Album lore

Aili Ikonen’s 2020 release Suru ei oo suora viiva, issued on the Groovy label, offers a nuanced blend of Finnish jazz and Schlager traditions across ten tracks. The album’s title, translating roughly as “Grief is not a straight line,” hints at its reflective mood, carried through pieces like “Valo” and “Läpi harmaan sumun.” Ikonen’s voice navigates the shifting contours of melody and lyric with a quiet, deliberate grace, supported by arrangements that respect both jazz’s improvisational spirit and the melodic directness of Schlager.The record’s resonance lies in its subtle interplay between genres native to Finland’s musical landscape, not least in the way it channels a certain Nordic melancholy without excess. Listeners familiar with the Finnish canon will recognize threads of tradition woven into Ikonen’s modern sensibility. With modest listenership but steady appreciation, Suru ei oo suora viiva stands as a thoughtful artifact for those attuned to the understated depths of jazz-inflected songcraft from the region.

Album lore

Aili Ikonen’s 2020 release Suru ei oo suora viiva, issued on the Groovy label, offers a nuanced blend of Finnish jazz and Schlager traditions across ten tracks. The album’s title, translating roughly as “Grief is not a straight line,” hints at its reflective mood, carried through pieces like “Valo” and “Läpi harmaan sumun.” Ikonen’s voice navigates the shifting contours of melody and lyric with a quiet, deliberate grace, supported by arrangements that respect both jazz’s improvisational spirit and the melodic directness of Schlager.The record’s resonance lies in its subtle interplay between genres native to Finland’s musical landscape, not least in the way it channels a certain Nordic melancholy without excess. Listeners familiar with the Finnish canon will recognize threads of tradition woven into Ikonen’s modern sensibility. With modest listenership but steady appreciation, Suru ei oo suora viiva stands as a thoughtful artifact for those attuned to the understated depths of jazz-inflected songcraft from the region.