Hiljaisuus by Kuzu
Bandcamp Link: Hiljaisuus
“Hiljaisuus (English transl. Silence) is a 2011 Finnish war docudrama film directed by Sakari Kirjavainen and set in winter and spring 1944, near the end of the Continuation War…the film details the life and times of the members of a specialized Finnish army unit, commanded by a priest, whose difficult and dangerous assignment is to recover dead soldiers from the front lines, prepare their often frozen bodies for burial, and deliver them to their hometowns and families for funeral and burial.”
I haven’t seen the movie, but Hiljaisuus does come at you like the opening scene of a particularly potent war movie, Chris Nolan’s Dunkirk comes to mind, about which WWII veterans sometimes remarked, “The movie was louder than the actual Dunkirk landing!”
Not for the faint of heart, Hailjaisus’ combination of Rempis’ take no prisoners Saxophone, Dorji’s aggressively nonchalant noise guitar, and Damon’s everything AND the kitchen sink drumming is one of the most enjoyable free releases I’ve listened to recently.
Two longer tracks, “Fontanelles 1” and “Gash” are divided by a shorter track, “Fontanelles 2”.
Fontanelles 1 opens with bowed cymbals from Damon, who is shortly joined by Dorji on a car crash guitar. Rempis joins, noir energy, and things seem to build to a wonderful climax at around the 6 minute mark, but they keep going, building tension and momentum, for the length of the the tune.
Fontanelles 2 could almost be considered “FreeBop” were it not for Dorji’s seeming perverse, and delightful, playing.
Gash, with Rempis picking up the Baritone Sax, is probably the most restful, of the bunch, though it does do some serious damage mid-way through, before it relaxes a bit before fading out to Damon’s percussion.
Anyway, if you want to get to work a lot faster than usual, Hiljaisuus is a great choice for driving music. Turn it up, especially as you roll into the parking lot, open your windows, and let your coworkers know who you really are.
#Hiljaisuus #Kuzu #DaveRempis #TashiDorji #TylerDamon #TodaysCommuteSoundtrack
