A single album, but what a one! This group clearly deserves to be among the best representatives of the Finnish progressive, not only of the 70s, but of the present. Sometimes critics noted the influence of Pink Floyd, but there is only an influence in the sense that on the previously created genre basis, these four Laplanders from Rovanniemi created a completely independent product. A great record with a nice sound, in which you immediately recognize the good old 70s, and a perfectly worked, albeit unexpected in this realm of progressive blues, which - let's judge rightly - stylistically does not quite fit here. But this does not prevent it from being a first-class hit, and with proper promotion - to become one of the best on the Finnish stage.
However, the record was not a success, and concerts, despite the rise in interest in progressive rock, were unsuccessful, often the level of organization and sound quality were low to the detriment of sound and harmed the music and image of the
group. Because of all this, the musicians lost faith in their abilities, and the group broke up. In 2016, a reissue of the album was released for the 40th anniversary, which included the entire studio heritage of the group - 10 tracks, including previously unreleased ones.....~
A DOUBLE-CD reissue of this cult Finnish prog rock album, originally from 1976. Helsinki-based prog rock band NOVA was founded in 1974 by singer and keyboard player Antti Ortamo, bassist Vexi Kumpula and drummer Juki Marjala. 'Atlantis' is the group's only album and is considered as one of the key albums of Finnish '70s prog rock.....~
Nova is a Finnish band born in 1975 in Helsinki and which debuts, this Atlantis, in 1976. Unfortunately the times for prog are not the best and the album does not sell, thus condemning the band to disband. And it's a real shame because listening to this meteor album you really feel potential. The style is a romantic-symphonic prog, with very dramatic and melancholic tones, and a sound focused on keyboards with guitars that sometimes manage to earn their space. The first group that comes to mind is ELP, even if Emerson's band is rarely so sad, but the keyboard evolutions, the ability to change rhythm and the variety of timbres certainly draw inspiration from the group of the English musician. The album consists of four tracks, 3 of which are long, between 9 and 15 minutes, and a short one, about 3 minutes long. The long tracks all follow the same style, that is, good interweaving of keyboards, guitar and vocals on an excellent rhythmic base, interrupted by refrains of evolutions for keyboards. But the band is good enough to vary on this theme and propose different and varied motifs, maybe not very original, but always catchy, passionate and refined. Add the guitar solos that often occur, the voice (in Finnish) tuned and inspired, a bass often well above average and we get an album very close to the masterpiece. Also helped by the short duration, as I like it (my attention span is what it is). The members of the band are Antti Ortamo, keyboardist, singer and main composer, Micca Vasenius, guitarist, Jouko Helatie, also guitarist, Petri Peltola is the bassist, Jukka Marjala on drums.
The first track, Se Vuosi, is the longest of the lot and the best successful. It begins with a piano intro, classical, makes us immediately understand that we are in front of a symphonic prog album. After a few seconds the singing begins, soon accompanied by the remaining instruments, although the most clearly audible one is still the piano. Tones that remain close to classical music on a basis of excellent symphonic rock. At this point starts what will be the click of the whole album: the refrain of piano to interrupt with regular intervals the plot so far heard. It's a click that works. But, as mentioned, the work is not reduced to this, and towards the fifth minute the guitar also starts, finally more decisive. Atmosphere that becomes more dramatic with the flow of the song. Towards the tenth minute the keyboards regain control of the situation, excellently accompanied by the bass, for an instrumental that tries to rise from the decadent atmosphere previously created, to head rather towards more lively and cheerful territories, which clearly recall something of the ELP. Obviously the track retraces its steps before the conclusion, for a melodramatic and romantic ending. Kaupungin Naiset, the following song, is a declared blues, so guitar, vocals and bass in evidence, with an excellent organ in the background. The harrowing and romantic atmosphere felt in the previous song does not abandon us, indeed it is amplified by the typical sounds of the genre. Now the guitar is the main protagonist and gives us another wonderful solo in the central part. Atlantis presents an introduction of keyboards with immediately the voice pressing. Still dramatic colors, tense air, sad atmosphere. The guitar this time is immediately highlighted by performing an excellent solo. Track that follows the scheme of the initial track, with piano voice and guitar to create excellent interweaving on a good bass-drum base, all interspersed with a guessed refrain for keyboards. Later it evolves into a solo of keyboards, just to change, but the quality is always very high and boredom never comes. This time we touch more psychedelic shores, almost space, even if the conclusion is always entrusted to reassuring symphonic-romantic colors. The final track, Vanha Surullinen Laulu, shows off a dramatic and decadent incipit, the morale is very low, even if the usual regular keyboard chorus, to which the group has now accustomed us, makes the atmosphere more cheerful, albeit for a few seconds. The contrast thus created is very pleasant. The central part is occupied by guitar arpeggios on an organ carpet, to drag the listener even lower, only to be raised by the organ itself that now becomes cheerful and rapid, while the guitar is also dragged by the dance atmosphere. But the album could not end without first returning to the main motif, that is, that sad air that permeates the whole record. In conclusion, it is a fairly schematic album, which plays on light and dark, but this does not mean that it is boring or banal, on the contrary, it is a record that I really liked in its homogeneity. Another lost pearl of the seventies progressive....~
Antti Ortamo, leader of the group NOVA, formed in the Finnish capital Helsinki, was a renowned singer, pianist, organ runner, guitarist and harmonica player. He was born in the northern heart of Lovaniemi and grew up in a musical environment, including taking piano lessons as a young age, and continued his studies at the National Academy of Music in Helsinki. In the fall of 1974, Ortamo and drummer Jukka Marjala began to flesh out their thoughts for the new band. During the first half of 1975, they met bass player Veikko Kumpula and accepted Kumpula, Ortamo's school friend in music, to form the group Nova. Nova received musical influences from major supergroups in the genre called Progressive Rock, Such as Yes, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum and Wigwam, and had their first show at the Tavastia Club in May 1975 and was praised by many other musicians and critics. The group continued to work hard and recruited a new guitarist, Junnu Kostia. In the summer of 1975, Nova opened a concert with a band called Mummi Kutoo on an island called Suomenlinna on the outskirts of Helsinki, and continued to perform at Tavastia in September of that year.
