what can you tell me about the Finnish ba

They are on the Psych team add list (I think they'll be added by Eetu).
Depends on which album you choose. Quite varied band. You have sounds ranging from psych freak-outs to spacey tunes, to krautrock influences to more experimental "noises".

You can get a good impression of their sounds on the Aquarius website - look for Circle albums and read the descriptions:
http://www.aquariusrecords.org/index.html
Here's a taste of it:




CIRCLE Alotus (Klangbad) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Right on schedule, the prolific band that The Wire insists on referring to as "Finnish Metal Minimalists" and who of course are all-time AQ faves, have come out with another disc (they're in the double digits now!) of the mantric, repetitive space-rock music that's our addiction. Granted, their previous album, the amazing "Sunrise", did dabble in the devil's music. But while on this one Teemu and Jyrki's guitars do get heavy at times, and vocalist Mika does an Udo Dirkschnieder impression at least once, "Alotus" is primarily about plenty of late-night rhythmic slow-burn stuff that references prior Circle discs like "Hissi" and "Pori" -- recalling as well their krautrock forebears Neu! and Can, as always. Circle's grooves simmer here, brooding yet pretty, only exploding with heavy prog/psych power towards the conclusion of a track, if at all. With Mika whispering and crooning weirdly more than screaming, "Altous" is driven by ticking clock tension provided by drummer Janne's metronoymic pulse. Some songs are dark and spooky (though Mika's vocals to some might verge on silly, which is ok with us), instrumentally relentless and ominous, while others have a more gleeful exuberance, as captured (for instance) by the repeating Magmoid bass riff from Jussi as the title track percolates along... The tension is resolved when "Potto" ends things with the disc's most potent eruption of "metal" (actually just loud rock) mayhem. Both of the tracks just mentioned might actually sound a little familiar to Circle fans, for they've been aired before in live form on their recent "Raunio" disc!
Released on Faust's label Klangbad (and produced by Faust's Hans Joachim Irmler, who had a hand in the arrangements as well), this boasts liner notes in German and English by Rolf Jaeger that highlight the connection 'twixt classic Krautrock and Circle's modern day take off on the form. Comes in a digipak with purple-tinted photo of a wall and a hedge or tree to puzzle over.
MPEG Stream: "Tyolaisten Laulu"
MPEG Stream: "Potto"


CIRCLE Andexelt (tUMULt) cd 13.98
AVAILABLE AGAIN!!!
Finally one of our all time favorite Circle records back in print! We first listed this way back in 1999, and it was for many people their first exposure to this amazing and mysterious, dreamy and hypnotic, modern spaced out krautrock band from Finland. By now, Circle is practically a household name, at least for those of you living in a seriously cool music household, having released about 15 or 16 records since Andexelt. But way back in 1999, Circle were a a brand new discovery for most American weird rock fans, and Andexelt knocked everyone on their asses.
A delirious dose of droning, hypnotic neo-kraut rock that effortlessly managed to out-post most post rock bands and out-space most spacerock bands. Circle were (and are) the northernmost heirs to the Krautrock tradition. On Andexelt, the band were taking basic riffs, stretching and reshaping them, twisting them into brand new shapes, creating bleak, ever shifting underwater grooves and dizzyingly repetitive rhythms, sounding like an otherworldly This Heat or a more damaged Can. A mesmerising wall of sound delivered with the sheer force of Loop or Godflesh, but with dark precision and melodic restraint. Mellow, delicate jazzy passages intersected with crushing Bonham-esque beats. Fans of Circle's other great records, past and present, can already guess that this is completely amazing and absolutely essential!!! While fans of Salvatore and Tortoise and Mogwai and TransAm and all other practitioners of epic bombastic hypno-rock, mesmeric math rock and even the current crop of sludgy metallic post rock, would do well to pick this up if they missed it the first time around. Andexelt is the perfect mix of their current more metallic drone rock pummel and their older more mesmerizing krautrock groove bliss. So absolutely brilliant and completely and utterly essential.
Exactly the same as the original tUMULt pressing, including the 10 minute bonus track and kick ass secret song not included on the import version, originally released on Finnish weird-prog label Metamorphos. SO AWESOME!!!!!
MPEG Stream: "Andexelt"
MPEG Stream: "Odultept"
MPEG Stream: "Humusaar"
MPEG Stream: "Lisaapui"


