For me one of the main players of scandinavian noise electronics that has been keeping steady activity since years back. Both with recordings and live performances. Sure, I really enjoy his duo work with Marhaug as Testicle Hazard (which he's probably more known from) as they released some really stellar harsh works, but hell, I think it's the solo works as Rulla and Keränen is where the man truly and fully shines. Can't really say I heard a bad recording from him so far. Just listen to Green Car Crash, Moon Over Torrelorca and last years debut album Bats In The Attic to get the full scope his diverse craftsmanship. Always detailed and skilled. Also nice that each recording stands on its own without too much rehash. Now I'm just crossing fingers that the Lp that A Dear Girl Called Wendy is doing of different cuts from tapes will be out soon. I need more!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu7hl-zWsUY (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu7hl-zWsUY)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltYYwNEwv78&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltYYwNEwv78&feature=related)
http://soundcloud.com/ljud-2/moon-over-torrelorca-excerpt (http://soundcloud.com/ljud-2/moon-over-torrelorca-excerpt)
When I first listened Moon Over Torrelorca, I thought it's nowhere as good as Bats In The Attic. It seemed too minimal drone to my tastes. However, there was few points what made me return to it. First of all, I enjoyed the overall sound quality, which appears to be room recording. You can hear the sound of the room, and operations that take place. I guess for someone it might be negative that sounds of plugging/unplugging, coughing (heh!) etc. are heard in distance, but I like that. And secondly, first listening session was as background music with lesser quality speakers.
With proper volume, with proper speakers, it opens up better. It is highly minimal on surface level, but in the end, there is plenty to follow. When you simply sit in chair, actually listening to it. Many levels of sound operates at the same time. I personally like lets say, first 30 minutes most. It seems like roughly every 10 minutes something more happens. Some quicker shift you notice?
Green Car Crash is in my opinion great release. So is Bats... yet also that CD has short amount of "filler" in middle of disc. But it appears to be compositionally necessary. Underlining the upcoming full energy lazer war.
I think at his best, he has been in live settings. The best gigs lose to nobody. The way he does the material, is not so much up to setting will it work. It appears to work in many situations with various types of amp or PA power. Some can't make it, lights on, with amp on in bar corner. For this guy it appears to be no problem. Noise itself speaks so loud.
PS:
For some desperate fanatic, I may have extra copy of his 2005 japan tour ultra limited 3"CDR...
What keeps drawing me back to Moon Over Torrelorca is the fact that it works so well for both focused listening sessions and just as a sound installation on repeat filling up the apartment with sound. It definitely rewarding to give it a few spins to let it sink in and grow. Being a room recording really adds to the overall atmosphere in a good way, especially the parts where can hear cough, chair moving etc, gives the recording some nice distractions. And Mikko, for me it's after 30 minutes Moon Over really starts to deliver, ha!
Comparing Moon Over...to Bats In The Attic are for me not really important since they are two completely different sound works, one harsh, one minimal drone. Both rule in my opinion.
Saw Keränen twice during his recent tour in Sweden and what can I say? The show he pulled off in Jönköping was pulverizing. One of the better noise gigs I've been to in a long while.
I think Green Car Crash is left in the shadow of the two other releases. To me Bats In The Attic is sort of a step forward in the same style.
I'm not so fancy of drones in general, but Moon Over Torrelorca is delicious. Like strong dark chocolate to the ears. Recording the room brings nice unexpected twists in it.
All the gigs I've witnessed have been really good.
Quote from: Borellus on June 03, 2011, 10:28:24 PM
I think Green Car Crash is left in the shadow of the two other releases. To me Bats In The Attic is sort of a step forward in the same style.
Disagreed, Green Car Crash is better than Bats in the Attic. I love the sounds of the tape. Bats in the Attic definitely has its good moments, though.
How about Keränen's work under the Rulla moniker, which records are most preferable?
There isn't much of Rulla done. Split with Montage isn't his best. It's different, though.
This is also quality what one should notify: He has yet to start repeating himself. Which appears to be difficult within noise, but every release is different. Rulla split CD has more to do with recent drone CD than his harsh noise output, I'd say.
I think I prefer green car crash to bats in the attic. I really have no interest in drone albums. But he makes some really great harsh noise
Video: Keränen at Konttiaukio 14.7.2011 (http://vimeo.com/26478877)
killer vidio!!
