#triani

Triani (Soliti)

Highs

My family remain my everything.

Soliti and the great artists I’m working with. Next year the label turns 15 and it’s hard to comprehend the crazy high standard of music we release each year. Looking back on the vast discography of the label I can feel some satisfaction that we’ve often reached the heights I had in mind when starting-out all those years ago. By no means a taken for granted endeavour – Soliti remains an outlet of thoughtful and distinct expression which brings me immense satisfaction – and a sense of I-have-to-pinch-myself  that I’m a part of something so good.

If you understand my complete obsession with football, Tottenham Hotspur winning a trophy after 17 years felt really good – walking on air vibes.

Visiting Oxford.

At the age of 59 I’ve decided to grow my hair (kind of).

Playstation FIVE/Various FC games (when they work).

Music I sometimes felt the year had been generally flat. But looking back on the new music and reissued music I listened too – it was a very good year amongst all the sprawl. Here’s some constant companions

Bill Evans Trio – Haunted Heart: The Legendary Riverside Studio Recordings Blood Orange – Essex Honey Bruce Springsteen – Tracks II – The Lost Albums Buckingham Nicks – Buckingham Nicks Cass McCombs- Interior Live Oak Cate Le Bon – Michaelangelo Dying The Durutti Column – The Return of the Durutti Column Everything Is Recorded – Temporary Horsegirl – Phonetics On and On Jack Frost vinyl reissues Joanne Robertson – Blurr Lucrecia Dault – A Danger To Ourselves Nick Drake – The Making of Five Leaves Left Oneohtrix Point Never – Tranquilizer Perfume Genius – Glory Fire Engines – Chrome Dawns Robert Forster – Strawberries ROSALIA – LUX Sault -10 Stereolab – Instant Holograms on Metal Film Tobias Jess Jr – shine The Tubs – Cotton Crown Water From Your Eyes – It’s a Beautiful Place

Watching As usual – watching has been falling asleep in front of a computer late at night – when I didn’t do that…

Adolescence Weapons Task One Battle After Another Twin Peaks A Complete Unknown Alien: Earth The Leftovers Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger Mr. Scorsese Dying For Sex Sly Lives! (Also Known As the Burden of Black Genius) Slow Horses Yacht Rock: A documentary

Reading

Has been mostly online The Guardian HS Pitchfork Sight & Sound remains peerless.

Mood Machine – Liz Pelly Button Man by JohnWagner and Arthur Ranson Judge Dredd A Better World by Williams etc. Battle/Action new series of titles Gods And Monsters by Peter Biskind

Live shows have remained a struggle for me  but managed great shows from Anohni & The Johnsons, Queens of The Stone Age, Beth Gibbons, Bob Dylan and Beyonce

Lows

The ongoing genocide in Gaza and our complicit governments/media

Felt like 2025 was a year when we said goodbye to some amazing people David Lynch RIP Brian Wilson RIP Dave Ball RIP Diane Keaton RIP Danny Thompson RIP Claudia Cardinale RIP Robert Redford RIP Gene Hackman RIP Robert Flack RIP Marianne Faithful RIP

The general lack of leadership and/or sense of morality that has inflicted the planet earth. This terrible Finnish Government being populated by racists and idiots. The destruction of the Labour Party in the UK by Starmer and his incompetents The Orange Tan given way too much time Inequality growing Anti-trans legislation

The lack of Ange Postecoglou in the PL aligned with the slow chaotic death of Tottenham Hotspur under Thomas Frank/ENIC

It’s seriously hard to find photographs of oneself as you age, photos that look in any way reasonable. Whether I care to admit it or not, I am vain. Ageing is fine (really) – but trying to hold onto something that isn’t there anymore leads to disappointment. The selfies that appeal are diminishing. This photo was taken by Astrid Swan.

The Music Industry naval gazing and obsession with apps it neither controls or owns. Time to start talking about the music again.

See you in 2026 Triani x

SOLITI 2023: THE END OF YEAR LISTS

Triani from Soliti

The Good Times Lovely Soliti releases from Ghosts on TV, Juppe, Stinako and Knife Girl.

Old Music Ennio Morricone – Quando l’amore e Sensualita Beach Boys – Friends George Michael – Older Felt discography The Songs of Bacharach and Costello was on constant rotation (my fave reissue of the year.) Teardrop Explodes – Culture Bunker box set Lana Del Ray – Norman Fucking Rockwell Rip Rig & Panic – I Am Cold Plush – More You Becomes You Neil Young – Chrome Dreams Stevie Wonder – Fulfilling His First Finale Joan Baez – Blessed Are Paul Weller – 22 dreams Sault discography Velvet Underground – Loaded Thelonious Monk – Straight, No Chaser Arthur Russell – Picture of Bunny Rabbit David Sylvian discography

New Music I didn’t think this year offered much until I put this list together. It’s been quietly fabulous.