CIRCLE Arkades (Fourth Dimension) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Finalnd's mighty masters of metallic hypno drone rock return, with yes, another limited LP only release, and their obsession (one of many obsessions they have) with Southern Rock has finally reached critical mass. Not so much musically, although there are subtle hints here and there, as visually and conceptually. This set, recorded live on Brian Turner's radio show on WFMU when Circle were in the states last time is a monster. Two side long tracks, combining the metallic leanings of their later records, with the murky propulsiveness of their earlier records, as well as their droney improvised abstract side (most noticable on the LP only Mountain). It's kind of remarkable how all of Circle's disparate musical personalities fit so well together. But before we get to the music, let's talk about the sleeve. And the Southern Rock. The cover features a knotty pine background, riddled with bullet holes, two crossed pistols above the band name. Very Sergio Leone... The reverse side features a band photo seemingly branded into the wood, with Circle donning cowboy hats and sombreros, whooping it up like that last freeze frame in an episode of Bonanza (maybe it was CHiPs, but Bonanza makes more sense here). Then there's Brian Turner's eyewitness account of the musical showdown that occurred when Circle showed up at WFMU to record their set. Woe was the pasty British garage band that felt Circle's wrath. Broken glass and tobacco spit figure prominently. And let's not forget the Confederate flag on the LP label.
Thankfully (or maybe not, some might be thinking) this Southern Rock doesn't filter all the way down to the music. Instead we've got more of that Circular genius we just can't get enough of.
Side one begins as an abstract soundscape of spacey affected riffs, sort of blurry and drifty, above strange mumbled mutterings and what sounds like alien scat singing. The vibe is strangely dubby and Middle Eastern sounding. Eventually a warm wash of woozy distorted guitars builds into a monstrous swell of sound, warm and thick and sort of heavy, while buried beneath is a burbling cauldron of electronic squiggles and gurgling vocal sputters. Out of nowhere, like a beam of sunlight with a small flock of faeiries flitting about, comes a strange dreamy drift of almost rennaisance faire sounding festive folk, which dissipates quickly into a swirl of speaking-in-tongues vocals and insect like electronics before drifting off.
Side two is a bit darker, with faux throat singing over ominous psych sludge riffing like classic Circle but slowed way down. Groovy and dark, peppered with subtle tribal percussion. Weirdly enough, that weird dreamy stretch of faerie flecked folk sunniness that surfaced briefly on side A, shows up again here in a slightly different form, and disappears just as quickly, returning to a VERY Circular propulsive groove. Drums skitter instead of pound, while a guitar drifts and stutters, sounding a bit like the guitar line from the Smiths' "How Soon Is Now" but way more druggy and psychedelic!
So we'll all have to keep waiting for the inevitable, that record they keep threatening us with, when Circle finally become a bizarre krautrock psychrock dronemetal version of the Marshall Tucker Band, but for now, just crack open that Jack Daniels, throw those boots up on the desk (careful with those spurs!), pull the brim of your ten gallon down over your eyes, put a little pinch between your teeth and gums, turn it up and drift off...


CIRCLE Circle b/w Elcric (Fonal) 7" 6.66
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
New 7" from our favorite Finnish masters of hypnotic rock groove, that's right, Circle! Two tracks that find the circlular ones continuing in their more rocking trajectory with side A being a bouncy groover, like a smoothed out AC/DC riff, that slowly builds into a psychedelic squall. Side B is a bit sludgier, a sort of MC5 / Stooges dirge with muttered spaced-out vocals and dirty distorted guitar. A good teaser for their upcoming Guillotine album which we should have soon!


CIRCLE Earthworm (No Quarter) cd ep 8.98
Four new songs from AQ faves Circle! Maybe that's all we need to say... but perhaps foolishly we'll go further. After many years of cultish obscurity in this country, Circle are at last beginning to get some wider recognition. They've managed to briefly tour in the States twice in the last year or so, most recently playing a handful of dates (not in San Francisco, unfortunately) centered around their appearance at the South By Southwest music convention in Austin, Texas just a few weeks ago. So more and more people are getting to see and hear 'em, and that means more and more converts to Circle fandom. They're an amazing live spectacle -- a hypnotic, headbanging, minimalist metallic post-krautrock juggernaut that doesn't stint on the hair and the sweat. And their many albums are equally incredible. We'd always wondered why they weren't the latest post-rock big thing...well maybe it's 'cause they're so dang weird! Which, of course, we like. Bands that sing in their own made-up languages (a la Magma) and do other unashamedly "prog rock" and sometime metal things too are definitely cool with us. But does that get them signed to Thrill Jockey or Matador? No. Not yet anyway. And as popular as they've become in recent years, Circle (you know) are still weirdos. Just take a look at the cover of the live LP we listed here last time! So, what do you suppose they decided to do for the cdep that was intended to be released to coincide with (though, it got delayed) their SXSW appearance and surrounding tour? Unsurprisingly, something strange. But very Circle. You see, Jussi from Circle is a HUGE fan of a band from LA in the '80s called Jesters Of Destiny. As are Andee and Allan. Chances are, if you're an AQ customer who's heard of them, it's because Jussi reissued an album of theirs on his label Ektro a few years ago. Crazy, catchy alternative metal/new wave/punk/pop music. Jussi loves Jesters of Destiny so much that, having met up with their former singer Bruce Duff in LA when Circle played the Arthurfest last year, Jussi got Duff to sing on this here ep! Since we're fans of Jesters too, we were stoked, and hoping for a 30 minute jam on the JoD's big hit (not really) "Diggin' That Grave"! But that's not what they did. What you get here are four tracks, three of 'em featuring Duff on vocals, one an instrumental. It definitely sounds like Circle, but the usual mock-operatics sung in Meronian by Circle keyboardist Mikka Ratto have been replaced by Duff's equally unique vocal stylings. It's maybe a bit like the 3 Dead People After The Performance album that Circle recorded with Can's Damo Suzuki, except that these are real songs with lyrics (written by Duff) in English, not improvs. We're not really used to understanding the words in a Circle song, so it's all very strange. Musically, though, it's the repetitive hypno-rock these guys do so well. First track "Earthworm" is hectic and heavy, the second one "Connection" is almost more of a pop tune, and the third track "Taking It Back" is calmer and more Can-like, with Duff delivering his lines in a whisper. And then the instrumental "Coda" wraps things up in fine Circle fashion. Because of Duff's vocals, this is definitely one of the odder Circle documents. But not a bad concept for an ep, just the sort of thing an ep is for!
MPEG Stream: "Earthworm"
MPEG Stream: "Connection"


