Underground Tunnels
Underground Voices
Lapponia
700 000 Years
Pirun Karva
Hyperborean Mountain
Sowilo
Auringon Kehrä

CD-extra: Video

This is ritual music. From the opening of earthen growling of didgeridoos the initiate, or listener, is supplanted into the hypnotic trance that threads this entire album, shaman prepared. Tapio has taken great personal care with this album in ensuing his writing on and experiences with the esoteric finds creative expression into this music; his inspiration from certain matters recondite. The CD booklet itself has a short essay by Tapio of his magical initiation into North European mysteries, replete with footnotes.

An epidermal primitiveness is a slithering facet of the hypnotic three-quarter hour that begins deep under ground in wind ululating tunnels that annunciate as the throaty didgeridoos whose presence dodges amidst the honeycomb, disorientating the listener so that all sub-consciousness inspissates, aware. Bells ripple distilled in the subterrene ether crowded with fleshless voices, stippled organic fugues make for busy shape-shifting in the dark. From shadow there comes light, at least light as in above ground. Animal sounding instrumentation squeals and shrieks in the shadows from a bonfire where ritualising humankind is in obeisance to a full moon: a different side of light. Didgeridoos, throat and vocal simulations feature prominently on the album, a feature that predates Abrahamic religions to more 'pagan' ties that serves the album well, especially in entrancing the listener with the rhythmic and pulsing oration. The snake's susurration and the cawing of crows are woven into the carefully sculpted samples, drones and glitches that convey convincing and evolving organic soundscapes.

The jewel-case nests an eight-page colour booklet that features the aforementioned 'essay' from Tapio Kotkavuori that not only discusses esoteric matters, but also the process of aural visualisation and instruments used. Also of note is an included video of the song, 'Underground Tunnels', an AVI format video of rather high quality; a strange sojourn of offering and ritual atop an ancient hill.

NYR