Kiri Ra!: nen

The film opens with a wide-angle shot as the camera slowly pans across the scenery: a Finnish lake swallowed by morning fog. Behind the lake is a rolling hill covered with tall, straight, evergreen pines. As the pines poke out of the fog, you can almost smell the deep green needles that sway gently in the morning breeze. Between the stillness of the lake and the rolling hills is a cottage. The camera slowly descends from above, moving through the fog, gliding across the cold black water of the lake, onto the bank, silently tracking towards the cottage, and then moving through the cottage's open window.

The camera slowly pans left and right, revealing the layout of the cottage's common area. A pot of coffee has just been removed from the stovetop, its aroma filling the cottage air and overwhelming the senses. With a look, three friends slowly stand, without speaking; the only sound in the room is the creaking of the chairs on the floor. They walk over to the stove and fill their cups. It is time to begin the task at hand. The trio members exchange glances and nod silently to each other as they sit and pick up their instruments and hit record.

Kiri Ra! is a trio made up of Laura Naukkarinen, Linda Fredriksson, and Matti Bye. Nen does not come flying into the room announcing its arrival; it walks in, studies the surroundings, and sits with the listener, patiently building a cinematic scene in the mind's eye and constructing the perfect soundtrack for the movies that play in one's head. Each musician brings their own unique voice to the music. Naukkarinen sets the tone with her synth, creating the fog that is described above. Both Fredriksson's saxophone and flute weave in and out of the fog, like the howling wind or the call of a lonely bird searching for a mate. All the while, Bye's piano keeps the music tethered to the ground, keeping it all from slipping away into the ether.

"omewhere" is the perfect example of Kiri Ra!'s exquisite sonic landscape and serves as the centerpiece of the album. Although it is perhaps the most traditional song on nen, its slow, deliberate pace still sounds more like a walk in the brisk cold of a winter morning than a song, and that is the whole point.

Listening to nen requires patience, stillness, no distractions, electronics turned off, and just visualizing what the musicians are playing. Kiri Ra! spent 10 years creating this album, getting it exactly right. It is the kind of album that invites the listener inside and pours a hot cup of coffee to sip while you quietly sit and enjoy the company.