Mobile phone quality online live bootleg: http://soundcloud.com/asteroidmat/ker-nen-at-musiikkitalo
Keränen is a star. I prefer Bats In The Attic than Moon Over Torrelorca, but also this one is fucking incredible.
For A dear girl called wendy will be out (i wish asap) two releases from Keränen. First one is KKTK 7", a mail collaboration together Kazuma Kubota, and a LP with old tracks re-mastered. Can't wait that these are out, but Tommi is so lazy ;)
Fuck Mikko, I'll take that tour 3" if no one else already has?
some words on Moon Over Torrelorca....
Sound Projector
http://www.thesoundprojector.com/2011/09/11/lunar-nokturnes/
One hour of dank and clammy Swedish drone from Keränen, who spends the entire disc describing the lurid lighting effects of the Moon Over Torrelorca (LJUD & BILD PRODUCTION LBP002). The grey cover image entirely reflects the nature of the music, a charcoal drawing which in its semi-abstract way conjures up a black moon hovering in a sky that feels almost solid – perhaps clogged up with fog, smog, and life-threatening clouds of pollutive filth. This was recorded at the EMS electronic music studio in Stockholm, and Keränen must have spent many long hours labouring behind the digital capstans to produce this layered, burnished and near-oppressive sound. He applies filters so slowly and abstemiously, you'd think they were dispensed on a meter charging system at the EMS. Last heard from this guy in 2010 with his Bats In The Attic release for Pica Disk, which as I recall was quite a spiky package of strident noise; this Moon item is far more restrained, but still packs quite a wallop, even if the metal fist collides with your chin in slow motion.
Somewhat contemporary yet intriguing perspective on Torrelorca in Musique Machine.
"Moon Over Torrelorca" offers up a single hour long slice of descending, dark & deeply oppressive drone matter that seems to pull your mind into the deepest and darkest elements of both the night & ones own spirit.
The 57.55 minute track is drone at it's most doomed, glacial and hopeless form. The track is centred around very slowly shifting & thick currents of bleakly fed drone matter- it sounds like Keränen is using either synth or some kind of electronic based sound to create the drones central grim presence which at times has an almost ritual air about it.
As the track continues on its bleak & darkly hovering sonic arch Keränen subtle shifts and deepens the drones penetrating darkness with very slow motion sub-drone movement that just seem to pull you deeper & deeper into the central drone. One thing that does slightly upset the blacked apple kart is the odd shifting and moving sounds that can be picked up here & there through the track- I take it these are either the movement equipment or bodies as the tracks been played. Clearly the track was recorded live direct from the speakers, so I guess to a certain extent this cant be helped, but I'm afraid to say at times it does rather break the tracks blacked spell.
So if you're a fan of deep & penetrating doom drone that moves at a snails pace this is well worth a look. And who knows you may not notice the equipment & body movement,that appears from time to time through out the track, as much as I do.
http://www.musiquemachine.com/reviews/reviews_template.php?id=3416
Tommi, I have seen that you will be playing at the Sound Of Stockholm festival next week, but the festival program (http://soundofstockholm.se/sites/default/files/bilagor/programbok.pdf) fails to mention which night you're on. Can you inform us?
AFAIK, it should be on 22nd and would guess in the club program (have forgot to clarify this, åh). Some really interesting things in the program.
I'll spend next two weeks in Stockholm recording, cutting and splicing. Let's see how södermalmized I'll come out...
Correction, Keränen will play on friday evening, pardons for confusion.
My usual luck... I was planning to come on Saturday, but can't make it on Friday. You don't happen to have any more public performances planned for your weeks in Sthlm, do you?
Another PJ Harvey case, I recon.
At the moment nothing else fixed but will be back for the last two weeks of the year so maybe something could be worked out. Finskajävlajulskinka eller någonting.
I had to get drunk quite fast to be able to stay sane in the Kulturhuset atmosphere. Rescued Tommi and went to Malmskillnadsgatan (the hooker street of Stockholm) to find a place to drink. We found the russian themed KGB bar, actually the first time I have been there. Nice but semi-expensive. A couple of glasses of wine + some Standard vodka was all we had time to get before we "had" to get back to the artsy people. Lots of black clothes, horn-rimmed glasses, turtlenecks and bad postures. There was a bar also, and I made sure to give the bartender some extra tip, I felt sorry for the guy who had to work in that environment.
