that this highly personal Finnish band hasn't gained reviews here. Naturally the change of language from English (MOON FOG PROPHET) to Finnish makes it less exportable than the earlier phace of technically the same band, but neither have my countrymen expressed any interest even though the band have achieved some kind of a cult status in Finland... But even more so have CIRCLE and ABSOLUUTTINEN NOLLAPISTE, and sadly they share the fate of minimal PA attention.

This is KP's fifth studio album, the title meaning "Shouts from a Silent Room". Whereas the preceding one, Lyhtykuja (2008), was rather cold and almost hostile in atmosphere, this is -- at least for me -- a return to the form. To the warmer, more intimate and song-oriented style, depite the fact that the former [post-rock] band of the new additional guitarist Harri Sippola, MAGYAR POSSE, is quite the oppoite. The sound is gentle, thoughtful and slightly hazy, but not at all feeble or dull. Mika Rättö is a unique vocalist who can distract some listeners with an extreme approach, whether in the style of PETER HAMMILL or an ageing chanson artist using a lot of vibrato. One can sense a little of both here, but his always emotionally strong expression avoids the extremities on this album.

The songs operate mostly in an autumnal mood. The opener lifts a melancholic "Toast to life", and that reflects the mature feel of the whole album. "A giant without a master" is a very impressive and progressive-tasting song. On the closing song 'Pavut' ("Beans") guests Aki Peltonen's accordeon. Perhaps only for listeners appreciating intimate, low-key elegance there are no weak tracks, but there are also more dynamic moments to prevent the album from being too harmless and mild.

There's depth and delicacy comparable to some later output of PETER HAMMILL (albums such as Everyone You Hold, 1997). I want to remind especially all my Finnish readers of this fine band: if you're not yet familiar with them, this album is a very good place to start.

No reviews for this notable Finnish band yet, only ratings... :-(

MOON FOG PROPHET performed dramatic and dark-toned progressive rock in English - very original too, even though I sense a strong Peter Hammill / Van der Graaf Generator influence, and this band is naturally the Finnish-language continuation of it. Hymyilevien Laivojen Satama (translation would be The Harbour of Smiling Ships) is the fourth album.

My first acquaintance of KsP was the album Kukin Selässään Kaappiaan Kantaa approximately 10 years ago. I remember faintly some mesmerizingly calm and introspective music in it, and when I later listened to a Moon Fog Prophet album, especially the singing style of Mika Rättö felt peculiar in its Hammill-ness. Now I've lately listened to MFP much more with very positive reception. What I'm trying to say with this long intro is that this album sounds more clearly as the continuation of MFP than my faint memories of the other, in fact earlier album. Rättö's vocals are not as frail as on those mentioned calm memories, nor are they so Hammill-like either; instead his singing with a good dose of vibrato has a, hmmm, mock- elegance of an old-fashioned chanson singer growing old? Think of Tauno Palo in his old days. Probably they are not easy to get used to, and together with the language barrier they make Kuusumun Profeetta's music pretty hard to export, as the vocals are often quite central.

The arrangements here are very fine and nuanced, featuring many kinds of reed, brass and string instruments (played by a wide cast of guest musicians). The playing variates a lot between the tracks, for example 'Tunnit muuttuu minuuteiksi' has a long orchestral section. At the same time the album's atmosphere succeeds to be introspective and, yes, elegant! Some songs are edgier than others, but most of the album is relatively calm. The rich arrangements are making it more interesting, especially to a listener who likes also chamber jazz and who doesn't demand rock'n'roll power from a prog album. The title track with plenty of wind instruments has excellent jazz flavour in the ECM mode.

Very recommendable 58-minute album to a listener already familiar with these artists, while non-Finnish audience may have it more difficult to digest.