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Following a demo from 2005, the Tuohiparta EP is the second release by Finnish project Cataplus. Behind the project is the young J. Mäntyranta, and the focus in this project is on atmospheric acoustic and electronic music, inspired by nature. This EP is now released as a free download on MP3, but a limited hard-copy edition may come in the future.
The EP starts with a short intro, consisting of deep windy sounds, guitar and jew's harp, briefly introducing the mysterious atmosphere. The title track continues with obscure nature sounds, guitar, soft spoken word and a faint but heavy tolling bell in the background. It quickly becomes clear that this EP is all about creating a dark mysterious atmosphere, and it does that very well. "Metsän väki" relies a bit more on a synth melody, but also contains nice skin drum percussion, and acoustic guitar. The whole calls to mind a fairytale-like mood, that would also be very suitable as a soundtrack to some fantasy game or other. "Otsoseni, ainoseni" is a nice and typically Finnish vocal piece, reminding me of fellow countrymen like Tuhat Kuolemaa Sekunnissa. The longer "Kalmahinen" takes us back into some more excellent gloomy soundtrack music. "Hiisi" is a calm narrative piece, with a mix of regular and deep speaking voice, backed by layered guitar and percussion and flute. The closing track, finally, is another synth-based instrumental, closing the album in style.
This is a very nice first EP, with a mysterious, dark, and earthy feel to it. I'm keeping the mark down to a 7 because it's only a download without anything to go along with it at the moment, but especially because I think future releases by this project will be able to become even better. J. himself said we wasn't completely happy with the way this turned out, but I don't think that's deserved. Tuohiparta is a very good and promising debut release. If you enjoy the music from other Finnish artists like Nest and October Falls, with perhaps a bit more of a fantasy feel, you shouldn't let this free EP pass! I'm looking forward to hearing more.
O.S.
The EP starts with a short intro, consisting of deep windy sounds, guitar and jew's harp, briefly introducing the mysterious atmosphere. The title track continues with obscure nature sounds, guitar, soft spoken word and a faint but heavy tolling bell in the background. It quickly becomes clear that this EP is all about creating a dark mysterious atmosphere, and it does that very well. "Metsän väki" relies a bit more on a synth melody, but also contains nice skin drum percussion, and acoustic guitar. The whole calls to mind a fairytale-like mood, that would also be very suitable as a soundtrack to some fantasy game or other. "Otsoseni, ainoseni" is a nice and typically Finnish vocal piece, reminding me of fellow countrymen like Tuhat Kuolemaa Sekunnissa. The longer "Kalmahinen" takes us back into some more excellent gloomy soundtrack music. "Hiisi" is a calm narrative piece, with a mix of regular and deep speaking voice, backed by layered guitar and percussion and flute. The closing track, finally, is another synth-based instrumental, closing the album in style.
This is a very nice first EP, with a mysterious, dark, and earthy feel to it. I'm keeping the mark down to a 7 because it's only a download without anything to go along with it at the moment, but especially because I think future releases by this project will be able to become even better. J. himself said we wasn't completely happy with the way this turned out, but I don't think that's deserved. Tuohiparta is a very good and promising debut release. If you enjoy the music from other Finnish artists like Nest and October Falls, with perhaps a bit more of a fantasy feel, you shouldn't let this free EP pass! I'm looking forward to hearing more.
O.S.