Circle (the Finnish band): S/D

Old Man Gloom touring with Circle and the UK tour consists of one London date. Fuck that.

Hmm, I guess they are available now direct from Ektro. Thanks (xpost)

Has anyone from the U.S. ordered directly from Ektro? Is it relatively easy? Reasonably priced?

I usually end up waiting for Circle (and side projects) stuff to show up Aquarius or somewhere and order from them.

I always order from Ektro via paypal so it is easy enough. Shipping takes about 2-3 weeks, I live in Philadelphia. I'm still waiting on the Falcon stuff but my copy of Incarnation and the Aktor 7" came a few weeks ago. Just recently a pretty ridiculous 25% sales tax got added so now it's prob best to send an email to Aquarius and ask them to put you on the list for the things you want, then when the actual albums arrive they'll hold them for you and let you know so you don't have to keep checking.

My total from Ektro for the Sennssses and Hollywood LPs was 52.50 euro. 14.50 was shipping and 7.35 was tax! But these are the "limited" versions only available through Ektro and I cannot resist, ha.

that falcon blurb makes it sound like they've turned into the leather nun

Interesting to note that the tour with Old Man Gloom is 'Circle (ex-Falcon)'. Crazy antics make me smile.

On the new aQuarius list.

Well, I really dig the Falcon Frontier album! It's crazy, and very funny and retro, perhaps a bit campy but in a very positive way. It's all very convincing and performed with a lot of conviction. This is not cynical music and I love that. And it really is all straightforward power-metal-pop with consistently interesting songwriting. It is much more pop-oriented than any Ratto ja Lehtisalo album, which is interesting.

The energy does flag towards the end of the album, and while it is well sequenced maybe one or two instrumentals would have helped. The final song features more conventional singing (4th guitarist/producer Samae Koskinen?) and is a curious addition as it's the only song not sung by Westerlund. Every song does have its own unique twist and sound pattern that keeps things fresh. The production is very clear and the wigged out effects found in more traditional Circle efforts are mostly put aside in favor of epic singable melodies, hard rock riff interludes and the occasional heavy metal solos. The sole exception is perhaps the 5th song Vegas Sundown which is a hell of a song and mostly instrumental - the second half is very trippy and Goblin-esque with disembodied synth arpeggiators over the riffs and also striking piano bass note punctuations.

I suspect one's appreciation of the album rests almost entirely on one's willingness to suspend disbelief and also on how much one appreciates Westerlund the singer. I for one appreciate his work very much. No matter how conventionally pop-oriented the songwriting is, his delivery is always off-kilter and raspy. His unusual voice helps the music retain more than a bit of strange tension in contrast with the fun faux-80s glam metal fireworks (which there are a lot of!)

This is the real stuff, it is just dressed up a little funny and asking some hard-to-answer questions!

I need to do a close listen of the Circle/Mammifer collaboration still but my initial impressions are positive. It is definitely better than the Split Cranium thing, which was kind of a disappointing release.

Really anxious to hear the new Falcon and Circle records. I ordered them from Aquarius, but they were instantly out of the Falcon and I have to wait for a new shipment to come in before they send my order.

So Ssennssess is pretty aawweessoommee. Anyone less than pleased with the Falcon Frontier and Circle Incarnation releases should be quite into it. Seems to be all new songs/themes, not even anything from the (superb and SUPER recommended) Six Day Run LP. Largely improvised, but built on riffs/drumming and not a freeform journey into chaos like the similar recent live film soundtrack cassette album Suur-Pori.

The Circle/Mamiffer is better than expected. I'm not really a fan of Aaron Turner but his presence here isn't felt too strongly, luckily. It often resembles the best drone parts of the Old Man Gloom records, particularly the Seminar 2 & 3 albums. There is indeed a lot of organ and the overall atmosphere is ritual/mystic. A worthy release although crediting just Mika and Jussi as Circle is dubious! Ratto ja Lehtisalo ja Mamiffer is more accurate!

The Hollywood 2xLP is very handsome and the album has been expanded to contain the entirety of the 2006 Earthworm cdep (instead of only 2 of the songs like the Hollywood cd version) which is a nice bonus!

Really anxious to hear Ssennssess, of course my package with Incarnation and Frontier is finally supposed to show up at my office today.

Ha, at least the new Aquarius shipment came fast! I remember waiting months and months for AQ things before I figured out how they operated and started emailing to ask what was actually in stock before placing my orders! Hope you like the Falcon and have an easier time with Incarnation than I have had. A friend who is actually into death metal tells me it is really good, ha. I'm taking his word for it at the moment, still being a bit bewildered and out of my depth as a listener!

Have you heard the Six Day Run LP? I'm starting to think it might be the best thing they've done this decade even if it is sort of a throwback to Prospekt or something... like they are saying, "We can still do the propulsive motorik instrumental thing as well as anyone when we want to!"

