Shogun Kunitoki, “Riddarholmen” video by Sami Sänpäkkila
I’ve been listening to this Finnish band quite a bit lately, especially taking in their lavish and breathtaking Vinonaamakasio picture lp. They state in their bio that “Shogun Kunitoki is a band from Helsinki, Finland, with a mission to help electronic music regress back to a more human state, the time of the tube organ and the ring modulator, the spring reverb and the test oscillator.” Indeed, this is rich, highly organic sounding electronic psychedelia (for want of a better word) and listening (and watching…) to the vinyl edition is spectacular. In fact, I just keep flipping it over, side-to-side, the last few nights. It is that good.
While much in the “electronic” music world is needless blips and bleeps and emotionally naked, Shogun Kunitoki make something that is powerful out of a lot of old, unrefined equipment, just as all really good things should be. For an added element of je ne sais quoi comes this: “The picture vinyl features two animations that can be viewed using a special Shogun Kunitoki Strobe Light.” Yes. And you can see it in action here:
The Mystical Shogun Kunitoki Strobe Light from Sami Sänpäkkilä on Vimeo.
You may purchase the album straight from Shogun Kunitoki at Tasankokaiku Shop. The record is also available at Fonal shop and from distributors and shops worldwide.
The band on MySpace
