Jarmo Saari SOLU: The Making of Love

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!

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