Sohjo Pekka Lehti & Outo Voima Label: Aito CD No. AICD004 2003 £7.99 Band from: Finland Genre: Finnish
Review
"Pekka Lehti was bassist with Finnish band Värttinä for 10 years. But although his roots, like theirs, go back to Karelian soil, it was with punk band Outo Voima he made his first musical mark. Along the way he's inhabited the jazz world too, and found inspiration from Nino Rota, Mingus and Piazzola.
Lehti is joined by percussionist Marko Timonen and multi-instrumentalist Jouko Kyhälä, making music which would be as at home in the searing heat of the Californian deserts as by a Finnish lake in midsummer.
From the gentle bells of the opening and a bass line which creeps into your consciousness you're gripped by a musical force which could go in any direction. Its inherent beauty is unsettling; the physical effect of its rhythms is compulsive.
This is an album of danger and smokey desire, with just enough nostalgia thrown in to tug at the heartstrings. Unforgettable."
Fiona Talkington - BBC Music online