Lana Del Ray – Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd Kara Jackson – Why Does The Earth Give Us People To Love? Robert Forster – The Candle And The Flame SAZ – SOS Feist – Multitudes King Krule – Space Heavy Christine and the Queens – PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE Overmono – Good Lies Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12 The Lemon Twigs – Everything Harmony John Cale – Mercy Bar Italia – Tracey Denim Sufjan Steven – Javelin Wilco – Cousin Sparklehorse – Bird Machine Amanda Brown – Eight Guitars Durand Jones – Wait Til I Get Over Lil Yachty – Let’s Start Here. Beach Fossils – Bunny ANHONI – My Back Was a Bridge For You To Cross Lankum – False Lankum Mitski – The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We El Michels Affair & Black Thought – Glorious Game

Best tracks Everything But The Girl – Nothing Left To Lose Dexys – My Submission Lana Del Rey – A&W

Devendra Banhart – Sirens Kara Jackson – no fun/party Knife Girl – Estrogen Felt – Primitive Painters

TV, films books The Bear (TV series) The Last of Us (TV series) Mrs Davis (TV Series) The Last Movie Stars (TV Series) Welcome to Wrexham (TV Series) Dirty Harry movie box set (all five movies) Richard Jewell (Film) Crimes oF The Future (Film) Barbie vs Oppenheimer (loved both of these) The Exorcist (Film) Love to Love You, Donna Summer (documentary) Quentin Tarantino – Cinema Speculation (Book) Dylan Jones – Loaded: The Life (and Afterlife) of the Velvet Underground (Book) Alan Moore/Jacen Burrows – Neonomicon (Book) Collected Judge Dredd (Books) Sight & Sound (magazine) The Guardian (online) The Quietus (online)

This is a good thing My family and home life. It’s still my favourite place to be. Football in all its gross financial injustices, still remains a truly entertaining, all welcoming spectacle – a break from our  realities. I spent a lot of my days obsessed with the beautiful game. My own team Tottenham’s reimagining as a team for the neutral under Ange Postecoglou. I’ve had a serious post-covid hangover about going out; crowds and especially going to concerts. But still this year I managed to catch a few shows. John Cale and Knife Girl at the Helsinki Festival was very special. Elvis Costello at Kulttuuritalo was a great way to spend an evening – I didn’t really want it to end (and this was also a rare date with my partner!) Emma Ruth Rundle, Sorry, Jake Xerxes Fussell were good festival experiences. I’m an eternal optimist with dreams that we can all get along, people can be who they wanna be and somehow humanity pulls together to save the planet. My dream state staves off the dark feelings that are increasingly hard to ignore.

This is a low The Israel demolition of Palestine in response to Hamas atrocities is a key world happening which will resonate for decades to come. British Conservatives and all right wing ideologues who – in collusion with the mainstream media – spend most of their time demonising refugees and the trans community. The public discussion around minorities in Finland is base and inhumane. This right-wing Finnish government has been a hard dose of reality that has sprung many of us out of our comfort zones. The casual racism of the Finnish government has normalised terminology that should offend everyone. Disgraceful. The lack of a moral compass or compassion in world politics – who exactly are the good guys? I hope someone could point out who’s looking out for us all nowadays? Elon Musk and the destabilising of Twitter. He just couldn’t leave it alone could he? The unstoppable rise of AI. It’s a slow process (or maybe a fast one) that results in the death of a certain kind of creativity. Hearing that some people in the Music business are using AI to write press releases is a little sad. The Saudi exploitation of football.  It doesn’t stop. How long till the whole of football is owned by Saudi Arabia? The Vinyl market  becoming an expensive artefact for the wealthy. In typical Music Industry fashion, the vinyl format becomes revitalised only for the music industry to make the price prohibitive for most people. Own goals are rarely clearer.

Future To be a better me.

Triani from Soliti

The good times The removal of Trump. This gave some light in a year of dangerous political manoeuvres. The enduring excellence of Premier League Football. As a massive football fan, the ability to keep that show on the road during the pandemic has kept up my love for the  beautiful game. Realising that even at my age life can still surprise you and you can still teach an old dog new tricks.  In 2021 it hit home how much the art vs commerce battle is real and affecting all parts of our lives, so a reconnection with my post-punk attitudes gave me a new perspective on the important things and how to try to implement them into all parts of my life. For me this means that you shouldn’t compromise your artistic vision. Not sure #punkstoo can be celebrated in a sense, but it was completely necessary. The bravery of the people who came forward to reveal their painful stories was powerful. Tracey Thorn‘s book My Rock n Roll Friend As more women’s voices are heard across the musical spectrum, Thorn’s book becomes essential as it traces not only former G0-Betweens drummer Lindy Morrison‘s life (a life often more exciting than her former, more celebrated bandmates.) My Rock n Roll Friend expertly details  how women are written out of narratives and history, often by the men they’re close to and working with. Alan Moore‘s The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen omnibus. Everything about this hardback  deluxe edition is wonderful with Moore at the top of his game and Kevin O’Neil‘s artwork often beautiful. I reread Art Spiegelman‘s Maus. The book not only retains its power but also reminds us with direct, simple storytelling why fascism is the evil of all ages.

