Finnegan Tui - Dusk (EYWA) [Alt-Folk]
- The Slow Music Movement
- 3 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Just by listening you'd never guess that Finnegan Tui is in his twenties. He's got that sort of worldly-wise/weary (delete as applicable) voice that sounds like he's loved and had his heart broken, won and lost a few fights, and travelled the world, which I actually know to be true, as he hails from New Zealand but has ended up in London. His tones are also unmistakably Finnegan Tui, and in this age of AI-sloppy, copy-and-pasted, auto-tuned music where homogeneity is encouraged, that's a rare and wonderful thing.
He also has a well-crafted, cultured line in darker, alt-folk music with devilishly detailed, ancient meets futuristic, path less trodden arrangements that he likes to augment with his own field recordings and top-drawer production partners. He sounds singular and great, and I've been all in since I first laid ears on him a few years back. If you haven't heard his debut album, Zephyr yet then get on it, you're in for a treat.
May saw the release of a new EP, so a listen is well overdue. "Someday" starts innocently enough; Finnegan warming up his vocal chords over some classy ambient frequencies that slip under his initially fragile vocals; well until some cinematic strings, accordion and darker ambient winds encourage him to turn up the intensity; just in time for the rhythmic guitar-driven "Saviour/Sadist", that scurries through the speakers in vaguely alt-flamenco-rock fashion, Tui leaping from his stool, grasping the mic stand and going with the indie-rock flow, it's quite the ride.
As a breather is in order, "Wildflower" slips into mellower, if slightly scurrying, acoustic folk form. The shadows are lifted by the sun's rays, as Tui muses on affairs of the heart with a resigned melancholy. "Summer Rain" maintains the acoustic vibe and strips things back, with the electronic embellishments wisely sitting back and keeping the birds and hazy sax company, lest we get distracted and don't give this tale of longing and acceptance the attention it deserves. It's another class outing.
Playlist Companion
Find Tui in the Slow Folk Playlist.