LAURI PORRA

Sad how unnoticed Lauri Porra (b. 1977) is in this site. The only preceding review is mine, for a cd gathering together the orchestral works by this excellent bassist and composer from Finland. Porra's eponymous solo debut (2005) was a fine, slightly Pekka Pohjola influenced album of instrumental prog fusion with the bass guitar taking a central role. On his second album All Children Have Super Powers Porra continues improving his compositional skills working mostly with the same cast of co-musicians. And just like on the debut, vocalist Emma Salokoski (whose backing band is one of the numerous bands in Porra's diverse CV) is guesting on one song with lyrics.

Most pieces on this album are very spatial and slow- paced in a Floydian way. Guitarist Timo Kämäräinen's touch is at its most David Gilmour -like on the opener 'Released'. Peter Engberg's guitar playing is equally elegant on 'Changes in Memory' and 'Nocturnal' which, despite its title, is actually a bit livelier than many other, slower tracks.

On 'Epiphany' Kämäräinen's guitar has dark and moody passion reminiscent of 'Sorrow' on the 1987 Pink Floyd album. The title track featuring wordless female vocals has a stronger section in its dreamy serenity. The only track of a throwaway nature is the silly-titled 'Ananas Republik' (ananas is pineapple in Finnish).

The vocal song 'Iltatuuli' (= evening wind) is a mellow and pretty song sung in Finnish. Emma's bright voice is multi-layered. The album as a whole is recommendable to those who enjoy mellow instrumental rock and fine musicianship that stays more on the Floydian horizon painting instead of a more complex and self-indulgent showing off. Perhaps it lacks some power in the end, whatever the "super powers" in the title refer to.

But it's Porra's third solo album, partly orchestrated Flyover (2015) that truly convinces the prog listener with its more dynamic compositions. I'll probably return to that sometime later. 3,5 stars for this one, rounded up for soothingly beautiful sounds.

Finnish bassist and composer LAURI PORRA (b. 1977; descendant of Jean Sibelius!), having been a member in such various acts as Stratovarius, Emma Salokoski Ensemble and Crazy World, has released three albums under his name, containing instrumental music somewhere between jazz/fusion and [progressive] rock. Sadly these fine albums are still unreviewed here... Porra, if any, is among those "rock" musicians whose "leap" into the "classical side" of contemporary music feels very natural - yes, actually even more natural than his kindred spirit PEKKA POHJOLA's, who composed a symphony. This album collects his orchestral works from the last few years, performed by Lahti Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Jaakko Kuusisto (another open-minded musician who doesn't want to maintain high boundaries in between various worlds of music). Texts in the leaflet are in Finnish and English, except that the spoken lyrics on 'Kohta' are only in Finnish. The liner notes by both Porra and Kuusisto are most welcome guides to these compositions.

'Kohta' is a 19-minute orchestral piece featuring the text and voice of the rap artist Paperi T (= Henri Pulkkinen). The instrumental version is the bonus track on the 83-minute Super Audio CD. The music is at first pretty quiet, and Paperi T's first appearance is almost without any backing from orchestra, but later on there are big changes in dynamics. The orchestra and the additional semi-soloists (percussion, organ, clarinet) are used in an exciting, expressive way. There are indeed both pretty silent and intensive passages, which brings extra challenge for the listening circumstances. I appreciate the powerful text of Paperi T, even though I never really enjoy the rap elements in music. The piece succeeds well in this rare combination.

Domino Suite is the latest composition here. Nearly 17 minutes divided in three movements, it gives important spots for the pianist Aki Rissanen and drummer Joonas Riippa as improvising soloists. The first part 'Stasis' is mesmerizingly slow, with a delicate, steady pulse on the piano. Gavin Bryars came to my mind. 'Domino' is much edgier, featuring sharp sounds from the brass section especially, and Riippa is given total freedom for his solo section. 'Surrender' returns to the piano-oriented delicacy and it sounds quite beautiful. The growing finale is grandiose in a symhonic way.

Entropia, Concerto for electric bass, dates from 2015, originally composed for the 150th anniversary of Jean Sibelius. Lauri Porra naturally is the soloist. The nearly 28-minute piece is in four movements. Like other compositions in this album, this demands a concentrated listening but gives a lot in return. The bass sounds marvelous and the orchestral dynamics are in balance. One may come to think some orchestral works of MIKE OLDFIELD, or DAVID BEDFORD (or both in the case of Orchestral Tubular Bells). The second movement features a beautiful violin solo, and the orchestra is at its most colourful on the final movement.

This album deserves attention as a succesful project of representing a musician best known from the rock world as a gifted composer on the "classical" world. Of course Porra was enormously helped by Kuusisto in orchetrations, but the results are convincing, there are no phoney moments in this music.