JIMI TENOR AND HIS SHAMANS "FIGHT / CRISIS" (1989)

Jimi Tenor was born in 1965 as Lassi O. T. Lehto in Lahti, Finland. The resemblance to the youngest member of The Osmonds, Little Jimmy Osmond, earned him his nickname of Jimi in the early '70s.

Just like his older brother Marko, Jimi had a passion for music. He studied for many years at a music institute and can play flute, piano and saxophone; his skills were further implemented by his work experience as the saxophone player for various bands.

At 16 he was the youngest member of Pallosalama (Thunderball), an orchestra which used to tour Finland with a sort of Saturday night dance shows for older people. This act was very popular then and also appeared on the Syksyn Sävel (Melody of Autumn), a song contest on Finnish Television.

Later on he was part of the Pop-Rock group Himo (Lust) as a saxophone and keyboards player. In 1986 the band gained some success in the Finnish Rock Championships and released a self-titled album along with a few singles on the Amulet and Cityboy labels. Tenor was also responsible for the music and lyrics of a couple of the band's songs.

Other groups in which Jimi was involved in the mid-80s include The Cherry Pickers, Iloinen Poika Milloin (Happy Boy When) - a band founded by his brother - and... Shaman!



Jimi Tenor and His Shamans were founded during 1986; this new project was an experimental evolution of the more ordinary Rock band Shaman. At the time, Tenor had recently discovered the Industrial sound of Einstürzende Neubauten and Test Dept., and - as a twist of fate - had accepted a new job in a mayonnaise factory.

The group consisted of Ilkka Mattila (guitar), Toni Kuusisto (bass) Niklas Häggblom (trumpet), and Enver Hoxha (real name Hannu Mäkelä, atonal alt bass), with Tero Kling playing drums as an added member. Jimi was the lead singer, played tenor saxophone and - just like all the other members of the band - banged on empty oil barrels, a trademark of their sound both in studio and live.

Matti Knaapi, a graphic designer and inventor, allowed the band to embrace a more experimental sound helping Jimi to create special equipment in the form of self-built musical instruments bearing names like Vera (an automatic trombone), Sirkka (a man-sized mechanical drum machine), Melukone (a noise machine) and The Liberace (a peculiar-looking stainless steel object which is hard to describe).

In late 1987, after a series of concerts in Finland, Jimi Tenor and His Shamans debuted with their first single. "X-Rays / Still In Love" was released by the band on their own JTS / Shamans label with catalogue number JTS 2001, probably a reference to Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odissey" since the catalogue numbers of the other releases of their label hint at various science fiction movies and books.

Jimi Tenor performing live with the Shamans, 1988

As the band's popularity grew, their second single "Closer / Some Fun" was published in early 1988 by Euros Records, which - according to the relevant Discogs entry - was a Finnish label specialised in Rock music active from 1983 until the early '90s.

In early 1988 Euros also released "Total Capacity of 216,5 Litres", the band's debut album. Entitled after the peculiar characteristic of the beloved barrels which most of the band members used to play both live and in the studio, the record offered eleven tracks that showcased the Shamans' ability at combining Industrial paraphernalia with more accessible elements, and included a few numbers that wouldn't have made a poor showing in one of the albums that Jimi Tenor released at the beginning of his solo career during the mid '90s.

The following year Sonic Records expressed their interest about releasing a Shamans single, but something went wrong along the way and "Fight / Crisis" - the subject of this post - ended up being self-produced by the group sometime in 1989.

Jimi Tenor, circa 1989

Here's the track list for this 7" single:

01. Fight (3:48)
02. Crisis (3:46)

Both tracks were remastered from vinyl in May 2017 and are available in FLAC lossless format, along with scans of the original item.

Please have a look at the comments section for the download link.



As already mentioned, this single was originally planned as a Sonic Records release, but it looks like the band disagreed with the label about the publishing schedule at the time the record was supposed to be pressed, so they decided to self-release it. Despite the 'JTS 2010' catalogue number on the cover, the engraving 'Sonic-4' survived among the end grooves of the record itself.

Some copies of the single - including the one that is offered in this post - came in a transparent plastic sleeve with simple black and white photocopied cover/insert, other copies didn't have any kind of artwork except the center labels. Despite the title "Crisis" comes first on the cover, the actual Side A is identified as "Fight" by the catalogue number 'Sonic-4-A' in the end grooves. By the way, there's no actual mention of Jimi Tenor on the cover, only the word 'Shamans'...