One thing interesting about it is it is almost all in weird time signatures but the band has such impeccable technique that it "reads" as straight-forward. You only notice when you start counting and marveling at the economic way the instruments all weave together to create the rhythms. This is an old Circle trick (the most impressive example to my ears being the first song on Forest, which if I remember correctly is 8+7 grounded by a steady 4/4 percussion) but it's nice to have a concentrated album, no matter how short, that seems to explore the concept at length. The first song on the Pharaoh Overlord Palmu LP also does this to marvelous effect with an impossibly groovy 9/4 featuring drums staggered in a way that they almost sound backwards (and is a song Circle plays live!)

I guess Meronia is 20 years old this years. Crazy!

Yeah, I've heard mixed things about both the Falcon and Circle releases, but I can't not get 'em.

I haven't heard Six Day Run yet, I don't really have the time, money or energy to chase down the vinyl releases and I think I missed out on that one. I do really want to hear it though, I've heard great things.

Understood, this is by far the only music I care about that much. 75% of my vinyl records are Circle things, ha. I really hope it gets some kind of cd release eventually, it deserves it. I know a lot of people will miss it otherwise. A lot of the best Circle and related things sort of end up being unjustly super obscure just for that reason. Sometimes I think they do it on purpose!

Now waiting for: the new Ratto ja Lehtisalo 7"

Circle & Mika Taanila - SSEENNSSEESS (Live @ Mind The Gap, Worm, Rotterdam, January 26th 2014)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiyukfK3DCw

I need to hear the Six Day Run thing. I never foklowed thru w everyone else in checking out Circle's discog, but Lunar Jetman is one of my favorite albums of the decade

Oh, hell yeah. Thanks Liinu!

Six Day Run makes a pretty good companion piece to Lunar Jetman, they're both instrumental and overloaded with killer guitar riffs!

You're welcome, Liam! Fantastic gig, isn't it? I didn't shoot the video, though, just found it in youtube when looking for any footage of the performance.

So the Falcon album is actually pretty fun! I was a bit hesitant after hearing some early thoughts on it and more so after reading the lyrics, but its actually not that huge of a departue. I mean, yes, it basically is '80s corporate cheese rock, but there's so much of the Circle feel in there - especially in the twisting riffs and the keyboard sounds. I like it.

Only halfway through Incarnation so far, it's not shabby either. To be honest, I totally thought the whole Falcon (ex-Circle) and Circle (ex-Falcon) thing was a way for Jussi to play with different groups, even the name Incarnation hinted at it just being a "new incarnation" of the group. So part of me is genuinely surprised that this is a whole new group of people.

A worthy release although crediting just Mika and Jussi as Circle is dubious! Ratto ja Lehtisalo ja Mamiffer is more accurate!

If it's Lehtisalo and your granny on bongos it's Circle!

New Circle album & 7" coming soon! Excited!!

https://soundcloud.com/ektrorecords/circle-kumiluoti
https://soundcloud.com/ektrorecords/circle-huone
https://soundcloud.com/ektrorecords/circle-post-kapitalismus

Yeah, me too! I only listened to one of the songs but it sounded very much along the lines of a more energetic Forest sounding thing which makes me super happy. Not too far off, either.

Falcon album is so good. My faves are "Vegas Sundown," "Leather Seat," and "Seasoned Girl."

Yeah, it's so much fun. "Leather Seat" is one I keep coming back to, but the whole thing is pretty great.

also really enjoy the hooks on "Horses" and "Miami Tits"; I think the only thing holding me back from liking the latter more is the fact that it's named "Miami Tits"

I love Frontier too!!! The album got even stronger once the hooks really started to sink in after a few listens. A great Circle album! The last song is inexplicably bad and out of place but it comes after so many awesome tunes that I can overlook it easily enough.

The new Rättö ja Lehtisalo 7" is excellent, of course. Quirky and colorful and wonderful. I hope they keep releasing 7" records, it is a good format for that group!

Sseennsseess is getting a lot of play from me, the use of negative space is particularly striking. The full set video Liinu linked to above is a good companion, essentially it is the same thing and it is fascinating to see the way they use gestures and stage theatrics as a major part of the musical strategy.

They have a "song" they do now live where they essentially pretend to be in slowwww mooottttiioooon for five minutes or more at a time which is also quite a revelation. And incredibly fun to watch, a real spectacle. All droning free-improv stuff should be so entertaining!!! I think the 2nd song on Pharaoh Overlord Palmu LP is this song. This extra-musical aspect of the performance is really fascinating to me, I would've never understood this ingenious fake-slow-motion conceit just from listening!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae87ssm8d9U

Oh yes, I love the extra-musical aspect of their performances! The music stands on its own, but the slowwww mooottttiioooon thing, gestures, playing in formation, wrestling and other stage theatrics make their live shows very fascinating and entertaining. And their spandex-leather-spikes outfits! It is so much more than just the music, and the music alone is already mind-blowing stuff. Definitely a must see live band!

