Fonal Records

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Who knows anything about this seemingly incredible label from Tampere, Finland? I just picked up the Paavoharju album and it's melting my mind. Bollywood vocals on a glitch folk album set adrift on psychedelic noise? Fuck.

― baboon2004 (baboon2004), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 00:06 (7 years ago) Permalink

Thats a terrific album actually.

― Last Of The Famous International Pfunkboys (Kerr), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 00:11 (7 years ago) Permalink

Check out Kemialliset Ystavat. "latvasta laho" is the one I heard 1st.

I also have an album by Es on Fonal.

― Last Of The Famous International Pfunkboys (Kerr), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 00:28 (7 years ago) Permalink

one of the best labels there is at the moment. does anyone know if there is going to be a Hertta Lussu Ässä album?

― zappi (joni), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 00:59 (7 years ago) Permalink

(i'm not really expecting anyone to answer that question!)

― zappi (joni), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 01:17 (7 years ago) Permalink

You never know, you might get a googler coming along.

― Last Of The Famous International Pfunkboys (Kerr), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 02:03 (7 years ago) Permalink

Why Islaja isn't getting the spotlight of her contemporaries is a mystery to me - two of the most beautiful femme-fractured-folkie records out there from any time....

― Brian Turner (btwfmu), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 03:39 (7 years ago) Permalink

paavoharju are wonderful, as are most fonal artists. Es latest is worth checking out

― rizzx, Wednesday, 8 March 2006 07:51 (7 years ago) Permalink

Brian is right - those Islaja recs are fabulous.

― NickB (NickB), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 09:10 (7 years ago) Permalink

I had the good fortune to see a load of these bands in Glasgow last year. I bought a couple of records - Avarus, KY, Islaja - all bags of fun.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 14:00 (7 years ago) Permalink

Kemialliset Ystavat >>>infinitely>>>> Paavoharju

― midi sanskrit (sanskrit), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 14:11 (7 years ago) Permalink

All the Fonal I've heard has been good, but Kemialliset Ystavat really does stand out above all that other stuff. The album Alkuharka is particularly great. That two-disc Avarus comp on tumult is just as good in spots.

― ample parking (Garrett Martin), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 18:21 (7 years ago) Permalink

there is a Hertta Lussu Ässä album, called Crusifier's Album. self-released cdr, maybe tour-only?

― Ghost Bear Junior High Attendance Party (echoinggrove), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 18:29 (7 years ago) Permalink

i think the two islaja discs on this label still smoke all the k.y. stuff easily. not knocking them at all, mind, just saying. the more recent es record on fonal is great, but the one before it played out like junior philip jeck a wee too much for me. just picked up the shogun kunitoki record, which is rather nice.

gotta say, though...there's been some real awful crap on this label...risto, alien heat, to name but two.

― m.c. (clikatowi), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 18:48 (7 years ago) Permalink

I think I agree. K.Y. is one of my current faves, and I do dig a bunch on the label. But some of it veers a bit too closely to the straight ahead indie-pop thing.

― QuantumNoise (Justin Farrar), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 18:50 (7 years ago) Permalink

Islaja and Lau Nau in concert had me completely spellbound.
I've got the first Islaja album, but I don't like it as much as the show I saw, which was all electric guitar and bass (and drums from a toy monkey!), definitely leaned closer to rock than folk.
Lau Nau's cover of Don Cherry's theme from Jodorowsky's Holy Mountain felt like an interstellar hug.
I think the best Kemialliset album is Kellari Junversumi, personally. Haven't heard much Tomutonttu, curious how the two projects differ.

― Tripmaker (SDWitzm), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 18:53 (7 years ago) Permalink

just picked up the shogun kunitoki CD, listening to it tonight, yay!

― jason m (jason m), Wednesday, 8 March 2006 23:57 (7 years ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

"I think the best Kemialliset album is Kellari Junversumi, personally."

I just bought this on a whim at the record store and i really dig it. Love the booklet it comes with as well. is their other stuff comparable, cuz they have a bunch more at the store.

I would like to take the time to say that i live on an island with ONE record store and the fact that they have "a bunch" of Kemialliset records is pretty darn cool. Thanks, record store dudes! (You know who you are!)

― scott seward (scott seward), Sunday, 16 April 2006 14:24 (7 years ago) Permalink

Alkuharka is similar to Kellari. The earlier Kemialliset stuff is noisier, not as song-y. There's a brand new one with a bunch of guest artists on it, I'd really like to hear it. Jan, the brain behind KY, is also Tomutonttu. I don't really know how that stuff compares to KY.
Glad you are digging Kellari, one of my favorite records of the last five years.

