Ilmiliekki Quartet from Helsinki return with their new self-titled album on We Jazz Records on 11 February 2022. The group, including Verneri Pohjola (trumpet), Tuomo Prättälä (piano), Antti Lötjönen (bass) and Olavi Louhivuori (drums) is a mainstay in the Finnish scene and the band has been steadily developing their sound for nearly two decades now. It could be said that the group's musicians, each also a solo artist of note these days, has grown with and through performing together with this regularly working quartet. Ilmiliekki Quartet's music has a song-like melodic quality, which pairs naturally with their often freeform search for new musical landscapes.
As testament of Ilmiliekki Quartet being a Band with a capital B, the songs on the new album come from each of the four members. As before, the band also takes a borrowed tune in for a loving rendition, this time tackling "Aila" by the Finnish dream pop group Karina. All in all, there's a deep, moody element to the music, yet at the same time, their sound flows with remarkable ease and lightness of touch. This brings out a wide range of color in their music, which is easy to fall in love with.
1. Three Queens
2. Sgr A*
3. Aila
4. Follow the Damn Breadcrumbs
5. Night Song
6. Kaleidoscopesque
Verneri Pohjola, trumpet
Tuomo Prättälä, piano
Antti Lötjönen, bass
Olavi Louhivuori, drums
"Three Queens" composed by A. Lötjönen, "Sgr A*" & "Kaleidoscopesque" composed by T. Prättälä, "Follow the Damn Breadcrumbs" composed by V. Pohjola, "Night Song" composed by O. Louhivuori, "Aila" composed by H. Tikkanen, K. Mäkiranta [Karina]
Arranged by Ilmiliekki Quartet
Recorded at Kallio-kuninkala, Järvenpää, Finland on 25.–27. Jan 2021
Recorded by Markus Bonsdorff
Mixed & mastered by Tommi Vainikainen
Design by Matti Nives
