#39 - Ryan & Steve

Paavoharju

Yhä Hämärää

2005

Of all the records on the list, this one is surely from the most unlikeliest of groups. Paavoharju is a Finnish group of ascetic born-again Christians attempting to recreate their "inner landscapes". What we have here is a deeply ethereal collection of washes, folk chants, ghostly ephemeral noises and far-away synth/piano lines. It's a thrilling listen as no one quite sounds like Paavoharju's inspired concoctions.

Released on the commonly brilliant Fonal label in 2005, Paavoharju have created a purely unique aesthetic experience citing anything from Sigur Rós' glacial-scapes all the way to the organic drone of William Basinski. That of course is not to say that this record is devoid of pop numbers. "Valo Tihkuu Kaiken Läpi" bounces along with a playful synth line and female vocals, eventually ending with a half-time drone/wash of the initial melodies. Then we find ourselves with the deconstructed pop of "Ilmaa Virtaa" which begins with a modest structure that is then repeated and looped and misaligned and looped and repeated until it barely resembles the pop tune it began as. A record of quiet, personal transcendence. -S.R.

Have you ever heard an interesting, untraditional musical score in a film that you thought, “Man, I’d love to have a whole album of that!” Unfortunately, a whole album of that music oftentimes isn’t able to sustain itself as well as it did in those few minutes it was present in the movie. This is a lot like what I think of this album – cool, interesting sound – but ultimately gets a bit old when one listens to it as an entire record. - Phil