― Tripmaker (SDWitzm), Monday, 17 April 2006 13:44 (7 years ago) Permalink

Fonal feature - http://www.boomkat.com/article.cfm?id=4

― fandango (fandango), Monday, 17 April 2006 17:24 (7 years ago) Permalink

I just realised Kellari Junversumi is one i have on vinyl too.
Great record. Wish my local shop (i wish we HAD a local shop) had a bunch of their records.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy (Kerr), Sunday, 23 April 2006 23:14 (7 years ago) Permalink

i could go broke buying them all though. i'll have to wait until i have some more bad promos to trade in.

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 24 April 2006 00:22 (7 years ago) Permalink

i keep eyeballing the vibracathedral orchestra CDs too. i still have never heard them.

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 24 April 2006 00:24 (7 years ago) Permalink

Are they on vinyl or cd? How much are they?

x-post

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy (Kerr), Monday, 24 April 2006 00:25 (7 years ago) Permalink

Alkuharka is really good, I'll have to hunt down Kellari Junversumi if its similar. I listened to Lumottu Karkkipurkki and it didn't really appeal, I guess it's their earlier noise stuff.

scott - Vibracathedral Orch. are excellent, don't be put off by their not-so-great cover art

― nervous.gif (eman), Monday, 24 April 2006 00:42 (7 years ago) Permalink

"Are they on vinyl or cd? How much are they?"

the fonal stuff? on cd. they are all around 16 or 17 bucks.

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 24 April 2006 01:04 (7 years ago) Permalink

Probably a lot cheaper than http://www.volcanictongue.com/ then.
I never go up the west end now. Maybe I will just to visit their shop. Though I could just ask dep at monorail to order stuff in for me.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy (Kerr), Monday, 24 April 2006 01:12 (7 years ago) Permalink

Alkuharka is awesome. The Es 'Kaikkeuden... etc.' is pretty good, and Merje is also pretty great. That 'Surrounded by Sun' comp was patchy though.

I read somewhere that Jan Anderzen from Avarus was significantly inspired to start all this stuff after hearing Vibracathedral Orchestra (Versatile Arab Chord Chart, mebbe??). Can't fault that!

― Mestema (davidcorp), Monday, 24 April 2006 12:12 (7 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

boomkat has the fonal catalogue for sale in mp3 now. a pretty good deal if you aren't in the states!

― lfam, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 12:52 (6 years ago) Permalink

does anyone know anything about the kemialliset album i saw on vinyl the other day. it's not on fonal. i don't think. shit, i can't remember what label it's on. i'm assuming it's something new-ish. i will have to go look again. can't imagine anyone will buy it here except for me.

― scott seward, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 13:07 (6 years ago) Permalink

It might be one of the older albums thats been reissued. Was it quite expensive?

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 15:52 (6 years ago) Permalink

Paavoharju is still my favourite of these. Is Lau Nau Fonal? That one's great too.

― admrl, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 15:54 (6 years ago) Permalink

Lau Nau isn't Fonal, no

scott: that's probably Alkuharka, on Fonal originally, vinyl on BLR (hence the price). lots of short, cut up pieces. not my favourite. try and get the LP reissue Kellari Juniversumi ahead of that.

― resolved, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 18:12 (6 years ago) Permalink

11 months pass...

― am0n, Sunday, 27 April 2008 02:24 (5 years ago) Permalink

yeah that's a winner, and i'm anxiously waiting on the new Paavoharju

― rizzx, Sunday, 27 April 2008 12:00 (5 years ago) Permalink

fuck this is good

― am0n, Monday, 28 April 2008 05:29 (5 years ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

Really getting into the Eleanoora Rosenholm album, anyone else heard it? It's a dark, richly textured discopop album. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SvxB_NL5cs

― willem, Friday, 13 June 2008 08:51 (4 years ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

This thread is lacking.

― admrl, Wednesday, 16 July 2008 06:02 (4 years ago) Permalink

2 weeks pass...

Good work on the Rosenholm review, Ned!

― willem, Saturday, 2 August 2008 12:46 (4 years ago) Permalink

Thanks!

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 2 August 2008 13:03 (4 years ago) Permalink

None of the art students I met in Tampere last summer had ever heard of Paavoharju. Wtf?

― I know, right?, Saturday, 2 August 2008 13:05 (4 years ago) Permalink

Review of three Fonal titles and two by Ólafur Arnalds, in this week's Voice.

― unperson, Saturday, 2 August 2008 15:20 (4 years ago) Permalink

Arnalds is a good listen.

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 2 August 2008 16:03 (4 years ago) Permalink

It's not on Fonal, but the new Lau Nau record is f'in amazing.

