Islaja, Ulual YYY (Fonal)

I went to see Islaja play as part of a Fonal showcase (with Es and Kiila) last year in St Giles-in-the-Field church in central London (watch a clip here from the Wire’s website, dancing bunny included).  I enjoyed the show very much, despite my confessing at the end that the evening left me none-the-wiser idea as to whether Islaja had any musical talent in anything approaching a conventional sense.  That strange otherworldly voice – undoubtedly strong and pure, but happiest when leaping around carefree shorn of any link to melody.  She played guitar too; but it was a shambling, strangely tuned sound which did not reveal a natural affinity with the instrument’s more usual function.  And obviously the lyrics are in that most typographically forbidding of languages, Finnish; they could be Joyce or they could be junk for all I know.  Yet Islaja’s music is so much more than the sum of its parts - as I said, I enjoyed the show, much as I enjoyed Islaja’s Palaa Aurinkoon from 2005; indeed that was probably my favourite record of the year, repeated listening opened up a parallel universe with its own laws and (il)logics. 

Not having any idea what to expect from the follow-up, I could hardly have been disappointed.  Ulual YYY opts to add darker colours to the palette – the unsteady, meandering guitar and vocal extemporisation remain in place, joined at suitably unexpected moments by keyboards, saxophone, sampled dialogue, and some spooky backing vocals. “Kutsukaa Sydäntä” opens the album with horror movie chords, and “Suru Ei” closes it with late night devil poker, sleepy she-demons clinking bone chips (despite the extra weight, Ulual YYY remains an album of little sounds).  In between the jazz influence is noticeable: “Muukulais-Silmä” builds Mingus-like from simple beginnings, with wordless wailing becoming caught up in an acceleration of bells and keys; and the sax squiggles of “Sydänten Ahmija” bring to mind some kindred Scandinavian spirits in Strountes (who welded Mats Gustaffson’s muscular parping to free folk undercarriage to sublime effect last year).   With Ulual YYY, Islaja has reaffirmed her right to be regarded as one of music’s true singularities.  It is slow to give up its witchy charms, but the persistent listener will be all the more rewarded for their efforts.

The Wire are streaming “Pete P“, and there is more at Fonal.com, who will also be only too happy to sell you a copy.  Islaja is playing St Giles again this year, along with Tony Conrad.  Wooo.