"Fight" is a fast song with a circular and obsessive structure, where assorted percussion and simple bass lines keep on repeating the same patterns. Vocals are delivered in a mantric style, urging the listener to 'fight for survival'... All instruments are played in a percussive way, except the horns which provide melodic lines and also offer short bridges in the completely instrumental second part.

"Crisis" is a slower number with a more complex and balanced arrangement. The instrumental build-up in the first section in a fine example of perfection and Ilkka Mattila's reverbered guitar short solo deserves a special mention. This is a love song and the lyrics express the need to split up when a relation goes wrong, but also the fear of the uncertainty that's coming next...

Here's the credits and personnel list for these recordings as elaborated from the photocopied insert included with the record:

Jimi Tenor (Lassi Lehto) - saxophone, voice
Enver Hoxna (Hannu Mäkelä) - atonal alt bass
Toni Kuusisto - bass
Tero Kling - drums, barrels, voice
Ilkka Mattila - guitar
Niklas Häggblom - trumpet, voice

The following clips offer a complete preview of the remastered single, enjoy!

More information about Jimi Tenor is available here:

http://www.jimitenor.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Tenor

http://www.discogs.com/artist/952-Jimi-Tenor

http://www.discogs.com/artist/136250-Jimi-Tenor-And-His-Shamans

http://www.phinnweb.org/tenor/history.html

http://www.phinnweb.org/tenor/discography/shamans.html

https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/jimi_tenor_and_his_shamans

http://creativegames.org.uk/modules/Art_Technology/Futurism/Tenorvision_gear.htm

If you have any other useful information about this post or if you spot any dead links, please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!

JIMI TENOR AND HIS SHAMANS "TOTAL CAPACITY OF 216,5 LITRES" (1988)

Jimi Tenor was born in 1965 as Lassi O. T. Lehto in Lahti, Finland. The resemblance to the youngest member of The Osmonds, Little Jimmy Osmond, earned him his nickname of Jimi in the early '70s.

Just like his older brother Marko, Jimi had a passion for music. He studied for many years at a music institute and can play flute, piano and saxophone; his skills were further implemented by his work experience as the saxophone player for various bands.

At 16 he was the youngest member of Pallosalama (Thunderball), an orchestra which used to tour Finland with a sort of Saturday night dance shows for older people. This act was very popular then and also appeared on the Syksyn Sävel (Melody of Autumn), a song contest on Finnish Television.



Later on he was part of the Pop-Rock group Himo (Lust) as a saxophone and keyboards player. In 1986 the band gained some success in the Finnish Rock Championships and released a self-titled album along with a few singles on the Amulet and Cityboy labels. Tenor was also responsible for the music and lyrics of a couple of the band's songs.

Other groups in which Jimi was involved in the mid-80s include The Cherry Pickers, Iloinen Poika Milloin (Happy Boy When) - a band founded by his brother - and... Shaman!



Jimi Tenor and His Shamans were founded during 1986; this new project was an experimental evolution of the more ordinary Rock band Shaman. At the time, Tenor had recently discovered the Industrial sound of Einstürzende Neubauten and Test Dept., and - as a twist of fate - had accepted a new job in a mayonnaise factory.

The group consisted of Ilkka Mattila (guitar), Toni Kuusisto (bass) Niklas Häggblom (trumpet), and Enver Hoxha (real name Hannu Mäkelä, atonal alt bass), with Tero Kling playing drums as an added member. Jimi was the lead singer, played tenor saxophone and - just like all the other members of the band - banged on empty oil barrels, a trademark of their sound both in studio and live.

Matti Knaapi, a graphic designer and inventor, allowed the band to embrace a more experimental sound helping Jimi to create special equipment in the form of self-built musical instruments bearing names like Vera (an automatic trombone), Sirkka (a man-sized mechanical drum machine), Melukone (a noise machine) and The Liberace (a peculiar-looking stainless steel object which is hard to describe).



In late 1987, after a series of concerts in Finland, Jimi Tenor and His Shamans debuted with their first single. "X-Rays / Still In Love" was released by the band on their own JTS / Shamans label with catalogue number JTS 2001, probably a reference to Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odissey" since the catalogue numbers of the other releases of their label hint at various science fiction movies and books . This release was the subject of a previous post here on Stereo Candies.

As the band's popularity grew, their second single "Closer / Some Fun" was published in early 1988 by Euros Records, which - according to the relevant Discogs entry - was a Finnish label specialised in Rock music active from 1983 until the early '90s. We also took care about this release some time ago...