CIRCLE Empire (Riot Season) lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This went out of print not long after we first listed it in October of '04. And it's still out of print. But one of our suppliers somehow found 15 copies. Which we promptly snatched up. So... our previous review gets a one-time-only-rerun:
Vinyl Only. Limited. 750 copies. Circle. Did you get that? Circle. Vinyl Only. Limited. 750 copies. And we only have 15. That said, here follows a possibly superfluous review... Anyone who liked the last cd we listed by our Finnish friends Circle, Forest, ought to also like this live recording. It's all new material -- two side-long cuts, "Dragon" and "Empire" -- but they are definitely in the hippified, semi-acoustic jamming vein of Forest, all dark and psychedelic and Can-like. Both tracks are epics, with peaks and valleys, the second side eventually building up into a guitar riff-repetition thing that's classic Circle indeed. Frickin' gorgeous and hypnotic.
MPEG Stream: "Dragon"


CIRCLE Forest (Ektro) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY. BUT WE SHOULD HAVE THE DOMESTIC NO QUARTER VERSION, SEE NEARBY!
It's incredible how AQ's Finnish faves n' friends Circle always manage to maintain their trademark sound -- repetitive, hypnotic post-prog grooves -- even as they produce new albums with such distinct, different identities. Their latest disc, Forest, is another great, unique Circle effort. This time around, they've gone semi-acoustic, kinda folky. Also spooky and sinisterly-synthed. In a way, Forest is perhaps Circle's most "hippie" album. We know Jussi's a big Dead fan after all. And the krautrock stuff they've obviously always been inspired by was hippie rock too. But there's a back-to-the-land, pot smokin' jam vibe here, although night-shrouded and mysterious, NOT rainbow-colored and dippy. This a Forest of nightmares, with whispering and groaning in the trees. Maybe Jussi and Co. have been listening to the likes of Kalacakra and Siloah and Amon Duul... and Goblin, and early Tangerine Dream... For sure it seems that the four lengthy tracks on here (shortest six+ minutes, one nine, the other two in the double digits) owe a lot to Can (maybe moreso than other Circle albums do) and also to...the blues! That's the biggest shock. Vocalist Mika Ratto's love 'em or hate 'em operatic vocals are shucked in favor of a mumbling, moaning, singin' the blues style. And, equally shocking, he's singing in English this time! Not that you can make sense of much of what's coming out of his mouth. And of course most of the time Forest is all-instrumental, spacious, suspenseful, grooved-out, darkness. The final, longest track dabbles in ambient, experimental witch-project drone before those Circle rhythms return and Mika moans his last. So good.
MPEG Stream: "Havuportti"
MPEG Stream: "Luikertelevat Lahoavat"


CIRCLE Forest (No Quarter / Ektro) cd 14.98
This 2004 Circle album is now available domestically on the No Quarter label (who've recently also brought us Psychic Paramount's debut and the Earth remixes cd)! Same tracks as the Finnish import version on Ektro that we previously stocked, and very similar (but modified) artwork -- the cover now boasts a "flame job" that wasn't there on the original. So, here's our review from before of this quite recommended Circle album:
It's incredible how AQ's Finnish faves 'n' friends Circle always manage to maintain their trademark sound -- repetitive, hypnotic post-prog grooves -- even as they produce new albums with such distinct, different identities. Their latest disc, Forest, is another great, unique Circle effort. This time around, they've gone semi-acoustic, kinda folky. Also spooky and sinisterly-synthed. In a way, Forest is perhaps Circle's most "hippie" album. We know Jussi's a big Dead fan after all. And the krautrock stuff they've obviously always been inspired by was hippie rock too. But there's a back-to-the-land, pot smokin' jam vibe here, although night-shrouded and mysterious, NOT rainbow-colored and dippy. This a Forest of nightmares, with whispering and groaning in the trees. Maybe Jussi and Co. have been listening to the likes of Kalacakra and Siloah and Amon Duul... and Goblin, and early Tangerine Dream... For sure it seems that the four lengthy tracks on here (shortest six+ minutes, one nine, the other two in the double digits) owe a lot to Can (maybe moreso than other Circle albums do) and also to...the blues! That's the biggest shock. Vocalist Mika Ratto's love 'em or hate 'em operatic vocals are shucked in favor of a mumbling, moaning, singin' the blues style. And, equally shocking, he's singing in English this time! Not that you can make sense of much of what's coming out of his mouth. And of course most of the time Forest is all-instrumental, spacious, suspenseful, grooved-out, darkness. The final, longest track dabbles in ambient, experimental witch-project drone before those Circle rhythms return and Mika moans his last. So good.
MPEG Stream: "Havuportti"
MPEG Stream: "Luikertelevat Lahoavat"


CIRCLE Fraten (Metamorphos) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Fourth album of beautiful repetition from these Finnish innovators. Not quite so heavy or dark as previous releases, Fraten explores (somewhat) mellower territory with equally hypnotic results as before.