In the fall of 1975, there was a change in membership, and guitarist Michael Wasenius left the group due to a military enlistion issue and was replaced by Kostia. Before forming Nova, Ortamo worked with his friend Kumpula in music to prepare demo tapes with Love Records and planned to produce solo albums. The music on the demo tape was produced by the group as a record, and finally in September 1975 Nova released their first single, The Tunnel, and Paavo Maijanen was the producer. It shows that Ortamo himself was strongly influenced by Jukka Gustavson, who is also considered one of the affected musicians. Petri Peltolark, who was also Wigwam's manager with other groups in the fall of 1975, joins the group as the new base runner.
In February 1976, Nova recorded their official debut album, "Atlantis," at the Decibel Studio in Stockholm, where Richard Stanley was a producer. The group did not own a permanent guitarist during the recording period of the album, so the guitar part of the album is played by Wasenius and Jocko Helatie. The first song to open the album with the introduction of clear piano playing is a unique version of That Year, which the group has long loved when playing in clubs. Ortamo writes and writes almost every song in his work, and his keyboard parts stand out. The themes covered primarily by the songs express criticism, solitude, and suffering against the capitalist system. And in addition, this is one of the world's first CDized albums in Korea, not in its home country of Finland.....~
Prog from Finland is largely a rather obscure affair. Wigwam (with Pekka Pojola) and Tasavallan Presidentti (with Jukka Tolonen) are still relatively well known. Kalevala, Finnforest and Haikara have sometimes been heard of, otherwise Finnish prog bands of the 70s have remained relatively unknown outside their country (and probably also there). One of these formations was Nova (not to be confused with the Italian group of the same name) from Helsinki.
The band was formed there in 1975 and recorded their debut album "Atlantis" the following year, which was released by Love Records. Apparently, the formation did not have much success with this, because soon after the quintet disbanded again. The album, which is quite rare in the vilyloriginal, was re-released on CD at least once - in 1996 by the Koreans of Si-Wan Records.
Two guitarists, keys, bass and drums can be heard on "Atlantis". None of the instruments is particularly in the foreground. A rather leisurely gliding, dense mixture of symphonic sounds, acoustic guitar meshes, vintage organ and floating key surfaces, floydy electric guitar interjections, jazzy runs, worn-sacred figures and more complex prog patterns is offered here, which actually never directly reminds of the music of any comparison band, but is comparable in approach to the compositions of their Finnish colleagues from Finnforest (on their first LP), with the simultaneous works of Camel or Kaipa, but also with the music of Spanish bands such as Crack, Ibio or Gotic.
A melodic, quite complex, rather reserved, but never shallow or banal prog is the result, which also gets its own character through Finnish singing. Three varied, beautifully long epics are offered here, of which the final "Vanha Surullinen Laulu" (which apparently means "old sad song") with its elegiac-sacred atmosphere, which swings towards the end into a lively jazzy jam, is particularly successful. The second piece, the short, rather ordinary rocker "Kaupungin Naiset" is rather disturbing.
If you appreciate the music of the bands mentioned above and want to explore more remote areas in the apparently inexhaustible realm of the classic prog of the 70s, you should look for this not spectacular, but still very entertaining Finnish album!....By: Achim Breiling....babyblaue prog.....~
Credits
Backing Vocals – Eeva Lehto
Bass – Petri Peltola, Veikko Kumpula (tracks: A2)
Drums, Percussion – Jukka Marjala
Guitar – Jouko Helatie, Micca Vasenius*
Vocals, Keyboards, Artwork [Front] – Antti Ortamo
Tracklist:
CD1: original album
01. Se Vuosi
02. Kaupungin Naiset
03. Atlantis
04. Vanha Surullinen Laulu
CD2: 2016 remixed album
01. Käytävä {*}{A-side of 1975 single}
02. Kaupungin Naiset {*}{B-side of 1975 single}
03. Se Vuosi
04. Lukiossa {*}{previously unissued}
05. Atlantis
06. Vanha Surullinen Laulu
