Shakali - Rihmastossa (Not Not Fun) [New Age]
- The Slow Music Movement
- May 4, 2024
- 2 min read
Solar-powered sine wave generators, microtonal synths wired into tree slabs, musically upcycled found objects & a plethora of ancient instruments are just some of the ways Shakali communes with nature during serotonergic hallucinogen induced trance states at the Not Not Fun ashram. Going deep he improvises past the fatally flawed human condition to confer with forgotten natural spirits & explore hidden in plain sight ecosystemic wonders to kindly provide this ritualistic new age of new age vision.
What The Release Notes Say
Based in the South Moravian city of Brno, Finnish multi-instrumentalist Simo Hakalisto aka Shakali crafts surreal terrariums of strings, synthetics, wood, and wind, teeming with bio-electronic synchronicities. Rihmastossa further finesses the project’s eclectic lexicon of electro-acoustic world-building, utilizing a gallery of instruments both ancient and advanced: solar-powered sine wave generators, singing bowls, metallophones, microtonal synths wired into tree slabs, lap harps, amplified found objects, percussion filters, flutes.
This is world music in the most naturalistic sense – subtle spatial ecosystems of climate, vibration, landscape, and species, as alluded to in the track titles about fungal colonies, extinct birds, rare worms, and pine forests. Hakalisto’s work in various exploratory duos (Gnäw, Lunar Horns, Thistle) has honed his instincts for atmospheric improvisation, but when alone he embeds even deeper into the terrain, acting as conduit as much as creator. Across seven free-flowing fugue states of texture and resonance, his touch simmers beneath the surface, guided by shifting light and hidden hands.
Credits:
Written, performed and produced by Simo Hakalisto.
Instrumentation:
Meng Qi Wing Pinger, Soma Terra, Tocante Phashi, 5-string and 15-string Kantele, Tocante Karper, Meng Qi Wingie II, Moog Matriarch, modular synthesizer, Gendèr, field recordings, found objects, Critter & Guitari Organelle, percussion, flutes.
Soprano Saxophone on 1, 4, 7 by Julian Overall.
Singing Bowl on 5 by Matěj Kotouček.
Mastered by Jared Carrigan.
Design by Britt Brown.