In 1988 Euros also released "Total Capacity of 216,5 Litres", the band's debut album and the subject of this post. Before delving into it, once again here comes my most imploring request to the Finnish readers of this blog: I need your...

Finnish magazine Rumba included a feature about the band and a review of the aforementioned debut single in its November 1987 issue: I previously dedicated a post about it and, since that is probably one of the earliest features dedicated to His Majesty Jimi Tenor, I would be glad to include an English translation here on these pages, so that a wider public can enjoy it.

An high resolution scan and a .txt transcription of the feature/review are available for download here, if you can translate from Finnish to English and are willing to help, please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you so much!!!

Jimi Tenor and His Shamans performing live, 1987

"Total Capacity of 216,5 Litres" contains the following tracks:

01. Wonderful Nightmare (2:32)
02. Closer (3:36)
03. Some Fun (1:50)
04. X-Rays (2:57)
05. Darling (3:48)
06. Trumpets of Poland (4:23)
07. New Antichrist (3:05)
08. Cowboy (4:22)
09. Blues (3:26)
10. Still In Love (3:28)
11. Thank You (3:11)

All tracks were remastered from the original vinyl in May 2016 and are available in FLAC lossless format, along with complete artwork reconstruction and printable PDF files.

Before burning this album on CD-R using the provided CUE file you must convert the original FLAC audio file to WAV format using an appropriate software. Please have a look here if you need some help.

As usual, please have a look at the comments for the download link.



Entitled after the peculiar characteristic of the beloved empty barrels which most of the band members play on the album, "Total Capacity of 216,5 Litres" was released by Euro Records in early 1988 with catalogue number SIN-1041. On the front cover the group is aptly portrayed wearing their simple black stage outfits, carrying barrels across an industrial site.

Side A begins with "Wonderful Nightmare, a perfect introduction to the band's Industrial madness, with lunatic tenor saxophone soloing and obstinate guitar/bass lines. The lyrics seems to be about a bad erotic dream.

"Closer" is quite intense and offers the usual band's trademark metal percussions coupled with an interesting horns arrangement; the refrain is infectious and somewhere in a parallel universe I'm quite sure this was a huge MTV hit!

The short "Some Fun" is a piercing noisy track which is almost autistic in its stride; alienating lyrics are sung above oppressive guitars and a steady beat, and the other elements are kept to a minimun, probably on purpose.

The aggressive "X-Rays" showcases assorted metal percussions, obsessive lyrics, funky guitar and horns, and a determined bassline. This piece aptly depicts the band's ability at combining Industrial paraphernalia with more accessible elements and was also issued as their first single the previous year.

"Darling" offers many Funky elements and musically is one of the most commercial tracks on the album, so to speak... The lyrics are about an aroused dancer afraid to disappoint his partner with too much... sexual libido!

While previous numbers were all written by Jimi Tenor, Side A ends with "Trumpets of Poland", a song co-written by Jimi and Hannu Mäkelä, whose object is not easy to decipher because of the distortion effect used on the voice... Oh, and I think I hear some keyboards here an there, even though nobody is credited for playing them in the liner notes.




Side B starts off with the straight beats of "New Antichrist", one of the most adrenaline-filled tracks on the album. Its simple and repetitive structure needs volume to be fully appreciated and I'm quite sure that for fans of the band this was a live favourite: I can imagine those mosh pits...

The calm but resolved "Cowboy" is for sure one of the best songs on the album. With its invoking New Wave atmosphere dictated by appropriate chord changes and instrumentation, it is a small masterpiece. I guess that the lyrics deal with insanity, but this could just be my interpretation... Nobody is credited for the beautiful piano lines, but I assume that the player is Jimi himself. Ilkka Mattila's guitar also deserves a special mention here.

Barrels percussion returns on "Blues" dominating the scene; while horns play their last cards and a guitar gets grated as usual in a simple and effective way, Jimi screams lyrics about submission...

With its walking bass, Jazzier feeling and overall more relaxed atmosphere, "Still In Love" wouldn't make a poor showing in one of the albums that Jimi Tenor released on Warp Records in the mid-90s, although something sinister is still floating around in the form of repeated background creakings. It was co-written with Ilkka Mattila... Cooool song!

The album ends with "Thank You", an instrumental track which was co-written by one Eero Lounela and, yes, I don't have a clue about him... Uhm...

