R E V I E W S

Julius Johansson's article in Finnish Music Quarterly about Barlast's tour in Japan. [30.3.2023]
"The audience was intrigued by how Heikki Hänninen used chopsticks to play guitar during one tune."


E. Sato's review of Barlast's concert in Tokyo [10.3.2023]
"I am keenly aware that this is the Finnish force full of wonderfulness and magic."


------------------------

MUSIK FÖR SCENER REVIEWS

Balazs Weyer's review in Finnish Music Quarterly [4.11.2022]
"Proportionality in harmony and disharmony, density and scarcity, loudness and silence is the key to the alchemy of Barlast’s sound.[...] This is nocturnal music and by that I mean a dark night with a clear sky – a night for those who don’t fear the dark, but embrace it as an opportunity to see more, see deeper, see further."

Paul Silferberg's review in the Kansanmusiikki magazine 3/2022 [October 2022]
"The music the four musicians [...] are playing is based on listening to eachother: instead of virtuosic solos the focus is on creating an atmosphere and adding small details."

Review by Kansas City journalist Bill Brownlee on THERE STANDS THE GLASS [11.8.2022] "The Finnish quartet’s new album Musik för scener is a spectral wonder."


4/5 star review by Mika Roth on desibeli.net [9.8.2022] "The nocturnal sound of the band is like a labyrinth of endless possibilities where simple and complex textures fit in the same picture naturally."


Review in the German magazine Folker [04/2022, online 20.1.2023] [...] in other places we can hear big band and country influences.


Amanda Kauranne on Yle Radio 1 [8.8.2022]
"It's every track is like a unique surprise or that chocolate box from Forrest Gump, where you never know what's in the next piece of chocolate."

------------------------

BREAKS AT DAWN

Interview by Tove Djupsjöbacka in Hufvudstadsbladet [11.3.2021] "The movie is cut in the moment and the music flows freely - every performance is a surprise for the artists."


Interview with Ålands radio [1.11.2019]

------------------------

LIVE AND ELECTRIC REVIEWS

Review by Mika Roth on desibeli.net [26.8.2023] "Cats caterwaul at night, when the time is right - or when it's not, depending on how you look at it."


Paul Silferberg's review in the Kansanmusiikki magazine 4/2021 [December 2021]
"[...] taking the listener on an interesting sound journey both to the past and future. For a live record the sound is excellent, only the applause give away that it is a concert recording."

------------------------

SVANVIK REVIEWS

Svanvik made the charts of albums most played on US radio station WFHB (22nd most played album all in all, 5th most played foreign album). [3.12.2019]

Anthony Shaw gives 4 out of 5 stars on allaboutjazz.com [4.12.2019]
"The music may be spartan, reminiscent of countryman Pekka Lehti's workouts with various Finnish soloists on his 2000 disc Outo Voima (Strange Force) as well as the contemporary Oddarrang band, but it still sparkles."


Onni Rajaniemi's review in the Kansanmusiikki magazine 2/2019 [May 2019]
"[...] play their ethereal and expressive music so magnificently that the in principle challenging fusion of folk music, jazz and improvisation captures the listener."


Amanda Kauranne on Yle Radio 1 [20.5.2019]
"There is a beautifully tender balance between a folk groove, such as in the polskas and waltzes, and sometimes even music converging into free jazz. Every instrument comes to the forefront with its own sound and especially on the album's title track the power of silence can be heard as if magic. How long can the group stay silent together - playing silence?"


Andreas Schiffmann of Musikreviews.de gives Svanvik the score 13/15, comparing the music to Nick Drake. [6.4.2019]
"Without words, the band tells stories as impressive as such classical songwriters did and still do."


Svanvik receives 4 out 5 stars from Suomijazz.com. [4.3.2019]
"Pienimuotoisuudessaan ja ajoittain hyvinkin vähäeleisessä minimalismissaan se on ennen kaikkea lämmintä ja hyvin lähelle tulevaa musiikkia, ihmisten ääniä Svanvikistä."

------------------------

IHANTOLA REVIEWS

Barlast interviewed and reviewed by Overblown. [15.5.2017]
"Their debut album, Ihantola, is a joy, taking the listener on a journey of unexpected peaks and valleys of experimental and exploratory music."


Barlast reviewed in German by Global Music. [5.10.2017]
"We like Ihantola very much. Even after several listens we discovered new facets that we hadn't noticed before and new details came to light. Barlast offers unusual music, but it is by no means hard to listen to."


Barlast reviewed in Jazzrytmit by Matti Komulainen [7.2.2019]
"Band leader, composer and bass player Philip Holm draws equally from tradional Finnish sounds and style benders such as Tom Waits, to whom nothing is holy but all things down-to-earth are interesting."


suomijazz.com gives 4/5 stars to the Ihantola record. [9.4.2017]
"I very much admire Barlast's pursuit of simplicity and naturally breathing surfaces."


Neon Filler picks Barlast as one of the highlights in Tallinn Music Week. [21.4.2017]
"In parts it felt like we were at a grand 18th century dance in keeping with the setting. In others such as song Cs-137 we descended to a much darker place more in keeping with a Scorsese thriller."


Thoralf Koß from musikreviews.de gives the score 12/15 to the Ihantola album. [8.6.2017]
"Harmony and cacophony play together in Barlast's musical sandpit."