THE OFFiCIAL SITE of joakim berghäll

musician, composer, arranger, orchestrator

"He's a master of all the reeds."
- Jazz Weekly

IN THE NEWS TODAY

NEWS  //  MAY 24th, 2022

New releases!

Berghäll Triality: The Antarctic.  A perfectly sensible sequel to our highly acclaimed debut album, The Arctic.

This time there will be no physical release, since it's in Dolby Atmos format and that's actually pretty cool! There can't be many Atmos albums from Finland yet. Personally, I haven't heard of one.

Dolby Atmos seems to have won over even Apple, so it seems that's the way to go, in the near future at least. And I can totally understand why. For the last few years I've been studying 3D audio, just because I think it's super interesting. And I believe that there are many possibilities in it that we don't yet hear. What I personally get out of it is a strong emotional feel, like being surrounded by the instruments in a live situation.

The Dolby Atmos experience would surely be strongest if we all had an extra 50000$ in the pocket and a room to set up all the gear at. But luckily, headphone listening can get you very close too - and actually, this album was mixed with headphones only, so it's more or less optimized for a headphone experience as well. I was lucky enough to have the mixes checked at an official Dolby Atmos room at Studio Kekkonen, which revealed a couple of things to consider. But headphones is all you need. And so far, May 2022, you can only hear it as Atmos if you're a Tidal HiFi Plus subscriber with a compatible listening device (such as a fairly new phone with the latest version of Tidal and probably a quite fresh update of your phone's own software as well), or at Apple Music, with its own requirements.

So it's not super easy just yet! But at a reaching distance, I'd say, and surely something that becomes more and more available in the near future.

On "The Antarctic", Berghäll Triality is:
Joakim Berghäll, baritone saxophone, producing
Kalle Kalima, electric guitar
Kari Ikonen, keyboards
Salla Kozma & Antti Reini, voice

https://listen.tidal.com/album/230198847
https://music.apple.com/fi/album/the-antarctic/1625366492

...and writing this, I've also just sent the Joakim Berghäll Dark Roast 006 vinyls to print! They will be printed ro recycled vinyl in The Netherlands, and released in the fall of 2022. But first, go check out the Triality stuff!

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ABOUT ME

I'm a freelancer living and working on an island in Helsinki.
I began studying music at the age of three and ever since I've been intrigued by all kinds of instruments and everything that makes a sound. My main instrument is the baritone saxophone, but in different bands and projects I also do play all other saxophones, cello, various kinds of percussion, drums, electric and double bass, guitar and other stringed instruments, piano, keyboards, bass clarinet, clarinet and a bunch of different flutes. Just recently, after having freelanced professionally for more than 15 years and toured in thirtysomething countries I managed to put up my first band(s) as a leader. A trio called "Berghäll Triality", and a sextet "Joakim Berghäll Dark Roast 006". (Find out more in the "bands" section!)

Improvising music in a small ensemble is my main object of affection, but there's so much more out there that interests me, and I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to make a living playing in various settings from free jazz to folk, from Beijing Opera to psychedelic punk. As long as there's something special to it and people are leaving everything onstage, I really don't care which genre is it categorized under. It's all music.

I'm a cargo-bike-riding vegan stunningly aware of all the details in current NHL statistics.
If you want to make me happy, all it really takes is a cup of good coffee.

(photo: Dorit Salutskij)