The following clips offer a preview of the remastered album, enjoy "Darling", "Closer", "Cowboy", "X-Rays, "New Antichrist and "Still In Love"!

Here's the credits and personnel list of "Total Capacity of 216,5 Litres" as they appear on the inner sleeve of the album and on the centre labels:

Jimi Tenor (Lassi Lehto) - tenor sax, voice, barrels
Enver Hoxna (Hannu Mäkelä) - atonal alt bass, barrels
Niklas Häggblom - trumpet, barrels
Ilkka Mattila - guitar
Toni Kuusisto - bass
Tero Kling - drums, barrels

Recording engineer: Ari Vaahtera
Mixed and mastered at SC-Recording Studio by Ari Vaahtera and Jimi Tenor.

All tracks written by Jimi Tenor, except "Trumpets of Poland" by Hannu Mäkelä and Jimi Tenor, "Still In Love" by Ilkka Mattila and Jimi Tenor, and "Thank You" by Jimi Tenor and Eero Lounela.

Horn arrangements by Jimi Tenor, except "New Antichrist" and "Blues" by Markku Nikula and Jimi Tenor.

Photography: Jouko Lehtola
Cover: Jimi Tenor

Thank you: Eero Lounela
Special thanks to: Matti Knaapi, Pieni, Ari Vaahtera and Ingrid Disk

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As a bonus and courtesy of YouTube, here's a rare clip of the band performing "Objects On the Table" live in Helsinki in 1988. As far as I know this track is not included in any of their official releases, enjoy!

More information about Jimi Tenor is available here:

http://www.jimitenor.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Tenor

http://www.discogs.com/artist/952-Jimi-Tenor

http://www.discogs.com/artist/136250-Jimi-Tenor-And-His-Shamans

http://www.phinnweb.org/tenor/history.html

http://www.phinnweb.org/tenor/discography/shamans.html

https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/jimi_tenor_and_his_shamans

http://creativegames.org.uk/modules/Art_Technology/Futurism/Tenorvision_gear.htm

http://www.hs.fi/ihmiset/a1427359393542

If you have any other useful information about this post or if you spot any dead links, please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!

JIMI TENOR AND HIS SHAMANS "CLOSER / SOME FUN" (1988)

Jimi Tenor was born in 1965 as Lassi O. T. Lehto in Lahti, Finland. The resemblance to the youngest member of The Osmonds, Little Jimmy Osmond, earned him his nickname of Jimi in the early '70s.

Just like his older brother Marko, Jimi had a passion for music. He studied for many years at a music institute and can play flute, piano and saxophone; his skills were further implemented by his work experience as the saxophone player for various bands.

At 16 he was the youngest member of Pallosalama (Thunderball), an orchestra which used to tour Finland with a sort of Saturday night dance shows for older people. This act was very popular then and also appeared on the Syksyn Sävel (Melody of Autumn), a song contest on Finnish Television.

Later on he was part of the Pop-Rock group Himo (Lust) as a saxophone and keyboards player. In 1986 the band gained some success in the Finnish Rock Championships and released a self-titled album along with a few singles on the Amulet and Cityboy labels. Tenor was also responsible for the music and lyrics of a couple of the band's songs.

Other groups in which Jimi was involved in the mid-80s include The Cherry Pickers, Iloinen Poika Milloin (Happy Boy When) - a band founded by his brother - and... Shaman!

...yes, the back looks exactly like the front...

Jimi Tenor and His Shamans were founded during 1986; this new project was an experimental evolution of the more ordinary Rock band Shaman. At the time, Tenor had recently discovered the Industrial sound of Einstürzende Neubauten and Test Dept., and - as a twist of fate - had accepted a new job in a mayonnaise factory.

Other members of the group were Ilkka Mattila (guitar), Toni Kuusisto (bass) Niklas Häggblom (trumpet), and Enver Hoxha (real name Hannu Mäkelä, atonal alt bass), with Tero Kling playing drums as an added member. Jimi was the lead singer, played tenor saxophone and - just like all the other members of the band - banged on empty oil barrels, a trademark of their sound both in studio and live.

Matti Knaapi, a graphic designer and inventor, allowed the band to embrace a more experimental sound helping Jimi to create special equipment in the form of self-built musical instruments bearing names like Vera (an automatic trombone), Sirkka (a man-sized mechanical drum machine), Melukone (a noise machine) and The Liberace (a peculiar-looking stainless steel object which is hard to describe).

