Ahava
Ahava
Catalogue ID: FRCD-7
Release date: November 13, 2001
Ahava is an old Finnish word meaning a dry and cool springwind. On the cd cover photos one can catch a glimpse of the wind, ahava. Vocalist Mia Simanainen, saxophonist/flutist Sonny Heinilä, pianist Kari Ikonen and drummer Mika Kallio are standing there in the wind.
Mia Simanainen, who has composed most of the album's material, is deeply inspired by Finnish nature, different folk traditions and poetry as 20th century art idioms and not least by jazz music, which she has studied at the Sibelius Academy.
The result of the above-mentioned is Ahava. The music is a blend of storytelling - in Finnish, Swedish and English; mystical views of nature, contemporary harmony, jazz improvisation and a classical sense of dynamics. In the context of Ahava, the voice is an instrument, which together with the excellent instrumentalists combines to mould smooth, dynamic and sensitive impressions.
Every composition expresses a vision; the earliest composition for Ahava, Agda Airi, is named after Simanainen's grandmother and is performed without text. It tells a story of very poor and hard-working people who live a simple life and who still are able to make it rich when living in a constant connection to the nature. The newest of the album's compositions is Suo/Swamp, with Unto Kupiainen's poem (Finnish 20th century poet). The song portrays a metaphorical swamp of the mind, where everyone of us can sometimes feel we are drowning. Altogether there are nine tracks of which two are composed by the pianist Kari Ikonen.
Musicians
- Mia Simanainen, vocals
- Kari Heinilä, tenor and soprano saxophones, kaval and nay flutes
- Kari Ikonen, piano, Rhodes
- Mika Kallio, drums
Tracks
| 1. | Suo | (Simanainen/Kupiainen) | (7:04) |
| 2. | Emilia | (Simanainen) | (6:37) |
| 3. | Lilya | (Simanainen) | (5:45) |
| 4. | Agda Airi | (Simanainen) | (5:32) |
| 5. | Jos Oisit | (Ikonen/Timonen) | (4:58) |
| 6. | Sato | (Simanainen) | (4:22) |
| 7. | Käärmelaulu | (Ikonen) | (5:25) |
| 8. | Usvan Neito | (Simanainen/Happonen-Boye) | (7:38) |
| 9. | Kristallen den fina | (trad.) | (3:34) |
| Total time: | 51:22 |
Other information
- Recording location
- Kallio-Kuninkala, Järvenpää, Finland
- Date of recording
- Spring 2001
- Produced by
- Ahava
- Recording and mixing
- Miikka Huttunen
- Mastered by
- Miikka Huttunen & Janne Viksten
- Photographs and cover design
- Tanja Ahola