Erik Levander * Hannu Karjalainen

Erik Levander

ERIK LEVANDER – JÖKEL   Also on Spotify

If you know that this album is released on the Glacial Movements label, and that the title Jökel is the Swedish word for Glacier (rooted in the Icelandic Jökull), you know you’re in for a cool/cold treat. And Erik Levander does not disappoint here.
His seventh full album is a minimalist homage to the still living glaciers, endangered and shrinking at an alarming rate due to climate change.

The music was particularly inspired by Levander’s visit to Icelands Mýrdalsjökull glacier covering the active volcano Katla. With “imaginary field recordings”, he recreates the impression of this natural wonder, in the hope that awareness helps to “contribute to recovering the environmental balance of this planet”.


Railo

HANNU KARJALAINEN – RAILO

Since we’re now prepared to face the cold, it’s a small step to Hannu Karjalainen‘s new album Railo, which literally means “a crack in the ice”. It is an “ode to winter, the richness of the season and (the inspiration that comes from) the different weather conditions”.
Spring may be the best season to listen to this album. since it tells the story of the winter season “starting from cold autumn winds (Viima) and ending to the melting of the ice (Sula)”.

Levander and Karjalainen‘s albums are thematically connected by “a sadness stemming from the threatening permanent changes in the diversity and balance of nature trough the climate change caused by us.”

The Finnish composer and visual artist Hannu Karjalainen has previously collaborated with Slowdive’s Simon Scott, Dakota Suite, and Monolyth and Cobalt. Which, I guess, helps as an extra recommendation to check out his music.

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