In late 1987, after a series of concerts in Finland, Jimi Tenor and His Shamans debuted with their first single which inclued the songs "X-Rays" and "Still In Love; this release was the subject of a previous post here on Stereo Candies.

OK, at this point comes my most imploring and subdued request to the Finnish readers of this blog: I desperately need your...

Finnish magazine Rumba included a feature about the band and a review of the aforementioned debut single in its November 1987 issue: I previously dedicated a post about it and, since that is probably one of the earliest features dedicated to His Majesty Jimi Tenor, I would be glad to include an English translation here on these pages, so that a wider public can enjoy it.

An high resolution scan and a .txt transcription of the feature/review are available for download here, if you can translate from Finnish to English and are willing to help, please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you so much!!!

In early 1988 Jimi Tenor & His Shamans had recorded enough material to fill both sides of an album. We'll take care about "Total Capacity of 216,5 Litres" sometimes soon, for the time being the subject of this post is still the band's second single: "Closer / Some Fun".

Jimi Tenor and His Shamans performing live, 1987

Here's the track list for this 7" single:

01. Closer (3:35)
02. Some Fun (1:50)

Both tracks were remastered in May 2015 and are available in FLAC lossless format or high-quality 320 Kbps MP3 files; both formats include scans of the complete original artwork.

Please have a look at the comments for the download links.





"Closer / Some Fun" was released in Finland sometimes in early 1988 by Euros Records with catalogue number SIS-036; according to the relevant Discogs entry, the label released mostly Rock music and was active from 1983 until the early '90s.

The single comes in a very simple black and white cover which offers the same uninformative artwork on both sides... From the center labels we learn that the songs were written by Jimi Tenor and arranged by The Shamans. Both of them were also included on the band's debut album "Total Capacity of 216,5 Litres".

"Closer" is quite intense and offers the usual band's trademark metal percussions coupled with an interesting horns arrangement; the refrain is infectious and somewhere in a parallel universe I'm quite sure this was a huge MTV hit!

The short "Some Fun" is a piercing noisy track which is almost autistic in its stride; alienating lyrics are sung above oppressive guitars and a steady beat, and the other elements are kept to a minimun, probably on purpose.

The following clips offer a preview of the remastered single, enjoy "Closer" and "Some Fun"!

More information about Jimi Tenor is available here:

http://www.jimitenor.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Tenor

http://www.discogs.com/artist/952-Jimi-Tenor

http://www.discogs.com/artist/136250-Jimi-Tenor-And-His-Shamans

http://www.phinnweb.org/tenor/history.html

http://www.phinnweb.org/tenor/discography/shamans.html

https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/jimi_tenor_and_his_shamans

http://creativegames.org.uk/modules/Art_Technology/Futurism/Tenorvision_gear.htm

If you have any other useful information about this post, or if you spot any dead links, just get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!

JIMI TENOR AND HIS SHAMANS "X-RAYS / STILL IN LOVE" (1987)

Jimi Tenor was born in 1965 as Lassi O. T. Lehto in Lahti, Finland. The resemblance to the youngest member of The Osmonds, Little Jimmy Osmond, earned him his nickname of Jimi in the early '70s.

Just like his older brother Marko, Jimi had a passion for music. He studied for many years at a music institute and can play flute, piano and saxophone; his skills were further implemented by his work experience as the saxophone player for various bands.

At 16 he was the youngest member of Pallosalama (Thunderball), an orchestra which used to tour Finland with a sort of Saturday night dance shows for older people. This act was very popular then and also appeared on the Syksyn Sävel (Melody of Autumn), a song contest on Finnish Television.

Later on he was part of the Pop-Rock group Himo (Lust) as a saxophone and keyboards player. In 1986 the band gained some success in the Finnish Rock Championships and released a self-titled album along with a few singles on the Amulet and Cityboy labels. Tenor was also responsible for the music and lyrics of a couple of the band's songs.

Other groups in which Jimi was involved in the mid-80s include The Cherry Pickers, Iloinen Poika Milloin (Happy Boy When) - a band founded by his brother - and... Shaman!

Jimi Tenor, circa 1987

Jimi Tenor and His Shamans were founded during 1986; this new project was an experimental evolution of the more ordinary Rock band Shaman. At the time, Tenor had recently discovered the Industrial sound of Einstürzende Neubauten and Test Dept., and - as a twist of fate - had accepted a new job in a mayonnaise factory.