CIRCLE General (Kevyt Nostalgia) lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
What really needs to be said by now. Other than... A NEW CIRCLE RECORD!! And a live one to boot. And ask anyone who saw Circle live on their recent tour, and they'll berate you first for missing it, and then go on and on and on about how f**king great Circle are live. Which as we can most definitely attest to is the absolute truth! So for those of you who missed out, or those of you who didn't but can't stand the thought of missing out now, we present to you General! On vinyl only, and already sold out at the label, we have 50 copies and then that is it!
The first track(s) is a weird one, starting off with a bit of noodly electric piano, over a thick staticky haze of backgroud whir, segueing quickly into a strange lite prog, like Gentle Giant or Gong maybe, but unlike those bands, Circle's lite prog is buried in effects, the vocals are freaked out and splinter into mad echos, the drums careen wildly into the ether, the whole thing a swirling prog rock acid-drenched freakout. Eventually things settle into that instantly recognizable Circle groove, a throbbing hypnotic krautrocky workout. Then Circle pulls a Skynrd on us by fading out a track on side one and then fading back into it on side two. So awesome. Haven't really noticed anyone pulling that one off in ages.
Most of side two is taken up by a much heavier Circle, with a thick fuzzy serpentine bass line underpinning simple repeated guitar riffs, the drums pounding out a basic, impossible to resist rhythm, everything building in intensity, eventually melting down into a full on low-end freakout, a wall of distortion and splattered drums, super effected wailing vocals all burning bright before drifting back to black. Woah.
And let's not forget to mention the amazing cover art featuring a blurry 3-D style photo of a shirtless Jussi flexing with chains in his hands, Janne in some sort of bondage gear, and Mika and Tomi in spikes and helmets. NWOFHM! f**k yeah!


CIRCLE Golem / Vesiliirto (Kevyt Nostalgia / Super Metsa) 2lp 29.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Circle. Vinyl. Limited. Those three words ought to be enough for many of you. But for the sticklers who want a bit more from us, read on: AQ faves and Finnish friends Circle present a brand new vinyl-only (as yet) double album, one disc entitled Golem and the other Vesiliirto. Golem's got titles in English ("Salamander Sword", "At War With Mercy", "Forbidden Steel Patriot", "True Incubus From Beyond" and "Destination Thunder"!!!) that are all very metal-sounding, though in actuality these two sides are quite far from metal (even Circle's previous stab at metal on their Sunrise cd). Golem is all recorded live, and is the most free-form, ambient, f**ked up, droned-out, abstract Circle document we've yet heard, unique in their catalog though hinted at by parts of their previous album Guillotine (and possible Circle side-project Doktor Kettu). Whereas, the second LP in this set, with all-Finnish titles, is a studio session, and is much more in Circle's tradition of tight, rhythmic, repetitive rock riffage. Of course, we like 'em both. In a glossy, beautiful gatefold sleeve with attractive yet macabre collage graphics. Nice!


CIRCLE Guillotine (Ektro / Scratch) cd 15.98
Our favorite Finns are back, again. After a dozen or so albums, this one is perhaps their tribute to entropy, wherein Circle's characteristic clockwork mechanisms wind down into uncharacteristic disorder. Their last album on Ektro was the phenomenal headbanging hard rock production Sunrise, an album that got The Wire to somewhat misleading refer to Circle as "Finnish metal minimalists". The metal stylings of Sunrise are not to be found on Guillotine (despite this new album's much more metal title) but our friends Jussi & co. continue to innovate while remaining true to their trademark "circular" sound. A good portion of Guillotine finds them venturing in a hazy, oft-noisy primitive psych direction (hinted at by the few tracks on Sunrise that didn't rock you like a hurricane). But it's a varied album, equally likely to offer up 'classic' Circle repetitive-rock pulsations and noodly fusion. So, quite different in parts, yet with enough of the same Circle of yore to satisfy stogy old fans as well.
Guillotine starts off with the incredibly authentically '70s sounding kraut/fusion of "Metsan Henget". A very very Can-like ten minutes right there. Soon the listener's ears are graced by Mika Ratto's absurdly amazing, amazingly absurd vocals. Babbling goofily operatic, probably a love 'em or hate 'em component of the current Circle sound. Then, Guillotine takes a low-fi turn into what we might consider Circle's version of Jewelled Antler's psych-folk. Perhaps they've been influenced by countryfolk like Avarus, Kemialliset Ystavat, and Doktor Kettu (the latter being a likely source of cross-contamination, as their recordings appear on Jussi's cd-r label). Circle create a mellow caveman hippy jam of sorts, followed by an example of twangy acoustic psych that leaves Circle's classic motorik machine stylings far behind. Except that then "Teraskylpy" kicks in with a totally Circle krautrock beat, shuffling like David Shire's Taking Of Pelham One-Two-Three noir funk soundtrack. It's a 12-minute-plus build-up that devolves into some maniacal noise drone. Surprises continue, with "Saapuvat Ne Merelta" being waaay more spastic and chaotic than we'd ever expect from Circle. Normally they're so mechanically precise and repetitive, but so much of this sounds improvised and unpredictable. There's even a track that could be an ambient version of a rap record intro, complete with police siren. Weird. So Guillotine is quite possibly the most 'organic' and 'free' sounding Circle ever, clanking and primitive. And the '70s vibe is palpable, our obscure music geek peanut butter/chocolate analogy being: like Captain Beyond meets Neu! stoner prog kraut.
MPEG Stream: "Paaton Mies"
MPEG Stream: "Teraskylpy"


CIRCLE Hissi (Meta) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Following their two records on Bad Vugum, this amazing Finnish band release their third hypnotic opus for a new label. If their first full-length could be described as AmRep grunge-meets-Gregorian chants, and if the second entered into a Kraut-rocky realm with cellos etc., then "Hissi" is Circle's stab at post-rock electronica...The vocals are gone on all but one track, and Cirle's trademark repetitive sound is less about riffs on this record than beats. Still like nothing else. Recommended.


