Jarmo Saari SOLU: The Making of Love (2007)

Anthony Shaw

Concert/Festival Reviewer since 2000

Former rock and folk freak, now with tastes fermented by 20+ years in Finland.

Recent articles (83 total)

Published: April 29, 2007

As Jarmo Saari explains on his website, the topic of The Making of Love has motivated and emasculated humankind since the beginning of time. So do we need yet another interpretation?

The album expands the Finnish guitarist's already long discography, which ranges from a big band suite for the UMO Jazz Orchestra to his first solo album, the guitar-based excursion into madcap and mischievous electronica Solu (Rockadillo, 2004). On all his releases Saari shows his mastery of traditional guitar rhythmic and solo techniques, but on his solo work it is the electronic side that shines through, where he utilizes processors and effects to explore broader, often pastel, soundscapes.

This second solo effort is a gentle and accessible way into Saari's music. The studio manipulations of Saari's guitar create washes and vistas reminiscent of his work with local 1990s prog-jazz band XL, as well as that of former guitar teacher and part countryman Raoul Björkenheim's collaboration with Nicky Skopelitis, Revelator (Innerrhythmic, 2001).

The opening track, "Glow," starts with spacious chords and arpeggios, but then moves into "Passion" with a dash of wry humor—vinyl-like clicks and hisses among the pops and burps of processed sound. More investigations of the theme continue under rubrics including "Senses, "Faith and "Tease.

It may, at times, seem to be wallpaper music, but suddenly you'll find yourself listening hard—that old emotional roller-coaster ride again!

Track Listing: Glow (Opening); Passion; Desire; Senses; Pleasure; Tease; Souls; Lust; Faith; Embrace (Closing).

Personnel: Jarmo Saari: electric guitar, processing.

Record Label: RockAdillo
Style: Electronica