PHOTO CREDIT: Joakim Berghäll Cover art of "Dialogues II". Textile art pictured in the photo by Johanna Suonpää.
ABOUT THE SERIES
THE IDEA, OR DOGMA BEHIND "DIALOGUES" RECORDS IS SIMPLE. COMPOSE A PIECE FOR EACH DUET PARTNER, SOMETHING THAT MAKES THEM STAND OUT AND SHINE. THERE ARE NO REHEARSALS, BUT TRY TO SEND THE MUSIC IN ADVANCE. WE MEET AT THE STUDIO, TALK THE STRUCTURE THROUGH, AND BEGIN RECORDING. USUALLY ONE OR TWO TAKES, AND EVEN IF MORE, I'VE ALWAYS CHOSEN EITHER TAKE ONE OR TWO ANYWAY.
THE COMPOSITIONS ARE LINKED TO EACH OTHER BY CERTAIN MUSICAL MEASURES, AND THERE'S A LOT OF HIDDEN MUSICAL INFORMATION TO BE FOUND THAT LINKS THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE SERIES TOGETHER. OOPS, I NEVER REALLY TALKED ABOUT THIS TO ANYONE BEFORE. BUT HEY, HERE GOES!
THE REVIEWS HAVE SO FAR BEEN EXCELLENT, AND DIALOGUES I & II HAVE FOUND THEIR WAYS TO MANY "RECORDS OF THE YEAR" LISTS AROUND THE GLOBE. I'M CONVINCED IT HAS A LOT TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT THE SESSIONS ARE SO SPONTANEOUS. AND OF COURSE, THE BEAUTIFUL MUSICIANS.
DIALOGUES I
THE FIRST PART OF THE DUET RECORDS WAS MADE WITH TEN PIANISTS. I GATHERED A DREAM TEAM OF MINE, FINNISH PIANISTS, WHO STAND OUT WITH THEIR PERSONALITY. DIALOGUES I WAS RELEASED IN 2013 AND IT FEATURES MANY PIANISTS WITH AN INTERNATIONAL CAREER GOING STRONG, SUCH AS ALEXI TUOMARILA, AKI RISSANEN, KARI IKONEN AND IRO HAARLA.
DIALOGUES II
FINLAND IS A LAND OF A THOUSAND LAKES AND AT LEAST AS MANY EXCELLENT ELECTRIC GUITAR PLAYERS. WHEN BEGINNING STUDIES AT THE CONSERVATORY, I HAD A DOUBLE MAJOR TRYING TO FOCUS ON BOTH SAXOPHONE AND THE GUITAR. A FEW YEARS LATER I HAD TO MAKE A CHOICE, AND I DECIDED TO STICK WITH THE SAXOPHONE, SINCE THERE SEEMED TO BE A GREAT GUITAR PLAYER LURKING BEHIND EVERY CORNER ALREADY. MANY OF THEM ARE LUCKILY FEATURING ON DIALOGUES II AS WELL, LIKE KALLE KALIMA, TEEMU VIINIKAINEN, JARMO SAARI AND THE PEDAL STEEL MASTER OLLI HAAVISTO.
DIALOGUES III
DIALOGUES III WAS ORIGINALLY MEANT TO FINISH THE DUET ALBUM TRILOGY. BUT THEN THINGS GOT A BIT OUT OF HAND. ANYWAY, PART THREE IS IN THE MAKING, AND IT WILL FEATURE FINNISH WORLD MUSIC GREATS SUCH AS TIMO ALAKOTILA, MARIA KALANIEMI, AND SAKARI KUKKO AS DUET PARTNERS.
DIALOGUES IV
AS A TWIN SISTER TO DIALOGUES III, DIALOGUES IV IS AN ALBUM WITH EXCELLENT WORLD MUSICIANS, THIS TIME PEOPLE WHO'VE IMMIGRATED TO FINLAND AND BROUGHT THEIR MUSICAL CULTURE ALONG. MUSICIANS LIKE KORA MASTER MALANG CISSOKHO FROM SENEGAL, TANBOUR WIZARD MAROUF MAJIDI FROM IRAN OR MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST NATHAN RIKI THOMSON FROM AUSTRALIA / NEW ZEALAND. THERE'S ALSO A VIDEO DOCUMENTARY SERIES IN THE MAKING, WITH THE FOCUS IN EACH MUSICIAN I'M PLAYING DUETS WITH. THEY'RE TELLING THEIR STORY AND EDUCATING ME ABOUT THE MUSICAL CULTURE THEY COME FROM. THE DOCUMENTARY SERIES IS MADE BY VISUAL ARTIST CESAR AGUILAR, ORIGINALLY FROM PERU.
DIALOGUES V
DIALOGUES V IS BASED ON THE QUESTION I ONCE ASKED MYSELF: "WHO WOULD I WANT TO RECORD DUETS WITH, IF I HAD THE GUTS TO ASK ANYONE?"
THIS RESULTED IN A LONG LIST OF SUPERB MUSICIANS WHO SOMEHOW HAVE MANAGED TO LEAVE A PERMANENT MARK IN THE BACK OF MY BRAIN (OR GUTS, IF YOU PREFER) WITH THEIR PLAYING. PEOPLE WHO I GREW UP LISTENING TO, WHO I STUDIED, TRANSCRIBED, WHO HAPPENED TO HOLD THAT EXCELLENT CLINIC THAT GOT ME THINKING IN NEW WAYS ETC.
AS IT HAPPENS, MANY OF THESE PEOPLE LIVE AND WORK IN NEW YORK. SO THIS MIGHT BE A LONG AND COSTLY PROJECT FROM A HELSINKI PERSPECTIVE, BUT IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING I'VE DECIDED TO DO. RECORDINGS BEGuN IN MAY 2018, with ingrid jensen, and continued with wayne krantz - I WON'T TELL YOU WHO else is IN - NOT YET! BUT THE BEGINNING IS VERY PROMISING AND i think IT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT RECORD!
DIALOGUES VI & VII
dialogues VI & vii are in the planning, with clear ideas and at the moment 12 out of 16 AMAZING duet partners booked. these records will be something completely different. but i won't waste a good secret HERE EITHER!