CIRCLE Meronia (Bad Vugum) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.



CIRCLE Meronia (Bad Vugum) 2lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.



CIRCLE Miljard (Ektro) 2cd 17.98
Delicate? Calm? Circle? Yes. Listen up. You'd think that for a band with, no less than, what, twenty albums to their name AND who always write songs with an invariable central musical concept (circularity, natch, the repetitive pulse that all their songs share no matter what else is different betwixt 'em) we'd by this point feel like we'd heard it all from them already -- even if their all is ALL really great. But no. This new album surprised even us. And it too is great. Really great. If you're expecting the NWOFHM (New Wave Of Finnish Heavy Metal) stylings of Tulikoria or Sunrise, or the motorik krautrockiness of Alotus or Guillotine, or the heavy prog of Prospekt, or the spacey jazzy dubbiness of Pori, or all of the above (as these descriptors actually apply to pretty much all their albums to varying degrees), well that's NOT exactly what you get with Miljard. There's really no comparisons this time to Neu!, Can, Tortoise, or Hawkwind, let alone Judas Priest! Instead we'll mention Thuja, The Necks, Morton Feldman, Bohren und Der Club Of Gore, Philip Jeck, 3/4hadbeeneliminated... But it's still definitely Circle. It's just that, as Ektro's website puts it, "rocking has been traded for some quiet reading on the couch at home". And boy is this hauntingly atmospheric, instrumental music PERFECT for such activity.
Miljard NEEDS two discs, because this music is so spacious and expansive, a slow-moving stream, or the ripples in a pond. The pond, perhaps, frozen in the Finnish winter, in a twilight landscape softened with snow... The first track on the first disc, "Parmalee", is a twenty minute piece that sets the relaxed and gorgeous tone of this record. Meandering, pretty piano, reminding us of Rob Reger's playing in Thuja, quietly joined by abstract electronics and guitar...and Circle's usual repetition and pulses are still there, at about 11 minutes the pulse becomes more noticable, by that time you're absolutely entranced... already we're convinced, this is a fantastic record, and there's still 1 and 2/3rds discs to go!! The next track, "B.F.F." is slightly more uptempo, but still has the classical vibe from the piano. And then another twenty-minute cut "Duunila" comes on, a whispery dark drone, hushed, with some sparse clatter, and gentle bass notes. Oooh, sheer beauty. And on it goes, all the way through to the gauzey, vaguely gamelan-like 20-minute "Viitane" which closes out disc two, nearly two hours of amazing music, the soundtrack to a limpid dream from which we'd never hope to wake.
Out of the whole Circle discography, the atypically riff-less stuff here comes closest to the material on side one of Mountain, a very brooding and unusually ambient live set which not everybody got to hear 'cause it was a limited, LP-only release. This at least is not so limited.
Geeze, what *can't* they do? With Miljard we're pretty sure Circle have cemented their status as just about the best band ever, as far as we're concerned. Ok, the AQ universe of best bands ever is pretty big, but Circle might just be the best of the best... Recommended, people!!!
MPEG Stream: "Duunila"
MPEG Stream: "Salenius"
MPEG Stream: "Muhle"
MPEG Stream: "Viitane"


CIRCLE Mountain - Live At The Holy Trinity Church (Leeds, UK) (Kevyt Nostalgia / Super Metsa) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
If there was ever a show worth flying 6000 miles for, it would've been this one. In fact Allan and Andee were seriously considering doing just that. Not only was this show unmissable, but we were imagining how completely nuts it would have been to just stroll into a show and say hi to our friends there all casual-like, as if we lived down the street instead of on the other side of the globe! Clearer minds prevailed, but thankfully we're able to experience at least part of the show in the form of this lp. The show of which we're speaking took place in Leeds, in a big old church and featured AQ faves Circle, the amazing prog duo Guapo (formerly on tUMULt, soon to be on Ipecac), the gloriously drone-y Jazzfinger, whose most recent record we reviewed here a couple lists back, Like A Kind Of Matador, who sound like a more prog-tastic Boris, and have a flute player, and who have a record coming out on tUMULt later in the year, Ultralyd, featuring Kjetil Brandsal from Noxagt, and a couple more! Holy crap! Damn those clearer heads! From what we heard it was totally amazing, and everyone seemed to focus on Circle's epic and broodingly ambient set. And rightfully so, as this here slab of wax proves. An ultra slow-building Krautrock roar, airy clouds of ambient flutter, sizzling cymbals, simple plucked guitar rhythms, bleeping and blooping barely-there melodies, looping and clattery, a gorgeously swirly, roiling miasma of sound. Gets more dynamic as it progresses with rough industrial whir and hellish howls. Side two is much more aggressive, noisy and rhythmic, very much akin to later Boredoms, manic percussion underneath billowing sheets of murky guitar blur, before the whole thing slowly decays into an ambient wash of tribal chants and muted drumming. SO NICE. Very reminiscent of the recent spate of Doktor Kettu cd-r's, in its simmering slow shifting murkiness. And for Circle fans who have had issues with the presence of more and more vocals on recent Circle records, Mountain finds the vocals settled way back into the mix, careening wildly -amidst- the music not -atop- it. We have a whole bunch but it's VERY LIMITED. In fact according to the label it's already out of print. So act fast!


