Artist: Tekniset
Album: Teknical Problems
Label: Freakdance
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Review:
It’s rare that I anxiously wait something like 7 years for an album. It is even more rare that after such a wait, I am surprised and excited by what I hear. Guns N’ Roses – Chinese Democracy fell monumentally short. Skinny Puppy’s output post “The Process” has been rubbish. And both Orbital and Dr. Dre have new albums planned for release soon, but I fear the worst.
However, every now and then time doesn’t really matter much. The Verve’s album “Forth” came out 11 years after its predecessor and it is fantastic. And now Tekniset, after much waiting, many live shows, a few too-drunk-to-play-well gigs, and some compilation appearances, have finally graced us with a proper full length album… and Freakdance Records is back too!
Tekniset is a project by Huopatossu Mononen and Rick Timebees (of Shiwa 2000 fame). Tekniset graces us from the land of Finland and they’ve been playing a slew of shows in places such as Germany, Israel, Russia, Ukraine and Belgium since their inception in 2004.
With their album “Teknical Problems,” Tekniset offer us a danceable, magical blend of uptempo Psychedelic Folk Elvin Gnome Trance. This is music I would consider the DMT Elves to play as their culture’s traditional folk music. This music is like the Bob Dylan or Willie Nelson of DMT Elves or little forest gnomes and pixies.
Tracks like Pajupilli, Paha Tonttu, and Pelkat Jaa take over the mind and feet as the percussion, acoustic instruments, electronnic synths, and ocassional vocals blend together into a sound that pushes the listener forward while also leading them on a journey. Like a proper psychedelic experience, time becomes more relative than before, you’re never quite sure where the next song is going to take you, yet through all of it, you trust that you’re going to come out of the journey with a bit more positivity in your world and perhaps a tad more faith in the natural order of things too.
If you’re a hard head and need full-on lead lines at every moment or songs that are 160 BPM or faster, this is certainly not the album for you. However, if you want to hear something fresh, maybe want to delve into the natural tones of traditional DMT Elf Folk Music, than this is album is for you!
While it may have taken 7 years to be released, it was certainly worth the wait. The guest musicians playing everything from live violin and flute to vibraphone and accordian gives this album a nice sound that is often lacking in most electronic and dance music albums. Unlike some artists who try to blend these divergent instruments with uneven results, Tekniset have taken years of playing live shows and practice in various studios, and they have created a rich album full of culture and, to me, psychedelic excitement.
Now I just wish that it was warmer out so that I could go camping…
xoxox
-A’damn