Monday, May 25, 2009

REVIEW: Es - Kesämaan Lapset

7.75 out of 10

"Kesämaan Lapset" is Sami Sänpäkkilä's (aka Es) 5th full length album. On top of being the main man behind Es, Sami Sänpäkkilä is also the main man behind the experimental Fonal Records label, which is home to Lau Nau, Paavoharju, Shogun Kunitoki, etc. Es is no exception to the word "experimental" either, on "Kesämaan Lapset" (which translates into “The Children Of The Summerland”), you will hear synthesizers, piano, violin, trombone, and a few guest vocalists distorted and transformed for the better.

The first track "Ennen Oli Huonommin" sounds like an ambient take on a Dan Deacon track. Bubbly synthesizer noises and waves of distorted bliss collide and merge into each other as if they were one noise to begin with. Sometimes the tracks can be spacey/psychedelic and trance-like, and sometimes they have that "camp fire" vibe that Mum/OBTN has. The piano work on "Säteet Sun Sielusta" is really quite stunning, not to mention the meditative hum with trickles of macrocosmic sounds pouring all over each other which are also serene. It's an intense 11 minutes of mind numbing atmospheres that's for sure.. and yeah, that's a good thing. Even the 22-minute "opus" "Kesämaan Lapset" with it's looped drones/melodies has more than enough tranquil sounds to put the most jittery of minds to a restful state. The whole album just has an earnest amount of meditative qualities that anyone in their "right mind" should enjoy.

Although Sami Sänpäkkilä doesn't think of this release as his best yet, it is definitely one of the standout albums of 09. Next time you want to zone out with assistance by something other than drugs give "Kesämaan Lapset" a go.

Standout Tracks: Ennen Oli Huonommin, Kesä Ja Hymyilevät Huulet, Säteet Sun Sielusta (my favorite track), Kesämaan Lapset (the last 5 min of this song, oh yaa) Haamut Sun Sydämestä ..yeah, that's all of them.

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