This is perhaps matter of debate, if the Finnish experimental / electro acoustic music as a whole fits under topic of "playful" experimental music.
This compilation is not playful in ways of costumes and toy sound clatter, but it is experimental, it is certainly playful and even joyful. Very few artists here cross-over into darker and noisier side of Finn scene. Perhaps [owt-kri] and especially his harsh noise side project. Most of others you'd be more likely to hear from National broadcasting radio station experimental programs.
Those interested in what is going on in Finland, besides multiple noise compilations, couple weeks ago was published glass master Digipak CD in edition of 200, which is kind of anomaly in scene where seems to be no buying audience, heh.. but it has handful of noteworthy tracks:
https://unexplainedsoundsgroup.bandcamp.com/album/anthology-of-electroacoustic-music-from-finlandQuoteThere is a long tradition of Electroacoustic music in Finland beginning in the 1950's with the experimentation of tape music. Finland's first electronic musical instrument the "Sähkövalopiano" or "Electric Light Piano" was built before this in 1894. It was constructed in the Polytechnic Institute (now Aalto University) in Helsinki. Finland also has a tradition of blending archaic traditional music in the contemporary music scene. The Kalevala tradition for example dates back centuries before today and the instruments associated with it were used to accompany shepherds on their lonely watches, or village dance parties bringing joy and sense of belonging to communities. These musical traditions have been revitalised by being used in a modern context. Even with the emerging of new technologies to open new horizons for composing music, the avant garde movement and a plethora of new and continuously evolving music genres, the very root of Finnish Kalevala tradition has stayed alive and has been brought to the present, not only in its original form, but also being integrated into electroacoustic realm by the musicians willing to experiment. Rauno Nieminen, a master luthier of archaic instruments and a musician, explains this best: "An instrument or a musical culture can stay alive only if it will be adapted to the music that new generations are creating". This compilation is proof that the Finnish musical tradition and its instruments are still alive and taking steps to new sound territories.
Heikki Lindgren
Facts about electroacoustic music history in Finland from the studies of Petri Kuljuntausta.
Traditional instruments used in the record (among others): bowed lyre, overtone flute, kantele, jaw harp among others.
Highlights:
Hulva, mostly processed violin, with all sorts of shimmer-reverb drenched type of easy, yet nice methods.
Heikki Lindgren + Mika Rintala, distorted flute sounds and synthesizers creating neat multilayered textures that are drifting and oscillating. Especially flute is good, synths a bit too "line-in" vibe.
Heikki Lindgren + Rauno Nieminen - The forging of the Kantele is just as name says. Source sound kantele, processed with current day digital technology.
Critique would be that it appears clear that everything or pretty much everything here is recorded in ways people record "these days". While on Finnish noise compilation, you can hear plenty of variation of recording methods and overall sounds, the production values on the CD is pretty much similar despite sound and compositions vary. It all sounds generic computer mixed and edited contemporary production. In field of experimental, one would assume there is room for wider experimentation in production?
Perhaps
Teemu Korpipää - Lokkiranta II is only track that takes advantage of slightly more lo-fi source materials, including field recordings with hissing quality that avoid sounding like big part of current day field recordings sound.
One track that seems totally out of place, is the 17+min psychedelic eastern mysticism reeking hippie jam of Kohellus. Not even atrocious in its genre, but very little if anything to do with "electro acoustic music" and also if talking about
Finnish musical tradition and its instruments are still alive, this track is more like example of sound that is trademark of global and international and utterly generic.
