THE FASCINATING FINNISH PSYCHEDELIC FREE FOLK SCENE IS CONTINUALLY MORPHING, AND KUUPUU (AKA JONNA KARANKA) IS CURRENTLY ONE OF THE MOVEMENT'S DARKEST STARS. AT LEAST, IF THE STRANGE NOCTURNAL SOUNDS THAT HAVE BEEN COMPILED FOR THIS COLLECTION (THE SECOND IN A SERIES OF VINYL LPS THAT GATHERS TOGETHER THE BEST OF HER OWN CD-R AND CASSETTE RELEASES) ARE ANYTHING TO GO BY.

WHILE THE ACCOMPANYING BLURB CITES FURSAXA, ANIMAL COLLECTIVE, WOODEN WAND & THE VANISHING VOICE AND VASHTI BUNYAN AS POSSIBLE INFLUENCES, NONE OF THESE CAN BE COMFORTABY SLOTTED INTO THE SAME JAGGED-EDGED FRAME THAT KUUPUU HAS ASSEMBLED AROUND HER MUSIC. UNILINTU BEGINS WITH A LOOPING ELECTRONIC SNARL, A GRINDING OF FUTURISTIC GEARS AND BROKEN MECHANICAL BIRD BEAKS THAT UPTURN ANY NOTION THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE A FORMULAIC ALT FOLK ROCK RAMBLE.

AS A CORE MEMBER OF EXPERIMENTAL COLLECTIVE AVARUS, KARANKA'S MUSIC AND SONGS ARE NATURAL EXTENSIONS OF THAT GROUP'S FONDNESS FOR NATURAL SOUND COLLAGE, BRUISED INSTRUMENTALS AND ATMOSPHERIC AURAL ILLUSION. HALFWAY THROUGH SIDE ONE AND A STORM IS GATHERING. IT'S THE PERFECT THREATENING BACKDROP FOR AN ACOUSTICALLY STRUMMMED SONG THAT SOUNDS PLAINTIVELY DISTANT AND GHOSTLY AS THE ELEMENTS COME CRASHING IN, ONLY TO BE REPLACED WITH A ONE-NOTE PIANO SOLO THAT TAKES ON THE ACOUSTIC AMBIENCE OF RAIN DROPPING THROUGH A HOLE IN A GALE-TORN ROOF.

THE SAME SIMPLE BUT MAGICAL INNOCENCE LEAKS THROUGH TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RECORD, WHERE FURTHER EXAMPLES OF KUUPUU'S EAR FOR THE UNUSUAL ARE DEMONSTRATED. WITH A VOICE THAT MURMURS, RATHER THAN SINGS, OFTEN IN HARMONY WITH HERSELF, OCCASIONALLY ACCOMPANIED BY A KIND OF GAMELAN/WIND CHIME ORCHESTRA, THE MOOD OF UNILINTU SHIFTS SEAMLESSLY AND DREAMILY FROM OTHERWORLDLY PASTORAL TO INDUSTRIAL WITHOUT MISSING A BEAT.

EDWIN POUNCEY | THE WIRE

ABOUT HALF A YEAR AGO, IN THE EXACT SAME PUBLICATION, I WAS RAVING ABOUT THE FIRST COMPILATION LP OF KUUPUU TRACKS THAT WERE REISSUED BY THE DEKORDER LABEL FROM GERMANY. “UNILINTU” FOLLOWS THAT COMPILATION AND REVIVES SOME MORE (MAYBE EVEN ALL) OF THE PREVIOUSLY “LOST” TRACKS BY JONNA KARANKA THAT SHE RELEASED ON CD-RS AND ONE CASSETTE. THE 12 TRACKS ON “UNILINTU” ARE CULLED FROM THE SAME RELEASES AS THE ONES ON ITS PREDECESSOR “YÖKEHRÄ”. JUDGING FROM THE INFO PROVIDED BY THE LABEL, THE TUNES ON “UNILINTU” REPRESENT THE MORE SOLEMN SIDE OF KARANKA´S OUTPUT. WHILE THERE IS SOME TRUTH TO THAT, THE OVERALL INNOCENCE OF HER MUSIC EVENS OUT ANY UNEASINESS THAT COULD ARISE WHILE LISTENING TO KUUPUU.

THAT SAID, PIECES LIKE “MYRSKYLAULU” WHICH WAS TAKEN FROM THE MOST RECENT CD-R “KULTA SULTA” ARE PRETTY SPOOKY. YOU HEAR SOME THUNDER IN THE BACKGROUND AND KARANKA´S DOUBLE-TRACKED VOICE OVER A PICKED GUITAR MELODY, AND THE MOOD SEEMS NOT AS POSITIVE AS ON SOME OF HER OTHER TRACKS. THE SAME GOES FOR THE INSTANTLY FOLLOWING PIANO PIECE “ONNENKUELAA”. IT´S A GOOD THING THAT THERE ARE ALSO TRACKS LIKE THE NATURE SOUND FILLED “LINNUT”, THE DEEPLY MEDITATIVE “LINTUPOLKU” OR THE ACAPELLA TRACK “TAIVAANKOTIIN” THAT ARE MORE SOOTHING FOR THE SOUL.

OVERALL, IT´S IMPOSSIBLE TO SAY THAT EITHER “YÖKEHRÄ” OR “UNILINTU” IS THE BETTER OF THE TWO RELEASES. BOTH LPS TAKEN TOGETHER CAN DEFINITELY CONSIDERED CLASSIC RELEASES FROM THE FINNISH UNDERGROUND THAT SEEMS TO HAVE SLOWN DOWN A BIT REGARDING THE SPEED WITH WHICH RELEASES HAD BEEN PUT OUT IN 2005 AND THE FIRST HALF OF 2006. WHILE LISTENING TO “UNILINTU”, IT BECOMES MORE AND MORE OBVIOUS THAT THOSE LO-FI CD-RS AND THE CASSETTE WITH KUUPUU TRACKS JUST HAD TO BE SAVED FROM BEING FORGOTTEN. THE ONLY THING THAT´S MISSING NOW IS NEW MATERIAL BY KUUPUU. 9/10

STEPHAN BAUER | FOXY DIGITALIS