Cinematic meditations

Linda Fredriksson has become one of Finland’s leading saxophonists through her work with Mopo and Superposition.

This trio project, Kiri Ra!, reveals a side of her playing rarely seen in those groups, a profound, meditative sound that taps deeply into the mind and body. Her horn has never been so clearly an extension of breath, as natural as air.

Fredriksson’s subtle playing floats above that of her two equal partners in this improvised album, commissioned by the Swedish Film Institute to accompany experimental films from its archive.

The other two wheels of this astral rover are long-time musical partners: multi-instrumentalist Lau Nau (Laura Naukkarinen) and Swedish pianist Matti Bye. This seems to be cut from the same cloth as their previous collaborations, such as the recent Själö soundtrack. Naukkarinen’s electronic fuzz and field recordings add an ominous edge to the limpid beauty of Bye’s piano, as lyrical as Ludovico Einaudi.

All three play various keyboards, with Naukkarinen and Bye also adding live electronics and other instruments. Besides various saxophones, Fredriksson plays clarinet and flute.

On Adventure in Väne-Ryr, she offers an intimate sound like a Japanese shakuhachi over Naukkarinen’s glockenspiel, while on Mu!, an electronic pennywhistle seems to eerily reverberate in a large cathedral-like space like a lonely tropical bird seeking its way out.

Mostly acoustic with discreet electronic underpinning, this is simply beautiful music with some of the husk left on.

KIRI RA!: Kiri Ra!

2021 Oona Recordings