Return from Manala

Rent Romus

Label: Edgetone Records
Released: 2020
Views: 225

Tracks

Metsässä (Deep in the Forest); Journey to Manala part I; Journey to Manala part II; Journey to Manala part III; Procession for the Fallen; Loitsun lukema (Casting the Spell); Fire, Water, and Tears; Suurimaa; Menninkäiset (Hobgoblins); Manal' A'ssa; Pohjoisen asukas (Hyperborean)

Personnel

Rent Romus

saxophone, alto

Heikki Koskinen

trumpet

Teppo Hauta-Aho

bass, acoustic

Heikki Laitinen

voice / vocals

Mikko Innanen

saxophone

Album Description

Return from Manala continues a musical journey that started with the Otherworld Cycle. The music was created near the end of a three week tour presenting Rent Romus and Heikki Koskinen's suite of music entitled Manala. The group gathered in Finland in 2019 and recorded live at Kaapelitehdas (The Cable Factory) in the heart of Helsinki. Manala is the ancient spiritual underworld of the Finno-Ugric cultures, the opposite of the land of the living a place of great mystery, danger and knowledge. In cultures that respected the role of the shaman, returning from the underworld with knowledge to help their community was paramount. Return from Manala represents a series of group improvisations and written structures within the theme of Manala and features master musician/improvisers Mikko Innanen and Rent Romus, the voice of ethnomusicologist Dr. Heikki Laitinen, and Finnish Jazz legends Teppo Hauta-aho and Heikki "Mike" Koskinen.