Mahti

Third LP from Finnish group Mahti, a collaboration between three members of stalwart avant-rock legends Circle and Hannu Saha. Saha plays the Kantele, a traditional Finnish acoustic instrument which can have 5, 10, 15, or 36 strings, and which is plucked like a zither or harp, producing a delicate string sound. Following their two very limited studio LPs on UK label Riot Season, Konsertti I is an excellent recording of the group in live performance, capturing their understated and beautiful mix of ambient, electronic, and string music. Saha’s Kantele centers the music, sometimes plucking out melodic arpeggios, at others blending in with the burbling-but-subtle electronic and electric guitar backdrop. Doesn’t really sound like anything else, but recommended to fans of AR & Machines, Ash Ra Temple, Richter Band, Durutti Column, etc. Double LP mastered by John Golden, and pressed on green vinyl by Smashed Plastic in Chicago. “These ancient musicians played their ‘mahti’…and the sound they produced was called ‘musiikki’”