Spyritual

Spyritual are from Finland... a boy from the south plugging the cables, turning the nobes and a girl from the north adding a voice. Both are playing with moody jazz and electronic modes, open hearts and some bliss. What is this music like? Mmmh... how about strawberries and twisted angels.

There are millions of little words that we wanted to say
Still for some reason we stayed quiet anyway

"There are millions of little words that we wanted to say, still for some reason we stayed quiet anyway", Spyritual are singing in "Silence". We can’t really tell how happy we are that this Finnish duo broke their silence at last with their debut "Wall of Soul". One of the most atmospheric albums implementing the autumn would have been withhold otherwise.

The title of the album may be understood according to Phil Spectors "Wall Of Sound".
Different from the wide-ranging sound of the starproducer the listener is not rolled over by an acoustical, but by an emotional wave.
Spyritual is smart elegance, tensely accuracy and stylish understatement.

Responsible for this magically beautiful piece of music are Juha Tuukkanen and Terhi Koivisto from Helsinki. In a harmonious way they melt together instrumental Nu Jazz, to the skeleton reduced Soul, Trip Hop and the complex rhythm of Drum and Bass to a melange, that despite the often electronically roots always is organic and lively. Pearls of Soul like "Goodbyes" or "All Is Not What It Seems" demonstrate in an unobtrusive but insistent way that relaxed protracted groove and accurate precision don’t exclude each other.
While the bass creates a ruminant weightiness and warmness, the snare is cracking like the firewood in the chimney and the echo chambers of the widely invested wind are as huge as the created emotions. Because of the exquisite calmness the fourteen pieces remind of ambient and sound installations, without ever gliding into something convertible. No sound in this conscious minimalist frame is coincidental. And although the piano and sax are bubbling apparently weightless over the broad and warm flow of sound, the one who addicts himself to this flow will feel the brew under the surface.
Juha who is really into electronically music since the age of twelve is responsible for composition and arrangement, while Terhi who was brought to music because of her piano playing grandmother, refines six of the pieces with her crystal clear but also lascivious voice. Their lyrics tell about love, losing and fear. Indeed in a direct and accurate way fitting to the music that avoid any kitsch and creates an alarmingly intimate closeness.

Although Juha is also responsible for production and mixing the album, nevertheless Spyritual worked together with friends and artists in their studio.
The spherical and sometimes frowningly smouldering arrangements of wind for example come from the Finnish Jazz musicians Mikko Pettinen and Antti Hynninen.

With "Wall of Soul" Spyritual created an album that not only covers an amazing palette of emotions and shows a broad of styles that not only enthuses Jazz lovers, Soul-friends and TripHop fans similarly, but also works out on exclusive cocktailbars just as is works in smoky Jazz cellars or as a soundtrack for evenings at home with the loved one, when outside the dark days begin.

References: Smoke City, His Name Is Alive, Tortoise, Cinematic Orchestra