han teki minut autioksi
muukalaisen kotielçmçç
valo tihkuu kaiken lapi (click once for direct download)
if you were to suddenly undergo a profound religious awakening, what would the soundtrack be? hard to tell until you’re in the moment, perhaps – or maybe it’ll sound something like paavoharju. for that is their tale, on the cusp of a born-again christian experience, the group took to the hills to document the time musically, the soundtrack to the opening of a third eye. being finnish, few of us will understand the meaning of their words, although the intent may not wholly be lost.
i know you’re asking the same question as me: “isn’t all christian rock really just the work of the devil sent here to taunt us and confuse us?” according to paavoharju, “music is god’s gift to us, jesus is so very rock!”. the wire magazine put it thus: “far from recalling a shiny-faced sentimentality that smacks of irony, these christian expressionists are a rare breed in this day and age. paavoharju stand sincere in their belief that god gave them a gift in their ability to craft these psychedelic hymns that articulate complex and unusual revelations about God, themselves and the world.”
so to the above tracks: ‘han teki minut autioksi’ and ‘muukalaisen kotiel√ßm√ß√ß’ are drifting slices of what was once called “isolationist” ambience, however ‘valo tihkuu kaiken lapi’ is the track that i’ve been listening to for a while; much like sigur ros with the suspicion of pretentiousness removed – a lilting, almost bollywood vocal, over minimalist keyboards & acoustic distortion. consider me a convert.