Merging traditional Finnish harmonies into experimental jazz compositions and improvisation with a penchant for extraneous sound and quick shifts from elegant playing to forceful avant expression, Finish guitarist Heikki Ruokangas performs eight haunting works with mastery of technique and pacing in a warmly gripping album of solo acoustic guitar.
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Heikki Ruokangas-guitar
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UPC: 755491277577
Label: Orbit577
Catalog ID: CD-ORB5-OR5045
Squidco Product Code: 33558
Format: CDR
Condition: New
Released: 2023
Country: USA
Packaging: Digipack
Tracks 1, 3, 6 recorded at Kulttuuritalo Paivakoti, in Hailuoto, Finland, on August 15th, 2022.
Tracks 2, 4, 5, 7, 8 recorded at Villa Viena, in Oulu, Finland, on June 22th, 2022.
"Heikki Ruokangas, an avant-garde guitarist and composer from Finland, has made a name for himself in his home country by weaving traditional Finnish harmonies elegantly into his experimental jazz compositions. For his debut album with Orbit577 / 577 Records, Karu, he presents an elegant dialogue between melody and noise: The album's tracks shift from soothing and sensitive moments to heavier avant-garde expression. This worldbuilding collection of solo guitar is striking in its immediacy while additional dimensions of complexity are revealed with every breath, creak and avant-garde notion of tradition. Unhurried and spontaneous yet fully considered. Highly influenced by Finnish cultural achievements and the nation's ecology."-577 Records
Also available as a vinyl LP.Artist Biographies
• Show Bio for Heikki Ruokangas "Heikki Ruokangas (b. 1987) is a jazz/avant-garde guitarist and composer from Oulu, Finland. His music is a dialogue between melody and noise, shifting from soothing and sensitive moments to violent avant-garde expression, to distinct melodies and atonal motifs. Ruokangas draws his inspiration from avant-garde, contemporary, and traditional jazz as well as from his native Finnish musical heritage and traditions. He's performed throughout Europe and, at the age of 34, has already released over 20 collaborative and solo recordings. His current projects include a duet with drummer Simo Laihonen, a guitar and accordion duo with Anne-Mari Kanniainen, and his solo guitar project Heikki Ruokangas Monologues. Ruokangas is a member of an international improvisers collective, CI Community Project, that includes musicians from all over the world (New York, Berlin, Lisbon, Oulu etc.)." ^ Hide Bio for Heikki Ruokangas
4/24/2024
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Track Listing:
1. Psalm 5:09
2. On Suuri Sun Rantas Autius 3:29
3. Aalto I 3:07
4. Hailuoto 3:23
5. Aalto II 4:00
6. Ghost Waltz 4:55
7. Akaslompolo 3:04
8. Hyvaa Huomenta Maailma 2:23
Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Guitarists, &c.
Solo Artist Recordings
New in Improvised Music
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