3TM - Lake (We Jazz)

WHAT THE COVER LOOKS LIKE:

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After the dark ambient overtures of the prelude the main course from, whimsical even for a jazz trio, 3TM is finally served via We Jazz. Albeit less so than the previous 2 LPs, they still nod & wink randomly at various electronic tropes whilst still sounding focussed, farm fresh & eminently listenable.

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WHAT YOUR EARS SAY:

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WHAT THE PRESS RELEASE SAYS:

Drummer/producer Teppo Mäkynen's 3TM returns with a new album, "Lake", on 29 November on Helsinki's We Jazz Records. The album is the much awaited follow up to 2017's successful 3TM debut "Form", which was awarded as the "Jazz Album of the Year" in Mäkynen's native Finland. "Lake" was preceded by the ambient electronic album"Abyss" in August, which set the mood for what's to come next: A compact yet far-reaching body of work bringing together the trio's acoustic jazz sound and ideas rooted in abstract electronic music in a remarkably boundless way.

"LAKE" LINER NOTES BY TEPPO MÄKYNEN:
I used to go swimming almost every day in my early youth. Usually in an indoor swimming pool, where I felt safe because the water was warm and I could see through to the bottom. In the summer I swam and went fishing at lakes Piiljärvi, Hirvijärvi and Kuhajärvi. Their chlorine-free waters and living ecosystems provided me with experiences of untamed nature. The water in each of these lakes was pretty murky, and what they hid inside them was mostly represented by the fish I sometimes caught. I didn’t do much diving, at least not too deep, because I was afraid of what I might find below the surface. But I still loved the feeling of being able to move about the water by my own efforts.

“Lake” doesn’t refer to a particular lake or location. It can be a metaphor for humanity, or the world. A metaphor for concrete living things. “Lake” reflects the things on the outside, the things we see. It’s peculiar how we often give those an extra layer of meaning by presuming and by seeing in them reflections of our own experiences. It’s hard not to make judgements about what you see, although often it would be better to just observe.

“Abyss” is the subconscious and the soul. The deeper plain that all living things possess. “Abyss” is what we can’t really see. We can just try and guess what lies beyond the surface. But we can and should try to reach that deeper plain, even if we might find things there we don’t like. It’s the only way to become whole and to learn about ourselves and others.

The music on these two albums tells a story about its creator. About things having multiple sides to them. About the need to look for the new. About sensitivity and the quest for beauty. About the intersection of old and new, neither being aware they existed at the same time. About possibility. About finiteness. About a lake. About humanity. About acceptance. About...

All of this music was created to praise nature. Nature, which we human beings are one with, even if that often seems to be hard for us to understand, regrettably. These albums are dedicated to everything living and dying.

Credits
Teppo Mäkynen, drums & sounds / Jussi Kannaste, tenor sax / Antti Lötjönen, bass
Composed and produced by Teppo Mäkynen
Another Rok Solid production
Recorded and mixed by Abdissa Assefa
Mastered by Pauli Saastamoinen
Lake photos by Tero Ahonen
Design by Matti Nives