The Beach Boys “Feel Flows” This re-issue is probably the music I listened to the most in 2021. I’ve never been such a big Beach Boys fan, but the two albums featured in detail here, Sunflower and Surf’s Up, have been favourites through the years. This new reissue just makes them even better.

Self Esteem “I Do This All The Time” is not only my favourite single of the year, but is a rare case of self-deprecating humour and honesty, combined with shimmering pop bliss (not such an easy thing to pull off). The whole album, Prioritise Pleasure is also magnificent.

Other music that was constant: Low‘s “Hey What”, any Nina Simone, a continued  immersion into Bossa/Samba music from Brazil. Digging deeper into early Joan Baez (incredible), Gruff Rhys’  Seeking New Gods, The Weather Station‘s Ignorance, Cory Hanson‘s Pale Horse Rider, Big Thief’s series of singles, Bill Evans, Fairport Convention (surely here every year), Dry Cleaning, Jorge Ben Jor‘s A Tabua De Esmneralda. Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché (documentary) In a year where I watched very few movies, documentaries and TV series became essential viewing. The Poly Styrene doc was not only moving, but another example of how women’s stories are often written out of the canon. Succession season 3 dished out the usual cruelty with a slick panache aligned with incredible writing and acting. Always reminding myself that working with great music everyday is a privilege that I won’t ever take for granted. Having some freedom’s return, even if it has been momentary. Watching concerts again and meeting some people after almost two years has been great. In 2021 I started watching John Thaw as Inspector Morse, having ignored this particular phenomenon my whole life. I’m really into Inspector Morse now. Is it a sign of old age? Peter Jackson’s Get Back. This has been much discussed and polarising in some ways. I loved every minute, with Jackson’s ability to tell a story from dormant footage, the groovy clothes and Macca’s outrageous musiciality.  The rooftop concert was glorious, but mostly this inspired me to start thinking about making music again. Living in Finland. This still feels safer than anywhere else. My family and the support and love I receive from them. This is a low The persistence of Covid-19 and the world’s mixed-up reluctance to deal with it. Can we all get on the same page please? Our response to the pandemic prioritises capitalism over lives. Our true nature is revealed daily. Even sadder is how I easily fall into capitalist tropes. Rampant transphobia which goes unchecked in the media. And aligned to this a sadness in seeing the often great The Guardian newspaper openly pedal transphobia. It wasn’t just the editing of the Judith Butler interview, but the platform the paper regularly gave to transphobic opinions throughout 2021 was genuinely disappointing. The weary sigh at how Finland does not know how to discuss racism on any level (again).  It’s never a good look when you have to explain to white people why using the ‘n’ word is never acceptable. The fact that a POC person is then put through the ringer for objecting to such language  is nothing short of disgusting and embarrassing for a country that prides itself on being progressive. The continued influence of Iskelma in Finnish popular music. Finnish mainstream music has never felt duller than now. The general poor level of Pop Music everywhere. Has there ever been such an uninspiring year? Even Abba couldn’t save it. People in the mainstream playing it safe and making the same record over and over again. Pop music as nostalgic comfort food. If we continue like this, popular music will go the way of the dodo. People saying ‘if it sells it must be good’ Can this really be the critical consensus now?  We need braver voices standing up for the good stuff, not just a general consensus that sales are a sign of quality. Really, it rarely is. The dreadful attitude of the West toward refugees. As more refugees die trying to reach a safe haven, we are all complicit in this endless tragedy. Repercussions of Brexit. Supporting labels, booksellers and any other cultural institutes from the UK seems impossible now that the Brexit red tape delays and blocks everything. DUNE Not a patch on the unappreciated David Lynch version, Dennis Villeneuve’s film was dull dull dull. Future Wishes No more Covid. Is it too much to ask that not only do we take more personal responsibility for ending the pandemic but that world leaders get their act together and actually start working together? More women/trans/ POC people writing about music in the Finnish media. We need diverse voices telling us their cultural opinions. Equality in a true sense needs to be seen. Some new music movement. Anything please – we need it.

Triani (Soliti)

album: Cats Of Transnistria – Divine

Song: Kanye – ‘Ultralight Beam’

book: Alan Moore & Kevin O’Neill ‘League Of Gentlemen vol1’

movie: Batman vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice

label : soliti

online: One Quart Magazine

hero: Eric Dier

Live show: The Duplo! at my 50th Bday party, Black Twig at Korjaamo, Ty Segall at Sideways, 23:23 at Soliti Five Year Party, The Holy at LIM.

other concerns: fake news, refugee crises, Brexit, Finnish rap, Corbyn, all the wonderful people I work with, my kids.