Artist: Tenhi
Title: Saivo
Type: Album
Label: Prophecy Productions

The music of Tenhi is special. Delicate, melancholic and decidedly New Age in its ambiance, it is reflective of nature and dreams. Only Finnish musicians seem to be able to capture atmospheres like this with such intensity. October Falls, before stepping into harsher environments, Nest and parts of Finntroll’s “Visor om Slutet” stand with Tenhi who are at the forefront. Where others use minimalism and make it threatening, with Tenhi it is not.

It’s been a while. 5 years in fact. But this is Tenhi. There’s never any rush. Nature takes its course. From the outset of “Saivo”, we’re in this not entirely unfamiliar but distant land. “Saimon Kimallus” is deep, dark and disturbing. The piano tinkles and creates the sound of droplets of water from a tree. This music could be used as background to the magnificent “Frozen Planet” series. Strangely, that same piano sound also reminded me of a section in The Who’s “Quadrophenia” just before “Love Reign over Me”. Unlike “Maaäet” (2006), there is a human face in this work, even if it of an uncertain and sorrowful nature. “Pojan Kiiski” takes us to another sphere. It is as if the icicles have melted and spring develops. It would be an over simplification to say that it is acoustic because the music has such delicacy and beauty. Here and on the later “Pienet Purot” it is colourful as if it is being played by John Williams but with soft vocal accompaniment. It follows a path in a way that nothing else does, and leads us by the hand. The keyboard sound is enriched from time to time by the strains of the harmonium. Where “Pienet Purot” (“Small Stream”) is clean and fresh like the Finnish woods, “Pojan Kiiski” is more like a hymn. The violin strains give it sadness, while the deep and distinctive Finnish vocal tones provide solemnity. The sadness intensifies on “Uloin” (“Outermost”). While locked into a dream as ever, the world represented by “Saivo” is more confronting than the mystical “Maaäet”. “Uloin” presents a vision of gloom appearing through the mist. It is steady and constant thanks to the plodding rhythm and mechanical drum beat, but the flute intervenes to provide an uplifting transformation. The mist-driven hymn “Sateen Soutu” is almost Eastern in its sound before my only moment of discomfort on this chilled album. The more upbeat “Haaksi” seems to head away from those misty forests into more conventional musical territory, where the acoustic mixes with the symphonic. If I felt alienated by “Haaksi”, “Surunuotta” takes us back to the balance of nature. A spell-binding acoustic tune is played. It’s slow, with timely pauses to allow us to reflect periodically. The celtic, mediaeval style calls to mind solitude in the woods. “Surunuotta” is a wonderful track and for me is the best example of the musicianship and simplicity which make the sound of Tenhi so special. What follows is a series of atmospheric pieces. Typical is “Paluu Joelle” (“Return to the River”), whose ambiance is created by its slow acoustic picking and the majestic violin. It is a melancholic statement. Choirs and obscure chants are frequently heard and as well as having a trance-like effect, also add to the overwhelming atmosphere of melancholic gloom and introspection. The violin plays it part and adds depth to the mystical “Vuoksi” (“Because of”). Its initial sound is reminiscent of The Corrs on the face of it but the fusion of the delicate acoustic work, the Finnish chanting and calming drums add sophistication and a hypnotic quality. The same combination contributes to the final track “Siniset Runot”. Quiet as ever, a Finnish folk chant is surrounded by rumblings. A spooky aura is created round the plodding guitar, piano sadness and ever melancholic violin.

For all its apparent simplicity, “Saivo” is a difficult album to grasp. Band member Tyko Saariko gave the accompanying explanation that “ ... the songs reflect the echoes from an inner world …”. I found that inner world hard to access. It’s a world that lies deep in Finnish forests and lakes. Sometimes direct, most of the time surrounded in mist, there is no doubt that there is much beauty in this tranquil work. Tenhi create a world which moves slowly and quietly, yet which is full of subtlety and sadness. It may not relate directly to our own lives but the ambiance is hard to resist.

http://www.myspace.com/tenhiband

Andrew Doherty

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