ABCD 487 – Ensemble Gamut! – MI

Description

Ensemble Gamut!, led by Aino Peltomaa, has quickly emerged as one of Finland’s most interesting ensembles that move fluidly between genres. The ensemble has created its unique sound by combining elements of medieval music, Finnish folk songs, improvisation, original compositions and electronic soundscapes.

The name MI refers to the Arctic flower Micranthes stellaris, and to Peltomaa’s composition Mieli meni (“And so the Mind Went”). MI is also the third note of the Gamut scale (ut, re, mi).

The theme of the album is Arctic endangered flowers and the mental states that sprout from them. In addition to the flower-themed  compositions by the powerful medieval women Hildegard von Bingen and Birgitta Birgersdotter, Aino Peltomaa’s compositions and lyrics  bring together the intangible and tangible eras of our living environment, our home. Lost, rediscovered. Destroyed, vanished, rescued.

On this album Peltomaa and Ensemble Gamut! have invited sound artist Tuomas Norvio and visual artist Vappu Rossi as guests, and we get to enjoy new kinds of live electronics possibilities on this release. Norvio manipulates the sounds of Vappu Rossi’s drawing in real time, merging melodies and drawings inspired by Arctic flowers into a soundscape where the planes of time, the living, the dead, history, the present moment, the past and the future all resonate simultaneously.

Ensemble Gamut!:
Aino Peltomaa | voice, medieval harp, kantele, percussions, artistic direction
Ilkka Heinonen | jouhikko, voice, electronics
Juho Myllylä | blockflutes, voice, electronics

Tuomas Norvio | live electronics
Vappu Rossi | live large-scale drawing