CIRCLE Pori (Metamorphos) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY. However, we now have the identical domestic version of this disc, which you should see listed nearby!
Circle is comprised of six classically trained Finnish musicians whose signature style over their past six albums has been to construct ever-shifting, hypnotic, repetitive structures (hence the name Circle). The immediate comparisons to Circle would be to Can's Tago Mago or the prog-rock equivalent of Trans Am, with intricate grooves that are intertwined with simple & melodic guitar riffs, antiquated synthesizers, and deep Teutonic male chanting, that doesn't sound too far off from some of the more bombastic black metal attempts at Viking lore. As with all good prog rock albums, this is a conceptual album of sorts about the Pori River in Finland and a regiment of the Finnish army who fought at that river in the Finnish War of 1808. A very highly recommended album!


CIRCLE Pori (Feldspar) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Back in stock, at long last! It's true that Circle have a lot of records, and it's tough to pick favorites among them 'cause they're all pretty great...but this one would definitely be a top choice. And it's one of the few that are still in print. But just barely, as it's been unavailable for a while due to the closing of Knitmedia who acted as the main distributor for Feldspar, the label that reissued Pori domestically a few years back. Lucky for us, Feldspar head honcho Stephanie just moved to SF and brought a stash of Pori's with her, so it looks like we'll be able to keep it in stock, at least for a little while!
1999's Pori was named after Circle's hometown in Finland whose government PAID for the recording -- ah socialism! And, like many good prog rock albums, this is a conceptual album of sorts about the Pori River in Finland and a regiment of the Finnish army who fought at that river in the Finnish War of 1808. But you'd never really guess that from listening. The sound of this disc, as with all Circle records, is based on repetition. Motifs are repeated and repeated, subtly shifting and transforming over the course of a song. Like a post rock Steve Reich or Terry Riley, a proggier Trans Am, or (of course) their '70s forefathers Can and Neu! Very hypnotic and relentlessly trance inducing. In Circle's canon, Pori hovers somewhere between the clinical precision of Andexelt and the murky krautrock throb of Zopalki. It's definitely got the classic sound of early Circle complete with their signature Gregorian chant style vocals over catchy, cyclic rock riffing and punchy rhythms. But it also has a mellow side, with hints of jazz, dubby groove, and spacey northern-lights-like synthscapes. As it has been for some time, a very highly recommended album, so get it now if you missed it before!
MPEG Stream: "Perustamisasiakiria 8.3.1558"
MPEG Stream: "Back To Pori"
MPEG Stream: "Vesitorni / Kaupunginsairaaia"


CIRCLE Prospekt (Ektro) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Is there such a thing as Circle overload? We don't think so. In their case, you can't have too much of a good thing. Hot on the heels of the AQ-anniversary party concert appearance by this fab Finnish band comes a brand new import disc of their hypnotic avant-rock compositions. Yep, newer than "Andexelt", and just as good. Not as sparse and dubby as that disc, "Prospekt" is rather heavier and denser, mesmerizingly repetitive as always, and kinda startling, with some incredible vocal acrobatics / operatics in the opening track "Dedofiktion". Of course, super super recommended. 50 minutes, six tracks of that Circle genius. This could have been a record of the week along with its cousin the Ektroverde disc but we didn't want the AQ Circle cheerleading to get too predictable (and also we might run out of these pretty quickly)...
RealAudio clip: "Stimulance"


CIRCLE Prospekt (Static Caravan) 2lp 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
One of the more recent Circle records finally released on vinyl by our pals at Static Caravan. Good thing too since the cd is out of print. Double lp, colored vinyl in a nice gatefold sleeve with some of the most tripped out artwork we've seen in a while, different from the cd version. Here's what we had to say about the cd when it first came out.
Is there such a thing as Circle overload? We don't think so. In their case, you can't have too much of a good thing. A brand new disc of their hypnotic avant-rock compositions. Newer than their recent "Andexelt" album, and just as good. Not as sparse and dubby as that disc, "Prospekt" is rather heavier and denser, mesmerizingly repetitive as always, and kinda startling, with some incredible vocal acrobatics / operatics in the opening track "Dedofiktion". Really great!
RealAudio clip: "Stimulance"