Other members of the group were Ilkka Mattila (guitar), Toni Kuusisto (bass) Niklas Häggblom (trumpet), and Enver Hoxha (real name Hannu Mäkelä, atonal alt bass), with Tero Kling playing drums as an added member. Jimi was the lead singer, played tenor saxophone and - just like all the other members of the band - banged on empty oil barrels, a trademark of their sound both in studio and live.

Matti Knaapi, a graphic designer and inventor, allowed the band to embrace a more experimental sound helping Jimi to create special equipment in the form of self-built musical instruments bearing names like Vera (an automatic trombone), Sirkka (a man-sized mechanical drum machine), Melukone (a noise machine) and The Liberace (a peculiar-looking stainless steel object which is hard to describe).

In late 1987, after a series of concerts in Finland, Jimi Tenor and His Shamans were ready to debut with their first single "X-Rays / Still In Love", the subject of this post.

...no image adorns the back of the photocopied insert used as cover of this single...

Here's the track list for this 7" single:

01. X-Rays (2:58)
02. Still In Love (3:28)

Both tracks were remastered in October 2014 and are available in FLAC lossless format or high-quality 320 Kbps MP3 files; both formats include scans of the complete original artwork.

Please have a look at the comments for the download links.





"X-Rays / Still In Love" was released by the band on their own JTS / Shamans label in December 1987 with catalogue number JTS 2001, probably a reference to Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odissey" since the catalogue numbers of the other releases of their label hint at various science fiction movies and books.

The single is housed in a transparent plastic sleeve, with a photocopied insert available in at least two different background colours: my copy is red, the copy pictured on Jimi Tenor's own website is grey. Both the tracks were later re-released on the band's debut album "Total Capacity of 216,5 Litres".

"X-Rays" is an aggressive track that showcases assorted metal percussions, obsessive lyrics, funky guitar and horns, and a determined bassline. This piece aptly depicts the band's ability at combining Industrial paraphernalia with more accessible elements.

With its walking bass, Jazzier feeling and overall more relaxed atmosphere, "Still In Love" wouldn't make a poor showing in one of the albums that Jimi Tenor released on Warp Records in the mid-90s, although something sinister is still floating around in the form of repeated background creakings... Cooool song!

The following clips offer a preview of the remastered single, enjoy "X-Rays" and "Still In Love"!

More information about Jimi Tenor is available here:

http://www.jimitenor.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimi_Tenor

http://www.discogs.com/artist/952-Jimi-Tenor

http://www.discogs.com/artist/136250-Jimi-Tenor-And-His-Shamans

http://www.phinnweb.org/tenor/history.html

http://www.phinnweb.org/tenor/discography/shamans.html

https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/jimi_tenor_and_his_shamans

http://creativegames.org.uk/modules/Art_Technology/Futurism/Tenorvision_gear.htm

If you have any other useful information about this post, or if you spot any dead links, just get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!

JIMI TENOR - FEATURE/REVIEW FROM "RUMBA" MAGAZINE, NOVEMBER 1987

These days I'm working on the material for some upcoming posts which will cover Jimi Tenor and His Shamans vinyl releases.

Since I need to have the following feature/review translated in English, I would like to ask for help to our Finnish friends out there: I know there's plenty of you visiting the blog, your kind help would be very much appreciated.

This is probably one of the earliest features dedicated to the great Jimi Tenor and I would really be glad to include an English translation here on the blog, so that a wider public can enjoy it.

An high resolution scan and a .txt transcription of the feature/review are available for download here, if you can translate from Finnish to English and are willing to help, please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you so much!!!

Jimi Tenor, circa 1987

RYTMIHOTTIA JA MÄISKETTÄ

PROLOGI

Olen tullut monesti ajatelleeksi, että vaikka suomalainen rock onkin monipuolistunut, niin jotain puuttuu. Varteenotettavia ryhmiä löytyy, niin kansallisesti, kuin kansainvälisestikin. Ja se, mikä puuttuu, on tämän vuosikymmenen suomalainen rock-levy.

JIMI TENOR & HIS SHAMANS

- Kyliähän suomalaisen musiikin linja on ihan soittajista lähhtenyt, ei se pelkästään kuluttajista johdu.

- Suomalaisella yleisöllä on sellaiset suosikit, mitä se ansaitsee ja toisaalta - ei ole mitään tarvetta pakottaa sitä tykkäämään esimerkiksi meidän biiseistä, jos se mieluummin kuuntelee jotain boogieta.

Näin puhuvat Jimi ja llkka, Jimi Tenor and His Shamans -bändin laulaja-saksofonisti ja kitaristi.

