KAUKOLAMPI — Synestopia Variations 1-4

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the Finnish experimental music scene is like no other. In fact, the word experimental is almost moribund here because music produced by this most Easterly of Nordic countries is seldom what anyone would call mainstream. Whether its metal or electronic, Finnish musicians have a habit of touching the outer reaches of creativity and yet make it feel oh so natural. And electronic musician Timo Kaukolampi is no exception. Both a voracious collaborator and an acclaimed solo artist, Kaukolampi vehemently creates with no evident boundaries. In fact, his sole aim as both musician and producer is to destroy everything he makes – and then recreate it again. Based in Helsinki, he has spent the last few years concentrating on his solo career with the 2023 release of Inside the Sphere and now his latest Synestopia Variations 1-4. 

Gaining prominence first as a member of the Op:l Bastards (name changed following a threat of litigation by Opel cars) and then the ‘Original-Electronic-Motorhead-Space-Trance-Spiritual-Rock-Meditation-Freejazz’ read Krautrock band K-X-P who came together in the early part of the ‘tens’, Kaukolampi’s heart has always been rooted in electronic music. And as the years have progressed, he has shifted towards a more ‘soundtrack-oriented’ synth-driven aesthetic working with bandmate Tuomo ‘P’ Puranen to produce a series of OSTs including 2019’s Maria’s Paradise and even winning the Jussi prize for the film Euthanizer. All the while, though, he has kept his solo reserves topped up.

In fact, Synestopia Variations 1-4 in its earliest form has been around since the days of the pandemic. Revolving around one key composition, Kaukolampi returned to the piece time and time again, but no amount of tinkering, layering and re-recording was enough. The epiphany finally came when he decided not to overlay the component parts but instead to chop them up, creating four variations on a theme.

With a title that fuses the words ‘synesthesia’ and ‘utopia’, it is ‘Variation 1 - con gravità (full version)’ that lies at the heart of Synestopia, opening the album with its pseudo-John Carpenter, latter day Tangerine Dream soundtrack influences. Building around an electro-house beat (courtesy of Anssi Nykänen), ‘Variation 1’ is dominated by layered synths that feature Jaakko Salovaara on Buchla Easel before the beats wind proceedings down, ready for the next chapter. ‘Variation 2 - for clarinet’ begins with the same punctuated synth, but the juxtaposition of the woodwind provided by Helmi Malmgren and the heavy intakes of breath make for a very different dynamic. All of which is then swiftly abandoned on ‘Variation 3 - for E1, PR99, SY-1, TR-808' - a synthetic orchestral overture with Tuomas Toivonen on the Moog E1 guitar. Building over 13 minutes, drone is accompanied by stabbing synth, each new layer blending with the haunting vocals of Ringa Manner, industrial buzzing and a hint of discordance – dying back in the last two minutes. ‘Variation 4 “for wolves”’ is respite - single notes overlaid with Manner’s vocals once again inducing an ambient dreamstate which continues into the sumptuously atmospheric finale of ‘All birds and men are sure to die, but songs may live forever.’ Wonderful.