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Kehro to Release Debut Album Urdiala April 5 on Ektro Records

Posted in Whathaveyou on March 5th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

kehro (Photo by Susanna Palo)-1400

I’m not saying this to brag or anything, but a fair amount of music gets sent over to check out. The PR wire is pretty consistent, and beyond that, social media and whatnot, it periodically borders on a barrage. I do my best to keep up, and usually fail. I don’t know if I’ll get to review Kehro‘s debut LP, Urdiala, or not, but it came in with the press release below for coverage consideration, and I listened to it and dug it, so here I am posting about it. That’s the whole story. I don’t get to write about nearly as much stuff as I want to in the average week, which is something that’s been frustrating for, oh, the last decade or thereabouts, but if I can sneak in something like this with a streaming track at the bottom of the post and one or two people check it out and dig it, then maybe I can make myself feel better about not giving it its full due.

Please keep in mind I’m trying my best, and that if I didn’t think this was worth your time, I wouldn’t be writing about it at all. In media studies, they call it “agenda setting.” My agenda is “stuff that doesn’t suck.”

Cheers.

Sha la la la la:

kehro urdiala

KEHRO set release date for EKTRO debut, reveal first track

On April 5th, Ektro Records is proud to present Kehro’s debut album, Urdiala, a melting pot of acoustic lounge psychedelia and Latin and Afro grooves packed in the form of highly original musical adventure. It’s not easy to categorise Kehro’s sound, yet it’s a true treasure for fans of eclectic, sunny, and relaxing groove. Reference points include the cornucopia of Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Markku Peltola, and the Hits with Strings and Things Music era.

Employing more-or-less hidden ethno melodies and acoustic downtempo sounds, the album’s soft dreamscape exhibits a thorough understanding of various sub-genres such as avant-folk, melodic space-age pop, exotic coffeehouse jazz, and chillout easy listening. Kehro’s soudscape is based on experiences garnered from gigs at garden parties, dinner parties, cocktail parties, and family celebrations, where it’s best to build ambiance for the imagination – and the listener will take care of the rest if necessary.

The music of Kehro is as eclectic and broad-minded as the ensemble itself. Vesa Kaartinen started his musical career in the obscure agricultural psychedelic group Mummi Kutoo. Markku Kyyhkynen played in the band Sata Lasta, winning the Finnish Championship in Rock Music – as well as in the weird alternative pop group Inkvisitio. Ville Toikka has several local rock groups under his belt. Kalle Outila is a young musical multi-tasker playing swing as well as slide, etc. Marko Timonen is one of the most employed jazz/folk/rock percussionist in Finland, as is Tero Hyväluoma in the humble field of fiddling. Kimmo Pohjonen is often referred to as the Jimi Hendrix of accordion. Samuli Laiho was recently selected as a nominee for the Folk Music Creator of the Year Award for producing the latest album for the group Solju. He’s been playing in the rock groups Hearthill, Soul Tattoo, and Ismo Alanko Säätiö, etc. He has also written Number 1 hits for several pop stars and written music for theatres. Janne Oinas is the man behind the sound and atmosphere in hundreds of pop hits.

Kehro also is a tiny, remote village in Urjala Municipality, 170 kilometers northwest of Helsinki, Finland. The village got its name from a hunter, who settled down there for more than 500 years ago. Today, there are less than 100 inhabitants left in Kehro. The names of the tracks come from the village history. Urdiala is the former, Swedish-based name of Urjala. Further, “Kehro (haal aahei)” is “Hello” in the Sindi language, spoken in India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Tracklisting for Kehro’s Urdiala
1. Ho?lli
2. Nyyperi
3. Martankari
4. Laikka
5. Kolu
6. Ristolli
7. Kasila
8. Piippala
9. Kikuri
10. Honkolan neiti

www.facebook.com/KehroUrdiala
www.ektrorecords.com
www.facebook.com/ektrorecords
www.soundcloud.com/ektrorecords

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