SIINAI

It's been a long time, nearly a decade actually, since my previous dedicated Siinai listenings which was with their 2014 album Supermarket. The Finnish, instrumentally oriented and Krautrock influenced band Siinai made a comeback this year after a lengthy interim. I almost attended the album release gig in my hometown Tampere, but I didn't, due to the late timing and my work obligations and another gig the following day. Now I'm catching up by listening to their two latest albums. Sykli (2017) marked a shift to the more extended track forms. Some of the five pieces on it are rather spatial and ambientish electro music with no drums, while the rhythm is central on other pieces.

Tanssi I, released digitally and on vinyl (with a round label-sized hole on both sides of the cover), continues in the extended track length direction, containing only two pieces on each side. Tanssi means dance. 'Vihreään laaksoon' (= To a green valley) is a hypnotic, trippy trance piece that colours the basic groove with gradually evolving arrangement details. Trumpet is cool near the end.

'Kirjokansi' featuring wordless female voice approaches the tighter song structure of Supermarket, it only lasts longer (7 minutes). The brisk beat with a disco flavour is enjoyable, and again the nuanced sonic details justify the extension that emphasizes the trippy, trance-like atmosphere.

'Käsi kädessä' (= Hand in hand) is even 18 minutes long! In the beginning the percussion sovereignly rules, but pretty soon the soundscape is full of fascinating things. The piece has both very organic jazziness especially on the spatial keyboard chords, and a hypnotic trance/ambient minimalism. Arguably it could be more effective in a slightly more economic form, but without a question it earns the status as the album's mighty central opus.

'Satakieli' (= Mockingbird) combines the tribal-like percussive orientation and a New Agey, spacey electronic music flavour. My friend attended the gig and praised it to be impressive. Listening to the album, I truly believe there must have been a special atmosphere. As a casual home listening this music may not function equally strongly, but this truly could be the finest achievement of Siinai. The 'I' in the album title hints that they are going to follow this dance inspired path further.

SIINAI are from Finland and have followed in the footsteps of NEU! and LA DUSSELDORF with their style, hence their Krautrock designation. This is their debut from 2011. Recorded in 2010 in Helinski, but the engineering, mixing and mastering was all done in Berlin. A four piece with the keyboardist and bass player adding electronics. There's a lot of mellotron-like sounds from those electronics that I really appreciate. And of course this record grooves, but I like the atmosphere and mellow sections as well.

I have to mention that second track "Anthem 3" for those waves of sound that are incredible. There's tons of atmosphere on "Marathon" while "Munich 1972" is serious sounding and experimental. "Victory" plods along with guitar, beats and synths, while "Olympic Fire" sounds so dramatic. My least favourite is the uptempo closer "Finish Line". I have their third studio album "Supermarket" which I prefer to this one, but I can't go lower than 4 stars with "Olympic Games", too much to like.

Listening diary 9th April, 2022: Moonface with Siinai - Heartbreaking Bravery (art rock, 2012)

Spencer Krug's finest moment, and for the first 20 or so minutes, this is amongst the most anthemic and emotionally loaded indie rock I can think of. The matchmaking here is wonderful - Siinai are clearly a band with an ear for groove and texture, with their music as a group being vastly instrumental. They hold this album together alone, particularly in the integration of motorik beats with alt-rock bombast, but Krug takes it to another level. Wavering and passionate, some of these vocal lines are absolutely deserving of the album's title. It is a pity then that it does completely lose steam - the first four tracks flow seamlessly and never let up on the energy or the intensity, with a post-punk melancholy somewhere inside. The rest of the album finds bits and pieces of high quality but never quite reaches those lofty heights again, and perhaps is why I don't feel like putting it on again whenever I'm done with it. But with towering melodies like the ones atop "Yesterday's Fire", I can't help but love it at least a bit.

8.1 (6th listen)

Part of my listening diary from my facebook music blog - www.facebook.com/TheExoskeletalJunction

Listening diary 13th February 2021: Moonface & Siinai - My Best Human Face (art rock, 2016)

Although I listened to Wolf Parade once or twice many years ago, this project, in particular this album's predecessor, have been my genuine introduction to Spencer Krug and his marvelous voice. A collaboration between a known indie frontman and a krautrock band from Finland may seem totally bonkers but it's a marriage made in heaven as far as I'm concerned - the rhythm-driven instrumentation perfectly suits Krug's oddball vocal style and the band check some really unique influences and sounds throughout the two records they've done together. This one isn't quite as good as Heartbreaking Bravery but it's a worthwhile addition to their catalogue, and further proof to me that krautrock is underrated as an influence on modern indie.

7.1 (3rd listen)

Part of my listening diary from my facebook music blog - www.facebook.com/TheExoskeletalJunction

Fun but not funny, intense but not melodramatic, clean but not sterile, groundbreaking by enhancing what everybody else overlooked of the synth wave sound and renewing its natural thrill without rippin´ off no one.

Poetic without a single word spoken nor pastorale cliches, focused yet free flowing, retro yet modern, intelligent without bragging, heartfelt yet detached, varied without expendable tracks nor fillers & straight forward but non stop creative..

Siinai´s Supermarket (2014) an 8 track album, is the kind of 4 stars work that will be discovered 10 years from now and people might wonder why was it not praised enough in its time. The answer is simple, it is not pompous nor fashionable less unaccessible yet it is quiet far from the mainstream, (even the Prog one), market, which it silently mocks by the way.