Disclaimer: I am a huge fan of Circle, so I am most definitely biased! :-D

Yeah, they really are incredibly engaging live. I'm so glad I got to see them twice when they came to the US three years in a row 2005-7. I was already a fanatic but that really sealed my enthusiasm for all time. It was before they started getting heavily into the theatrics but there were still quite a few memorable moments!

I always try to stay critical with all the Circle stuff but I am clearly super-biased too, ha.

The prospect of a new and more eclectic Plain Ride has me pretty excited. The four albums they have already are all pretty interchangeable, in a good way, but this new one seems much more colorful (harmony singing!!?) which can only be a good thing!

*nods enthusiastically*

Yes, yes! I think I first saw them live as 'Rättö ja Lehtisalo' in 2007 and that sealed it for me. I was hooked, no going back. It was a mind-blowing experience. Soon after that I started going to all their gigs I could: Circle, Plain Ride, Pharaoh Overlord, Kuusumun Profeetta and and... At the same time I bought all their singles, EP's and albums I could find. Luckily it never stops. :-) Very much looking forward to the new Plain Ride album!

Have you guys seen this? Circle @ Roadburn 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21tT3LBY0O4

The sound quality is quite poor, but man did they play a helluva show. Wish I had been there!

dig the guy in the MAGMA tshirt and blue glitter spats

Yeah, saw that this morning. Love to see them getting into their costumes on stage as part of the performance!

Leviatan is ridiculous and amazing! Wow.

Country-flavored clean/acoustic/banjo/dulcimer LSD landscapes; contemplative and serene and surreal and a little menacing. Wheat fields, sunrises, sunsets, people tilling fields, dreams and hardships. So great. The Forest was chopped down and homesteaded by freaky but life-loving farmers, or something! Janne Westerlund is really at some kind of rare and special creative peak lately. Too funny it was only recorded in Feb 2014, that is an incredibly fast turnaround!

yeah these acoustic jams rule. and post-capitalism! i was expecting something harder and more ex-falcon but wow am i happily surprised by this

ooooof this is great

Yeah, it's all very picaresque! The super understated impressionistic synths and drums (mostly limited to sparse electric bass drum with snare rim shots, cymbals and the occasional drum synth punctuations!) really make the album, throwing all the percussive acoustic instruments into sharp relief. Post-kapitalismus is a great Mummi Kutoo impersonation! I especially like the double tracked humming on that song.

The 7" is less interesting but the two songs certainly are very concise and Leppanen kills it as usual. His warm drums sound especially amazing. Less good than Mylari but better than Panic.

http://thequietus.com/articles/15220-the-strange-world-of-circle

Marvelous, thanks!

Great article.

I found the article a bit confused, but it is always fun to hear/read what Jussi has to say. :-)

New song from Plain Ride's new album 'Skeleton Kites'!

https://soundcloud.com/ektrorecords/plain-ride-suuri-vesi

Picked up a copy of SSEENNSSEESS this afternoon (sidenote: really wishing these Ektro/Full Contact did digital downloads with the vinyl!), excited to give it a spin this weekend. I need to get Leviatan next. Is the new 7" available digitally anywhere? Leviatan is on iTunes, but the 7" isn't.

Another interview:

http://www.musiquemachine.com/articles/articles_template.php?id=339

Cool, thanks again!!!

Jon, I know some Ektro stuff ends up on amazon mp3 downloads, the last Kuusumun Profeetta had a single that ended up there so I imagine a few other things might've as well. Leviatan really is essential!

Skeleton Kites is fantastic, too!! I have been listening to it non-stop. It is 100% acoustic singer-songwriter at the core but there are lots and lots and lots of electrified rock and roll guitar solos coloring the overall picture. It is a very good companion to Leviatan, sonically and thematically (well, perhaps!) Both have the exact same guitar sounds and of course that worldly wise/weary Westerlund singing. Janne Westerlund is just hitting home run after home run the past year or two. His solo cd Oran , Frontier, Leviatan and now Skeleton Kites are all superb works where he takes center stage. I think i could make masterpiece arguments for all of them!

Oh, and getting the first 3 7" Circle singles in fancy remastered represses is really exciting!!!!

Cool interview, I love Jussi so much. I totally agree with him, his sense of guitar rhythm really is stunning! In fact, for me, life-changing!!

Jon, I know some Ektro stuff ends up on amazon mp3 downloads, the last Kuusumun Profeetta had a single that ended up there so I imagine a few other things might've as well.

Cool, thanks! I don't think I'd ever have thought to look for Circle stuff on Amazon.

Circle's Surface and Hissi will be released on vinyl! Release date is August 8th. Pre-orders in Ektro's web store.

Wow! Surface especially is great news!

Must not have the Marble Sheep stuff, though, which is kind of be a shame, but understandable.

Yeah, looks like it is Circle's part of the Circle/Marble Sheep split only. Cool anyway!

Been listening to Zopalki lately. Great. Valerian sounds a bit like avant-Alice in Chains