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A journey in the fascinating world of sounds

by Tove Djupsjöbacka

"The listening experience is refreshing and reminds me of a rainforest landscape, with a lot of small exciting sounds joining in from here and there, rather than presenting catchy tunes."

A journey in the fascinating world of sounds: Nathan Riki Thomson’s latest disc in a nutshell. A versatile musician, originally from Australia and with a lot of experience in Africa as well, he is now based in Finland as leader of the Global Music programme at the Sibelius Academy. 

Thomson’s main instrument is the double bass, but he is always looking for new interesting sound worlds. Apart from discovering new things directly connected to his instrument (various resonator elements, for example) he also plays a whole bunch of other instruments, from flute to percussion. The listening experience is refreshing and reminds me of a rainforest landscape, with a lot of small exciting sounds joining in from here and there, rather than presenting catchy tunes.

Communication is also a central concept in Thomson’s musicianship. There is no egocentrism present in the music on Resonance; on the contrary, it includes many fascinating dialogues. The relation with Adriano Adewale from Brazil is especially close, and their encounters are exciting – they appear to speak the same language and communicate very easily. Otso Lähdeoja plays an important role with electronics, and all the guests are top-notch, from Maija Kauhanen on prepared kantele and Simon Allen (UK) on springs and chimes to the vocal experimentalism of Hildá Länsman and Petra Poutanen. 

NATHAN RIKI THOMSON: Resonance

SibaRecords SRCD-1023, 2019