It goes deep into an adventurous ride on each of its tracks with no kind of buffers or over the top solutions and it turns out quiet inviting and emotionally contagious

****

As you know genre and style labeling is just a way of trying to keep order in a world naturally chaotic. Having say that don´t expect Krautrock as such which was like the closest sub-genre address Siinai´s musical language is closer to in the Prog world but on the outside lands this Finnish ensemble is tagged as a psychedelic/experimental/ambient/trance/electronic/drone/Krautrock band .

I myself keep them filed under my Electronic music catalogue and this work if anything is Progressive Electronic but still at walking distance from its current PA location. The kind of work which actually is (another) living proof that you can update and be part of the inevitable evolution of electronic music whithout plagiarazing nobody´s idioms.

Siinai´s Sykli (2017) a 5 track ("instrumental") album offers a very personal approach of what the Berlin School/Bay Area school and Krautrock should be sounding nowadays, without the untalented way of rehashing old formulas or "rediscovering" fashionable "new flanged" quirky musical solutions, not this work but opposite to that, it accomplishes its heights by pushing those same formulas outside their constantly abused comfort zones thus finding, via its music compositions, unplowed pathways where the grass is greener, uncut and quiet welcoming.

Each track delivers a creative, contemporary & original mood and a kind of conceptual take on a different electronic music style, adding up that their well recognizable musical language finds a renewed energetic feel which turns out to be refreshing, upfront and ultimately enticing as exciting .

Its weak spot (track 5), is not that because it is bad, mediocre or unimaginative, it is because its siblings are all just excellent.

****/*

Siinai is a band from the krautrock genre in Finland, but the style is also close to post-rock, which means they are combined. The band released its first album in 2011 and released five albums until last year's Sykli. Their music has a complex, intensive architecture, but at the same time it is also minimalist, often using keyboards and synthesizers to create a psychedelic and space sense. Popol Vuh or Neu! is their source of inspiration. Last year's "Sykli" was filled with repetitive simple melody, but these melodies were overshadowed by the broad sense created by electronic music. Just like the black hole on the cover of the album, the listener's heart was attracted to the black hole. Excessive but nowhere. The opening Temppeli is a model, but the length of eight minutes is like a musical note. But afterwards, the tracks were dexterous and there were sudden changes. As the final guitar gradually became heavy, the music was warm and sweet, but the mysterious, quirky and supernatural feelings of krautrock were slightly lost, but it was still a good album. Four stars push it.

"Sykli" has been launched in 2017 as the newest album by a Finnish Krautrock star SIINAI. Their first album "Olympic Games" features sticky repetitive simple phrases flooded with electronics and sound of depth (my love), and sounds like this "Sykli" might follow in the similar vein, slightly added with more electronic sound treatment. Just like the appearance of the album sleeve pic, we would feel ourselves getting absorbed into the centre of the hole, Siinai inner world. Interesting in both visual and auditory manners.

The third track "Ananda" or the last "Europe" sounds more of psychedelic rock drenched in deep, heavy guitar riffs based upon strict rhythmic vibes, but contrary to that, the beginning shot "Tempperi" and the following titled one "Sykli" are exactly close to pure electronic. As especially for the latter one, we can find similar movement to Manuel G'ttsching's "Inventions For Electric Guitar" plus more dramatic, dreamy synthesizer-oriented soundscape. Not complicated nor dissonant but mysteriously heartwarming, mind-opening. Please get immersed in the core of their sound theatre.

The Olympic Games as your conceptual music composition assignment. Bring your best.

Many may be the reasons why Siinai chose this athletic concept, but let me skip on to where it matters, the music.

An 8 track release with all kind of epic cliches, new fresh ideas, some extraordinary sections and their according highlights.

SIINAI's "Olympic Games", 2011, is somewhat quiet diverse and not that tupsy-turvy psychedelic (nevertheless quiet experimental), as to fit the Krautrock tagging solely. There are close connections to the 70's and 80's synth/rock/pop era, as to more Progressive Electronic influences in the Berlin electronic music school's vein, as to the Post Rock/Math Rock's beat and guitar works.

But beyond these possible labelings, Siinai possesses a very personal focus and even from the start, (this their first release according to this page), a quiet defined musical language, which adds up a lot in this world of "sound-alikes".

What works out, works out perfectly, far from the Olympic's symbolism alone, which by the way, everyone who has witnessed this event has his own treasurable, unmemorable or indifferent thoughts about, therefore anyone can relate to the music without the Olympic Games's previous knowledge.

Some bronze, a bit more of silver and some real gold.

***3.5 PA stars.

"My Best Human Face", 2016 by Moonface & Siinai sets quiet clear the direction Moonface wants to lead his highly refined, yet subtly raw contemporary Rock/Krautrock/Krautpop language, which if by geographical situation precise could be named Finnish rock or Finnrock to cut it short.

So true to this principle, all compositions are vocal driven. Music composition wise their multitude of influences are quiet well absorved therefore they offer in return various unique forms of musical expression compressed into one.

In able to invite possible "enjoyers" of this release, I will throw out some names and then expect you to either become intrigued or oblivious.

Imagine a mixture between David Sylvian, The Cure, Roxy Music, The Clash, GAM, The Beloved, Nick Cave, The Waterboys and the strident spirit of early Krautrock bands, now shake well, filter and pour.

Although one may get the idea that such a blend might be unfriendly or unfocused, this band has, as I already mentioned, assimilated their personal influences up to the point of offering a fresh new Rock (underlining ROCK) language with the unmistakable Moonface's romantic/political focus and highly emotional tones.

*** 3.5, on the rise , PA stars.