Out Of The Blue, by Raoul Bjorkenheim / eCsTaSy

Out Of The Blue

by Raoul Bjorkenheim / eCsTaSy

supported by

Carsten Pieper Reading these Hendrix-meets-Coltrane reviews, I couldn't resist this weeks Cuneiform Reecords special-offer. Again... ;-)

And yes, among many other things and the bands very own handwriting, at least in places above mentioned comparisons are valid. And while guitar and sax may take center stage, double bass and drums shine, too!

Cosmic music from the sweet sunny north... Favorite track: Uptown.

John Cratchley This band has really hit its stride with their second album...much more balanced and integrated,I think; with the guitar and saxophone in cohesive opposition.
It's a treat...the playing is stellar and the arrangements are tight ('Quintrille')...yet it also exudes space and elastic time as well ('A Fly in the House')...pretty much has it all!
Bop Rock.

The Sonic Archives Recording Co. thumbnail

more...

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

This download purchase includes a digital booklet with credits, art and information.

Purchasable with gift card

Download available in 16-bit/44.1kHz.

$10 USD or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Includes unlimited streaming of Out Of The Blue via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 16-bit/44.1kHz.

ships out within 3 days

Purchasable with gift card

$16.50 USD or more

	1.	Heads & Tales 07:07
	2.	Quintrille 03:40
	3.	A Fly In the House Of Love 06:01
	4.	Uptown 04:44
	5.	You Never Know 02:41
	6.	OLJ 03:21
	7.	Roller Coaster 03:41
	8.	Zebra Dreams 10:08

about

"I...was stunned by his Hendrix meets late era Coltrane approach."
– Guitar Moderne

"Despite the boilingly hot drive...influenced by Cream, Lifetime, the Jimi Hendrix Experience (and perhaps more notionally the Pete Cosey/Reggie Lucas version of the Miles Davis group), there's a lyrical side to the guitarist’s playing as well...Excellent."
– Point Of Departure

"...out jazz with lots of sass and vigor...recalls the thornier side of the ECM Records catalog, especially the works of fellow Scandinavians Edward Vesala and Terje Rypdal. Björkenheim attacks the guitar the way the late great Sonny Sharrock did - like Coltrane and Ayler “attacked” their saxophones...yet blues is never very far away. There’s also the chunky focus of pre-Mahavishnu John McLaughlin...The way RB cross-pollinates between jazz and rock recalls fellow traveler Nels Cline, and the results are similar: Oblique swing, gnarly noise, predictably unpredictable, swell."
– Icon

Ecstasy is usually an all too fleeting experience offering the briefest glimpse at transcendence. But a heightened sense of consciousness and discovery manifests throughout Out of the Blue, the transporting second album by composer and guitar maestro Raoul Björkenheim and his extraordinary Finnish quartet Ecstasy.

Featuring the celebrated drummer Markku Ounaskari, the young and dauntingly prolific bassist Jori Huhtala and saxophonist Pauli Lyytinen, Ecstasy has forged more than a signature sound. Over the course of five years the musicians have honed a supremely interactive modus operandi marked by unstable textures, rapidly shifting meters, and emotionally charged melodic flights. Earthy, pristine and unmistakably Nordic, the music evokes the grandeur of Finnish landscapes and the hothouse intimacy of a tight-knit Helsinki scene where the musicians regularly convene to refine their volatile sound.

“I always felt there’s something special about having a band,” Björkenheim says. “An all-star session can be good too, but the thing I’m missing nowadays in jazz is really good bands playing together tightly, turning on a dime together, and especially improvising together.” True to Raoul's statement, this is a band effort, and like all great bands, the sum is greater than the parts. With 2 years additional experience together for this album, everything is upped from the last one: the compositions, the improvisations, the ensemble work and the solos!

credits

released October 16, 2015

Raoul Björkenheim: electric guitar
Pauli Lyytinen: bass, tenor and soprano saxophones, mey
Jori Huhtala: double bass
Markku Ounaskari: drums

Recorded 19-21 November 2014 at E-Studio, Helsinki.
Produced by Raoul Björkenheim.
Engineered by Jyri Riikonen.
Mastered by Petri Majuri.
Cover photo by Jorma Male.
Band photos by Rémi Angeli.

Music by Raoul Björkenheim except 6 by Jori Huhtala and 3, 5, 8 by eCsTaSy.

license

subtotal
taxes calculated at checkout

about

Cuneiform Records Washington, D.C.

Cuneiform Records is a record label releasing adventurous, boundary-bursting music by artists from around the world.

They have always championed an eclectic mixture of musical styles and artists and have consistently danced at the dangerous intersection where genres meet.

In doing so, they have become one of the most prominent labels of New Music.

Founded in 1984.
Based in Washington D.C. ... more

Recommendations

contact / help

Contact Cuneiform Records

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this album or account

Cuneiform Records recommends:

The Gift of Purpose [Hopper Family Benefit Album]
by Bone (Nick Didkovsky / Hugh Hopper / John Roulat)

The BENEFIT ALBUM for Hugh Hopper's family is now on Bandcamp! Cuneiform Records
go to album

If you like Out Of The Blue, you may also like:

Plays Hendrix
by Machine Mass

supported by 41 fans who also own “Out Of The Blue”

i must admit now that i collect hendrix covers. his material is SO strong that there are many, and very few really ones. this is one of the best ever. these tracks are hot, and strange, and beautiful, and strong, yet essentially faithful in a colorful way. magical workings! CH
go to album
Abracadabra In Osaka (Elton Dean, Allan Holdsworth, Hugh Hopper, John Marshall)
by Soft Works

supported by 40 fans who also own “Out Of The Blue”

forget computers & phones... just live music + printed paper. Christian Mumford
go to album
Fractal Guitar
by Stephan Thelen

supported by 40 fans who also own “Out Of The Blue”

i could tell a few minutes in that this album was something special. instruments weave together and evolve in endlessly hypnotic ways. magical
go to album
Methods Body
by Methods Body

Now available on vinyl, the debut album from Methods Body treats listeners to an avant-garde, experimental sound that mimics space travel. Bandcamp New & Notable Aug 21, 2020
go to album
For HP
by Julius Schwing

A collection of solo electric guitar improvisations from Julius Schwing that are heady and enthralling. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 3, 2025
go to album

Out Of The Blue

by Raoul Bjorkenheim / eCsTaSy

Digital Album Streaming + Download

Buy Digital Album $10 USD or more

Send as Gift

Compact Disc (CD) Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

Buy Compact Disc $16.50 USD or more

Send as Gift

Share / Embed

about

credits

license

tags

Tags

Shopping cart

about

discography

contact / help

Streaming + Download

$10 USD or more

Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

$16.50 USD or more