Kuulin tätä bändiä ensi kerran puolisentoista vuotta sitten heidän demoltaan ja jäin korviani uskomatta ihmettelemään mistä oikein on kyse: tiukkoja saksofoniriffejä, teollista hälyä, teräviä kitaran iskuja ja kaiken yllä vähän bowiemaista, jopa melodista laulua. Pari kuunkiertoa tuon jälkeen hintelä, maolakkiin ja violetteihin silmälaseihin sonnustautunut kloppi tuli ja sanoi nykien: "Moi, mä oon Jimi Tenor. Mitä kuuluu?"

Tänä päivänä Jimi Tenor shamaaneineen on kerännyt EteläSuomen klubeista kulttimainetta,omakustanteena tehty single on ilmestynyt ja ensi-LP julkaistaan ensivuoden alkupuolella Euros-levy-yhtiön toimesta.

- On ihan ufoa tehdä mite tahansa musiikkia täällä Suomessa, paitsi jos lähtee jollekin popedalinjalle, levymyynti ei kuitenkaan nouse sen kummemmaksi. Ja se taas ei kiinnosta meitä. Jonkinlaiselta harrastuspohjalta pitää lähteä joka tapauksessa.

- Kuitenkin voisi kuvitella, että meidänkin levy sattaisi mennä ihan kohtuullisesti läpi, koska kuunnellaanhan täällä vähän vaikeampaa ulkolaistakin musiikkia. Esimerkiksi Princeä, eikä meidän musiikki sen ihmeellisempää ole omituisuudessaan... ainakaan kaikki biisit...

Täytyy sanoa, että jossain Princen suosiossa on aika paljon, että sitä työnnetään niin voimakkaasti ulkoapäin tänne: kaikki tietävät, että se on erittäin suosittu Yhdysvalloissa ja Englannissa... Ei uskalleta olla diggaamatta.

- Hämmästyttävää on vain se, että suuri osa suomalaisista bändeistä menee sellaiselle rapalinjalle... "Jumalauta, hyvä meininki". Se kai johtuu sitten näistä keikkapaikoista.

- Suomalainen perusluonne tykkää junttalipoo-meiningistä. Suurin osa Suomea nostaa suosikikseen juicet ja popedat ja muut vastaavat. Mutta jos ottaa asian positiiviselta kannalta, niin joku sveitsäleinen rock on kolmannen luokan kopio brittiläisestä videopopista, se on imenyt köyhimmistä köyhimmät vaikutteet mite
vaan voi.

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Jimi Tenor & His Shamans ei kuulosta suomalaiselta bändiltä, eikä se kuulosta samalla inhottavalla tavalla "kansainväliselta", kuin joku Bogart, ej todellakaan. Shamaanien kokoonpano antaa viitteensä: kitara, basso, saksofoni, trumpetti, Enver (= tynnyrit sekä muut esineet ja rojut, joista voi saada irti rytmisiä tai rytmittömiä ääniä) ja erilaiset taustanauhat sekä rumpukoneet. Tärkeintä tälle bändille on kuitankin se musiikillis-taiteellinen omaparäisyys, joka kuuluu estottomana tapana tehdä tätä länsimaisen rappiokulttuurin shamaanimusiikkia.

- Meidän musiikki ei ole mitenkään leimaliisesti konemusiikkia, suurin osa tulevan levyn äänistä on soieattuja juttuja. Kun jotkut ihmiset ovat kuulleet meidän nauhaa, niin ne ovat luulleet, että sieltä tulee jotain sämplättyjä puhallinjuttuja, koska na aivät vaan muista meidän bändissä olevan kahta torvansoittajaa.

- Äänityshommat ovat tosin menneet vähän oudoiksi nykyään, sillä kun kuuntelee esimerkiksi Radio Cityn mainoksia, toivoo, ettei mitään sämpläystä olisi ikinä keksittykään: joka paikassa on joku helvetin sämpleri. Enää ei voi kitaraakaan soittaa kitarana, kun senkin soundi pitää olla sämplättynä jollakin disketillä...

- Me ollaan parissa biisissä käytetty sitä tekniikkaa, en tosin tiedä minkä takia. Oli ehkä kivaa vaan vähän leikkiä... Mutta ei ne ole mitenkään korostuneesti esillä siellä. Ma käytettiin paljon enemmän kaikkia luonnollisia ääniä, mitä saatiin aikaan tiiliskivillä, metallikiskoilla ja tynnyreillä.