CIRCLE Raunio (Ektro) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT, ORDER THE DOMESTIC VERSION, THANKS.
Weird. That's the word to describe this new live disc from our favorite Finnish band, the one and only Circle. Of course, Circle is always weird, but on "Raunio" they're downright spooky-weird! Mika Ratto, in addition to his Goblin-esque keyboard lines, provides bizarrely effected, spaced-out vocals somewhere between a warped idea of Native American chant and the histrionics of someone like Rob Halford of Judas Priest (well, maybe Mika's spiked armband provokes that comparison -- see the pic in The Wire #215) getting really "out" and, well, weird.
Besides the vocals of Mika, there's just lots of spacey, noisy stuff on here. The disc sounds great (they're an amazing live band and this is quite well recorded). You can hear the enthusiastic audience at the start of a few songs, but they are quickly drowned out by Circle's amplified insanity.
The album (derived from two shows in Finland this past fall) features a great version of "Dedofiktion" (one of the highlights of their "Prospekt" album) and at least one song derived from their latest studio album, "Taantalums" (which we don't have yet, as it's soon to be released in the USA on our own Andee's tUMULt label, as a picture disc 12" and then a cd, sorry for the wait). The rest of "Raunio" consists of either new songs or live improvisations (or both)!
RealAudio clip: "Alotus"
RealAudio clip: "Kultaa"
RealAudio clip: "Potto"


CIRCLE Raunio (Squealer Revisited) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Squealer, the North Carolina based label with pretty good taste (releases by High Rise, Acid Mothers Temple, Tower Recordings, Gold Sparkle Band...) but who put an ugly cartoon pig on all their discs, have gone and done a domestic re-issue of the live Circle album that came out earlier this year. Of course, if you're a loyal AQ customer and/or Circle fan, you've probably already got that import version we reviewed back on list 131. So why do we bring this Squealerized one to your attention? Well, it's got a 12 minute long bonus track! A very pretty & spacey & almost beatless one, called "Raubonmix". So, you make the call (though if you own the original, you can be consoled that your copy at least looks a bit more handsome than this). But certainly, if you don't already have "Raunio" well now's obviously the time to get it.
This is more-or-less what we wrote about the original Ektro import version:
Weird. That's the word to describe this new live disc from our favorite Finnish band, the one and only Circle. Of course, Circle is always weird, but on "Raunio" they're downright spooky-weird! Mika Ratto, in addition to his Goblin-esque keyboard lines, provides bizarrely effected, spaced-out vocals somewhere between a warped idea of Native American chant and the histrionics of someone like Rob Halford of Judas Priest (well, maybe Mika's spiked armband provokes that comparison -- see the pic in The Wire #215) getting really "out" and, well, weird. [Circle's subsequent "Sunrise" album of course really saw Ratto & the band delve further into psuedo-metal stylisms...]
Besides the vocals of Mika, there's just lots of spacey, noisy stuff on here. The disc sounds great (they're an amazing live band and this is quite well recorded). You can hear the enthusiastic audience at the start of a few songs, but they are quickly drowned out by Circle's amplified insanity.
The album (derived from two shows in Finland this past fall) features a great version of "Dedofiktion" (one of the highlights of their "Prospekt" album) and at least one song derived from their latest studio album, "Taantalums" (which we still don't have yet, but don't worry it really will be released in the USA on our own Andee's tUMULt label, as a picture disc 12" and then a cd, sorry for the wait). The rest of "Raunio" consists of either new songs or live improvisations (or both)!
RealAudio clip: "Alotus"
RealAudio clip: "Kultaa"
RealAudio clip: "Potto"
RealAudio clip: "Raubonmix"


CIRCLE Sunrise (Ektro) cd 14.98
BACK IN PRINT!!! Here's our review from when we first freaked out about this back on list 143:
Brilliant, shockingly brilliant! Herewith we present to you what we can only say is the headbangingest record yet from our Finnish friends Circle (containing also, paradoxically, a couple of their most gentle numbers). The Circle concept is one of repetition, and while ALL their records are in fact great, one can find some of them to be a lot like another. So it's nice that this new Circle really goes out on a limb, with so much success, while totally managing to remain Circle to the core. How do they do it?
The album opens with "Nopeuskuningas", seemingly Circle's answer to Judas Priest's "Breaking The Law"! Down and dirty hard rock riffing (cyclic and repetitive in the trademark Circle way, of course) with keyboardist/vocalist Mika Ratto -- a relatively recent, and significant, addition to Circle's lineup on their past three or four discs -- simultaneously channeling screechy metal gods Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Klaus Meine (Scorpions), and Brian Johnson (AC/DC), but in an indecipherable, or Finnish at least, babble. It stretches to nearly eight minutes after the space-rock effects and swirly keys kick in. But then, when you think this is going to be The Heavy Metal Circle album, track two gets all mellow and pretty and folked-out, even MORE unlike any previous Circle we've ever heard. Acoustic guitar, and lots of la la la's from Mika. Unbelievable -- and lovely. But then the next song triggers the dormant motorik Circle drum pulse, overlaid with heavy guitars and vocal histrionics akin to the opening track. Plus new wavey/Axel F keyboards. Hit material here! Following that, track four, "Vaanen Valtiatar", heads back to the forest glade where Circle do that hippy jamming again a la track two, but more plugged-in, turning into a spacey jam session. And then, as you might now expect, it's back to the mosh pit for the monstrous rifferama of the next song, "Kylan Suurin Miekka". Evil stuff. This is True Circular Metal indeed. From then on the album maintains the heaviness, getting spacier and spacier though, culminating in the droning fifteen-minute "Lokki".
Wow. An amazing album, making effective use of Mika's unusual/unique vocals -- he's developed some sort of exotic (Middle Eastern? American Indian?) meets metal style, delivered in a manner as over-the-top as the most insane Italian prog of the '70s. Throw in some violin and moog and of course all the heavy metal moves, and you've got a bizarre blend of, uh, Yoko Ono, Hawkwind, Judas Priest, and of course Circle's krautrock forerunners Neu! and Can.
While Sunrise is in many ways a departure for Circle, it can also be seen as an album harking back to their hard-rockin' roots (they've nodded that way on the guitar-heavy Prospekt and Jussi's Kyuss-ish Pharaoh Overlord side project, but you've got to also remember that the very first Circle album, Meronia, drew quite a few comparisons to Helmet at the time). Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Nopeuskuningas"
MPEG Stream: "Vaanen Valtiatar"
MPEG Stream: "Kylan Suurin Miekka"