The first act was two guys with what sounded like acoustic guitars + percussion. Pretentious and awful, so I remained faithful to the bar.
This is my tax money paying for this stuff, by the way. I think it's cool that my money is paying for Tommi to come over here and give a show, but he's not even mentioned in the program ffs. These guys were.
Up next were two girls playing elaborate turntable setups under the name Vinyl Terror & Horror. Perfect loopy stuff for any tipsy person, and I was impressed with their set. Looking at discogs, I see they have a bunch of records out, I think I'll grab them soon.
Then Tommi played a solid set of laser-y harshshit. The volume was limited to 100 db, due to these prissy sound environment yada yada laws of Sweden. Tommi even turned the sound down after a few minutes to ask if the PA was even on. After that it got slightly louder/better, but it could have been a lot louder if you ask me. Like I said, laser was promised and laser was delivered via the Serge synth Tommi had borrowed from EMS + his trustworthy Sherman filter bank. Contact mics + heavy fuzz arsenal coupled with the Serge sounds made for great multi-layered wreckage of the highest order. I was rather wrecked myself by this time, and I enjoyed the set a lot. I feel sorry for the noise geeks who missed it.
Then the night continued with more focused drinking at Södermalm, at an old water hole I hadn't been to in some time. Drinks were handed out, I met people I haven't seen in years, good times, more drinking, more haze, finally stumbling through the back streets while my eyes (turned the colour of frozen meat by then) stopped working.
Please note that I have abstained from using the word artfag in this post. Oh snap.
Tommy/Tommi -- sorry to have missed out on what appears to have been a pretty epic night. But it wasn't for seeing PJ Harvey (I do admit liking this damsel though, and have seen her a couple of times in the past)... we had a since long planned social event at home including 11 kids aged 3 to 6, which left me probably just as wrecked as you guys. Great report btw.
What a good record "Moon Over Torrelorca" is. Beautiful and haunting at the same time. I have regularly come back to it since it came out.
Are that any other Keränen recordings that sounds familiar with this record?
Quote from: Mattias G on April 19, 2012, 02:45:24 PM
What a good record "Moon Over Torrelorca" is. Beautiful and haunting at the same time. I have regularly come back to it since it came out.
Are that any other Keränen recordings that sounds familiar with this record?
my favourite record of the past several months. so much value in replaying it over and over again to experience every nuance!
Quote from: Mattias G on April 19, 2012, 02:45:24 PM
Are that any other Keränen recordings that sounds familiar with this record?
No. His published recordings are such a small amount that there is basically just one release of one type of thing?
1) Green Car Crash tape = great heavy and dense noise. Makes me want to compare it with As Loud As Possible or Ministry Of Foolishness!
2) Bats In The Attic = total blast of lazer noise -> piercing harsh noise synths
3) Moon Over Torrelorca = minimalistic ambient. Recorded around same time with CD above.
His work under name "Rulla" was 3" tour CDr for Japan. Split CD with Montage - which both are nice, but hardly to be compared to two very good noise tapes he did on Trash Ritual and Harsh Head Rituals. Or any of the above mentioned.
The term "lazer noise" have always made me scared and i have never liked such sounds until a few months ago when i bought a Hecker LP and R/S LP on PAN. If that counts as lazer? But i have slowly beginning to like it in very small doses. Kind of refreshing to listen to after all "filthy" and "lofi" stuff most people do. So maybe i have to pick up "Bats in the attic" then.
And i will listen to the HHR Rulla tape again, it was a long time ago and i think i would appreciate the sounds more now than when it came out.
Bats in the Attic is 110% lazer noise all right, but somehow it still has this corrupted, rougher aspect to it. It's not sterile or digital sounding at all really. Great sound!
It's sharp loud and crispy. But like said, it's all huge vintage modular synths. It avoids the traps of most of synth noise, being highly active, very detailed and textured. When you think of it, I would say it is actually quite hard to say another release which would have taken similar approach, although on surface level you could file it simply in harsh noise.
KKTK "Tegami" 7"
http://wendyprodz.altervista.org/