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Product Description
Telegraph **** (Mark Hudson)
One of the discoveries of this year's Womad festival, this Finnish duo create beguiling sound pictures from the unlikely combination of accordion and double bass. The sinuous interweaving of folk melody, jazz improvisation and touches of stately tango - a distinctively Finnish taste - adds up to an intriguing and atmospheric portrait of their home city.
This is a musical marriage made in heaven between an accordionist (Lepisto) of exceptional elegance and beauty and a bass player (Lehti) with outstanding energy and wit. Performers and composers Markku Lepisto and Pekka Lehti have a shared heritage as members of the Finnish group Varttina and they bring some of that musical daring and innovation along to this duo CD, as well as their own chamber music sensitivity and the seductiveness of jazz. To hear them live and experience their warm communication is unforgettable, but much of that warmth is there on the CD, which exudes joy from the opening track, `Helsinki'. They then glide through a very Finnish tango, transport us to another mysterious world in Lehti's evocative composition `Sarastus', and marvel at the impeccable and awesome playing in Lepisto's `Concerto Diatonique'.
This is a musical marriage made in heaven between an accordionist (Lepisto) of exceptional elegance and beauty and a bass player (Lehti) with outstanding energy and wit. Performers and composers Markku Lepisto and Pekka Lehti have a shared heritage as members of the Finnish group Varttina and they bring some of that musical daring and innovation along to this duo CD, as well as their own chamber music sensitivity and the seductiveness of jazz. To hear them live and experience their warm communication is unforgettable, but much of that warmth is there on the CD, which exudes joy from the opening track, `Helsinki'. They then glide through a very Finnish tango, transport us to another mysterious world in Lehti's evocative composition `Sarastus', and marvel at the impeccable and awesome playing in Lepisto's `Concerto Diatonique'.
There are eight sumptuous tracks in all, each musician represented by four compositions. Although Lepisto and Lehti have named the CD after their homeland's capital city there's a little thread of Italy running through the feel of the music too, with sunshine-filled accordion playing in conversation with incisive and formidable bass lines and twisting harmonies. It's an invitation to immerse yourself in some extremely fine and memorable music-making.
© Fiona Talkington
CD Description
Markku Lepistö (accordion) and Pekka Lehti (bass) were previously in Värttinä. "Helsinki" is this duo's début album and testimony to the axiom "less is more". Both well-respected Finnish music virtuosos in their own right, Lepistö &Lehti play original material from their respective projects, approaching the material from a new angle. The duo operates at the forefront of contemporary Nordic world music, but at the same time, their sound could be described as having a distinct chamber music and jazz influences. On stage, Lepistö&Lehti share a vision of contemporary minimalism. There is space within this music, and the two musicians each have a different musical history to tap into. This translates into a highly personal sound with remarkable confidence and vision. Tracks: Helsinki / Vainajalan Tango / Länsiranta / Sarastus / Caprice Diatonique / Eskolle / Cocerto Diatonique / Muistelo
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1 review
Helsinki is warm this time of year.............
26 Jan 2011
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I had seen this duo at an international music festival. They had been placed on a small side stage. They were humorously describing their nordic background to the audience and quietly weaving an intimate sound chemistry as they played short pieces at intervals. I was struck by the warm cosmopolitan hues they evoked, sometimes French cafe, sometimes folk, sometimes latin or light jazz.
How could accomplished musicians from cold northern climes have developed such an appealing global mix? How was it they syncopated and swung with such consummate ease? I guessed it was because they are so well travelled on the world music festival circuit, and have absorbed a diversity of styles.
An accordion and double bass work well together, the two players giving each other plenty of space as they develop a piece in an unhurried fashion. They take a gentle ambient approach to their work, and the album is very relaxing to listen to. The recorded sound is open and engaging, the two instruments being placed nicely in the stereo mix so as to reach out to you.
When your musical appetite has become jaded, when you are suffering overload at the hands of today's rich offerings, reach for this album and reflect on their gentle unassuming style of delivery. Play it at a dinner party for your friends and see the smiles light up. I'm fervently anticipating their next release!
How could accomplished musicians from cold northern climes have developed such an appealing global mix? How was it they syncopated and swung with such consummate ease? I guessed it was because they are so well travelled on the world music festival circuit, and have absorbed a diversity of styles.
An accordion and double bass work well together, the two players giving each other plenty of space as they develop a piece in an unhurried fashion. They take a gentle ambient approach to their work, and the album is very relaxing to listen to. The recorded sound is open and engaging, the two instruments being placed nicely in the stereo mix so as to reach out to you.
When your musical appetite has become jaded, when you are suffering overload at the hands of today's rich offerings, reach for this album and reflect on their gentle unassuming style of delivery. Play it at a dinner party for your friends and see the smiles light up. I'm fervently anticipating their next release!
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