― ian, Saturday, 2 August 2008 16:36 (4 years ago) Permalink

Foly huck! :>>

KEMIALLISET YSTÄVÄT + AXOLOTL
ES + FURSAXA
ISLAJA + BLEVIN BLECTUM + SAMARA LUBELSKI
DREAM TRIANGLE (TOMUTONTTU + SKATERS)

19 September
Glasgow - CCA, 350 Sauchiehall St, G2 3JD
Doors: 8.00pm, Tickets: £10
http://www.cca-glasgow.com/

20 September
Aberdeen - Lemon Tree, 5 North West St, AB24 5 AQ
Doors: 7.30pm, Tickets: £12 / £10

21 September
Sheffield - Bar Abbey, The Abbeydale Picture
House, 387 Abbeydale Road, S7 1FS
Doors: 8pm / Start: 8.30pm, Tickets: £10
www.freenoise.co.uk

23 September
Birmingham – Hare & Hounds, High St, Kings Heath, B14 7JZ
Doors: 7.30pm, Tickets: £10
www.capsule.org.uk

24 September
Newcastle – Gateshead Sage, St Mary's Square, NE8 2JR
Doors 8.00pm / Start: 8.30pm, Tickets: £12
www.thesagegateshead.org / 0191 443 4661

25 September
Manchester - Contact Theatre, Oxford Road, M15 6JA
Doors: 7.30pm, Tickets: £10
www.contact-theatre.org

26 September
Bristol - The Cube, 4 Princess Row, BS2 8NQ
Doors: 7.30pm, Tickets: £12
www.qujunktions.com

27 September
London - ICA, 12 Carlton House Tce, SW1Y 5AH
Doors: 7.30pm / Start: 8.00pm, Tickets: £10
www.no-signal.net

― Mister Craig, Saturday, 2 August 2008 16:56 (4 years ago) Permalink

new Lau Nau record is f'in amazing

cosign, record of the year so far for me

― zappi, Saturday, 2 August 2008 17:41 (4 years ago) Permalink

11 months pass...

Hey, this new Kiila album is pretty good, especially where they start kicking off with the Velvets-meets-Fairport thing.

― Enemy Insects (NickB), Thursday, 9 July 2009 16:18 (3 years ago) Permalink

tomutonttu/tomutonto reissues i got are a lot of fun.

― scott seward, Thursday, 9 July 2009 19:22 (3 years ago) Permalink

I like this Kiila record too - sounds like Lau Nau and Shogun Kunitoki playing in the same studio...
I've never heard Tomutonttu, what does it sound like ?

― Jamie Harley (Snowballing), Thursday, 9 July 2009 19:44 (3 years ago) Permalink

Nice packaging as well for these discs.

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 9 July 2009 19:46 (3 years ago) Permalink

The Kiila's artwork is also very nice.

― Jamie Harley (Snowballing), Thursday, 9 July 2009 19:59 (3 years ago) Permalink

the tomutontto/tomutonto albums are reissues of out-of-print limited edition records that the main dude from kemialliset made in 2006/7. just totally bonkers electronic experimentation and all kinds of nuttiness. everything but the kitchen sink. very entertaining and, like i said, all over the place. dude must have a very messy brain.

― scott seward, Thursday, 9 July 2009 20:08 (3 years ago) Permalink

Thanks for the description. Guess I need these too.

― Jamie Harley (Snowballing), Thursday, 9 July 2009 20:25 (3 years ago) Permalink

Yeah sounds interesting. On emusic too.

― Enemy Insects (NickB), Thursday, 9 July 2009 20:30 (3 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

― Tilda Swinton Wreck Up A Dread Dub (admrl), Thursday, 9 December 2010 00:11 (2 years ago) Permalink

4 months pass...

Anyone heard the new Eleanoora Rosenholm album? The "single" is a slight departure - darker, less poppy:

― Lidl Monsters (seandalai), Sunday, 24 April 2011 01:04 (2 years ago) Permalink

11 months pass...

― lebron traveled (am0n), Tuesday, 17 April 2012 15:48 (1 year ago) Permalink

5 months pass...

FR-88 Lau Nau: Valohiukkanen CD/LP/Digital
Cover photo by Susanna Majuri
RELEASE DATE 12th November 2012

NEW LAU NAU!!!

― Professor Giff (NickB), Thursday, 11 October 2012 12:18 (7 months ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvJsIowxzPI

― Albert Crampus (NickB), Friday, 23 November 2012 11:25 (6 months ago) Permalink

^ new Lau Nau video fyi

― Albert Crampus (NickB), Friday, 23 November 2012 11:28 (6 months ago) Permalink

Lau Nau album is fantastic, has rocketed straight onto my EOY list.

― a Christmas .gif for you from (seandalai), Thursday, 6 December 2012 17:43 (5 months ago) Permalink

man do I need to hear this

― in a year with thirteen goons (Drugs A. Money), Thursday, 6 December 2012 19:28 (5 months ago) Permalink

yeah I need to order it ASAP

― sleeve, Thursday, 6 December 2012 21:02 (5 months ago) Permalink

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