CIRCLE Sunrise (Headspin) 2lp 34.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We sold through all one hundred copies of this we got direct from the label (25 percent of the entire pressing!) in a matter of days, but folks kept ordering it, so we managed to get another 30 copies from a distributor who had a handful in stock. These are almost certainly the last copies we'll be able to get. Since we had to get them from a distributor this time instead of direct from the label, the price went up a bit (the middleman getting their cut), but don't let that deter you from picking this up, if you haven't already. Why you ask? Just read on...
NOW ON VINYL, WITH A SIDELONG BONUS TRACK NOT ON THE CD!!!! This long out of print Circle cd, one of our favorites, finally gets resurrected, at least on vinyl, a double lp actually, of which all of side 4 is taken up by an previously unreleased 18 minute bonus track. And the already amazing cover art looks even better in the 12" format, a gorgeous thick gatefold sleeve to boot! WOW. SUPER SUPER LIMITED. Supposedly limited to 400 copies worldwide, of which we got 100!!! So act fast, these are gonna fly out of here.
What we said about Sunrise when we reviewed the cd:
Brilliant, shockingly brilliant! Herewith we present to you what we can only say is the headbangingest record yet from our Finnish friends Circle (containing also, paradoxically, a couple of their most gentle numbers). The Circle concept is one of repetition, and while ALL their records are in fact great, one can find some of them to be a lot like another. So it's nice that this new Circle really goes out on a limb, with so much success, while totally managing to remain Circle to the core. How do they do it?
The album opens with "Nopeuskuningas", seemingly Circle's answer to Judas Priest's "Breaking The Law"! Down and dirty hard rock riffing (cyclic and repetitive in the trademark Circle way, of course) with keyboardist/vocalist Mika Ratto -- a relatively recent, and significant, addition to Circle's lineup on their past three or four discs -- simultaneously channeling screechy metal gods Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Klaus Meine (Scorpions), and Brian Johnson (AC/DC), but in an indeciperable, or Finnish at least, babble. It stretches to nearly eight minutes after the space-rock effects and swirly keys kick in. But then, when you think this is going to be The Heavy Metal Circle album, track two gets all mellow and pretty and folked-out, even MORE unlike any previous Circle we've ever heard. Acoustic guitar, and lots of la la la's from Mika. Unbelievable -- and lovely. But then the next song triggers the dormant motorik Circle drum pulse, overlaid with heavy guitars and vocal histrionics akin to the opening track. Plus new wavey/Axel F keyboards. Hit material here! Following that, track four, "Vaanen Valtiatar", heads back to the forest glade where Circle do that hippy jamming again a la track two, but more plugged-in, turning into a spacey jam session. And then, as you might now expect, it's back to the mosh pit for the monstrous rifferama of the next song, "Kylan Suurin Miekka". Evil stuff. This is True Circular Metal indeed. From then on the album maintains the heaviness, getting spacier and spacier though, culminating in the droning fifteen-minute "Lokki".
Wow. An amazing album, making effective use of Mika's unusual/unique vocals -- he's developed some sort of exotic (Middle Eastern? American Indian?) meets metal style, delivered in a manner as over-the-top as the most insane Italian prog of the '70s. Throw in some violin and moog and of course all the heavy metal moves, and you've got a bizarre blend of, uh, Yoko Ono, Hawkwind, Judas Priest, and of course Circle's krautrock forerunners Neu! and Can.
While Sunrise is in many ways a departure for Circle, it can also be seen as an album harking back to their hard-rockin' roots (they've nodded that way on the guitar-heavy Prospekt and Jussi's Kyuss-ish Pharoah Overlord side project, but you've got to also remember that the very first Circle album, Meronia, drew quite a few comparisons to Helmet at the time). Recommended.



And here is some more info here:
http://www.circlefinland.com/cirdisco.html


Jussi Lehtisalo the bassist is quite the busy and multi-task guy, invloved in several projects and runs his label - Ektro Records.

Voted "Yes" for CIRCLE after listening their "Tulikoira", "Taantumus", "Andexelt", "Forest" (best of 'em IMO with long athmospheric tracks), "Guillotone", "Prospekt" and "Sunrise" albums. They draw majority of their musical elements from krautrock, their stuff is highly improvisational, surrealistic and trance oriented, and these characteristics point towards psych rock quite strongly. Space rock elements which some claimed theme to have (sci-fi themes, synth driven cosmic feelings) I didn't find very much, they are rather more violent urban psych rock. There are some heavy tones in some guitar sounds, but that doesn't cast them out of the field of psych either IMO. Not maybe my favorite band, but still important and worhty to add here. As a funny anecdote, they had some sort of tour with long line Swedish band TRÄD, GRÄS OCH STÄNAR, which was recently added here under psych genre.