A brilliant debut solo album from a Finnish multi-instrumentalist, musician Joni Tiala. Tiala is mostly known for his work with a Folk band Vellamo and a progressive rock band Moonwagon. He has a touring puppet theater with Pia Leinonen, where he works as a musician. Tiala is also a session musician and has lots of different projects, including a Radiohead cover band. ------- About Vellamo: "Vellamo is the performing and songwriting team of Pia Leinonen and Joni Tiala. Their music is reminiscent of 1960's folk revival groups such as Richard and Mimi Farina, Peter, Paul, and Mary and Pentangle - but with a Scandinavian twist. It is characterized by haunting melodies, Pia's ethereal lead vocals and Joni's virtuosic guitar stylings. They write instantly memorable songs in English as well as their native Finnish, and also perform traditional ballads from the Finnish and Scandinavian folk traditions. They are known for establishing a rapport with any audience: The duo has been touring around Europe, New Zealand, Thailand and six times in the US. First album came out in early 2013, which was recorded in Vermont, US. In 2014 Vellamo released their second album, recorded with a full band. This folk-rock gem contains beautiful arrangements of traditional songs from the Finnish and Swedish traditions. Vellamo’s third album “Koskenkylä” (Whitewater Village) was released in November 2015. This modern Nordic folk album features all original material written both in English and Finnish." "There’s so much to like about Vellamo’s music, which has a strong, and intensely appealing, retro feel – kinda Trader Horne/first-album Fairport, maybe more than a hint of the Fariñas, with a touch of early-electric-Dylan/McGuinn jangle, get the picture? ” FATEA Magazine (UK) “The band is steady, the guitar clever and rocking, and the lead female vocals are spritely and cute. So although this is a sharp modern pop record, there are strong sounds in here as well. The key is the smart moves that the band regularly employs to bring out the melody and enhance the drama through the varied volumes and tones. The vocals pull back into a quieter drama at times and grab you no matter what the style. This is just a very good record.” Folk World – The Home of European Music "Even foreign texts can shine like a star on a clear sky." Keys & Chords (Belgium) ------- About Moonwagon: "The sound of Moonwagon consists of space & hard rock, psychedelia, ambient and jazz. The band was founded in 2008 to play this one-off Black Sabbath cover gig in a local pub. Soon it developed into a real band: First original songs were written later that year and the name Moonwagon was born. Debut album “Night Dust” was released in 2011. Band signed a distribution deal with Finnish label Running Moose Productions. Record received excellent feedback, and it was highly acclaimed in Classic Rock Presents Prog Magazine being journalist Dom Lawson’s pick for the album of the year. A record deal with Running Moose was signed in 2012. The second album "Foyers of the Future" came out soon after that, showing the sunnier side of Moonwagon. In the early 2013 keyboard player Ami Hassinen withdrew from the band to concentrate on his other musical things, and the rest of the band continue as a trio now having two keyboard players instead of one: Joni plays keys alongside the guitar and Janne plays keys & bass pedals in addition to the bass. Third album "The Rule of Three" by reformed Moonwagon was released on CD in July 2015 and on vinyl in April 2016. Fourth Moonwagon release, an EP called "Devil's Labyrinth" came out in March 2017. The band continues to tour all over Finland and getting ready to start the recordings for the next full-length album which is scheduled for release in 2018. The year will also mark 10th anniversary for Moonwagon!" The Rule of Three - album review: "The Rule of Three, is appropriately enough, Moonwagon's 3rd album. Picking right up from Foyers of the Future, the album starts off more geared towards broad strokes and atmospheric space rock. This goes on for the opening 3 tracks, with 'The Infinite Pattern' being the highlight with its strong melodic content and various meter changes. 'Run to the Sun' recalls the 90s neo psych movement, and is the only track to feature vocals (in English). 'Skylines at Night' seems almost like a homage to the late 70s French and German guitar oriented electronic scene, with soaring guitar leads, steady beats, and a heavy synthesizer presence, perhaps like Christian Boule's Photo Musik, for example. This leads to the final epic track, where we get the payoff for the time invested. Mostly an old school early 1970s Kosmische Kouriere trip with echoed electric piano, scattered drums, acid guitar leads, and moody synthesizers. The mid section follows - but more towards the jumpy Quantum Fantay variety of Ozric Tentacles, and finally finishes with an almost Zeuhl like bass riff with atmospheric Rhodes electric piano over the top. Not like anything else I've heard prior, though still quite familiar. Superb. A new direction for the band perhaps? We can hope." -Ashratom