''Aikaintaite'' is the début full-length album by the Finnish

ambient Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to: Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds * Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere * ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby * ...

neofolk Neofolk, also known as apocalyptic folk, is a form of experimental music blending elements of folk and industrial music, which emerged in punk rock circles in the 1980s. Neofolk may either be solely acoustic or combine acoustic folk instrumenta ...

, and metal band

Syven Syven is a Finnish band from Riihimäki, formed in 2007. The band released their début album '' Aikaintaite'' through Vendlus Records in 2011; the second album, '' Corpus Christi (Syven album)'', was released the following year. Biography Syve ...

. It was released on December 6, 2011 through

Vendlus Records Vendlus Records is an American independent record label based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 2002 by Joseph Cortese. Vendlus has released records in genres including black metal, indie pop, industrial, avant-garde metal, and electronica. ...

Concept

The album's concept, greatly inspired by

shamanism Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a Spirit world (Spiritualism), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as tranc ...

and animism, is to imagine the soundscapes of the Finnish forests, lakes and rivers, as the land was emerging from the last glacial period. ''Aikaintaites main theme is the interplay between the passages of time, short and long, their effects and their changing appearances when looked from other time frames. The album's Finnish title means the passing or folding of time. The album's cover art, created by the band's songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Aslak Tolonen, consists of reproductions of two ink paintings, ''Kotkan Sarvet'' (''Eagle's Horns'') and ''Hillerin Kallo'' ('' European Polecat's Skull''). The latter one, used on the front cover, represents how drastically time affects the living things. The songs are sung by a character, who is able to travel between different worlds and dimensions, bringing their understanding to the present.

Music

Stylistically, ''Aikantaite'' is a fusion of various styles, including ambient, acoustic, neofolk and metal, with the resulting mixture often described as shamanistic. The album's sound is centered on kanteles that Tolonen had made himself. Two types of this instrument were used, a 15-string acoustic and a 12-string electric, the sound of which is often confused with that of an electric guitar. Lapland drums, sleigh bells and rainsticks were also utilized, as well as various electronic instruments. The mood of the album is heavy, dark and primordial; greatly enhancing the overall atmosphere are the vocals of Andy Koski-Semmens, who uses various

chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes ...

s, grunts and whispers in addition to his semi-operatic

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

singing voice.

Track listing

Credits

*Aslak Tolonen – all instruments *Andy Koski-Semmens – vocals

External links

Entire album streaming on SoundCloud

References

{{Authority control 2011 debut albums Syven albums