Tämä tuleva Shamansien levy on tehty hyvin pienellä budjetilia, miitei omakustanneperiaatteella, eli bändi teki itsenäisesti ensin nauhoitukset tietämättä kuka levyn lopulta julkaisee. Äänityksissä ei ollut mukana varsinaista tuottajaa, miksauspöydän takana Shamaanien lisäksi ihmetteli äänittäjäna Ari Vaahtera.

Yksinkertaisista olosuhteista huolimatta Shamaanien jo julkaistu single on niin soundimaailmaltaan kuin musiikillisesti täysin niiden levytysten veroinen, joista Jimi Tenor on muissa yhteyksissä kertonut pitävänsä. Väljiä innoittajia tai esikuvia ovat käsittääakseni James White tai Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel.

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- Ammattitaito soittamisessa, kuten kaikissa taiteissa on vähän kaksipiippuinen juttu, mutta ainakin muilla aloilla kuin rockmusiikissa tehdään töitä paljon pyyteettömammin. Soittaja ajattelee, että tonniviisisataa on tultava keikalta liksaa, kun taas muut taiteilijat tekee vaan... tuli mitä tuli.

- Jos aiattelee levyn tuottamista, minä en ole kuullut vielä yhtään meidän kannaltamme hyvin tuotettua suomalaista levyä - ikinä. Mina ajattelen tuottamista ja äänittämistä siten, että tuodaan myös kaikkia lisäjuttuja mukaan musiikkiin ja levylle. Ja noilla asioilla ei taas keikkatilanteessa ole mitään tekemistä.

- No, eihän sellaisia tuottajia ole maailmassa kuin pari. Joku Brian Eno on minulle idoli noissa äänitys- ja tuottamiskuvioissa: se on helvetin hyvä tuottaja. Jossain Hefty Loadin biiseissä oli sellaisia efektejä ja juttuja, jotka on tässä mielessä kiinnostavia.

Jimi Tenorin ja Shamaaneiden suurin ongelma onkin itse esiintymistilanteet. Vaikka bändi onkin tavattoman visuaalinen ja lavalla taustadioineen, niin PA:sta tuleva lopputulos on keikoilla kiusallisen epätasainen: taustanauhat eivät aina ole synkassa soitetun materiaalin kanssa ja samoin miksaajilla voi ella enemmän hankaluuksia saada Shamaaneiden epätavalliset rytmit ja tynnyrit kuulostamaan edes siedettäviltä.

Kohtaako siis keikoilla kuulijoita epämieluisa pettymys?

- Oletettavasti paremminkin hämmästys. Levyllä saatamme nimittäin kuulostaa siltä, että taitavat muusikot soittavat rytmihottia, mutta keikalla lavalta löytyykin kaikkea metallikamaa ja biisit loppuu miten sattuu ja niin edelleen... Mutta keikka toimiikin niin eri tasolla: sillä mäiskeellä ja sillä, minkä näköinen Enver on, kun se hakkaa näitä kolistimiaan.

EPILOGI

Suhtaudun luottavaisesti siihen, että vielä tällä vuosikymmenellä saan kuunnella sitä tämä vuosikymmenen suomalaista rocklevya - sillä joku sen vielä tekee.

Teksti: Kimmo Helistö
Kuva: Jouko Lehtola

JIMI TENOR AND HIS SHAMANS:
X-Rays (Jimi Tenor)

Jo pidemmän aikaa on harmittanut suomalaisessa rockissa yksisilmäinen tuijottelu kitaran kaikkivoipaan autuuteen. Jimi Tenor ja Shamaanit avaavat uudenlaista näkökulmaa musiikkiin kokeilemalla funkkia metallitynnyrien paukkeella höystettynä. X-rays biisissä bändi löytää todella hyvän svengin, jossa on potkua. Shamanismia on ripaus mukana, koska jännite ei putoa. Still ln Love avautuu myös pikkuhiljaa liikkuen aivan toisenlaisissa tunnelrnissa. Shamaaneissa on hyvin paljon eurooppalaisia piirteitä, joiden luulisi heräittävän mielenkiintoa muuallakin.

The following clip offers a preview of the remastered version of "X-Rays", a track taken from the debut single by Jimi Tenor and His Shamans, enjoy!

Once again, if you can translate from Finnish to English and are willing to help, please get in touch with me at stereocandies [at] hotmail [dot] com or leave a comment in the box below, thank you!