Surrealist, globetrotting folktronica is rather unsual fare
for York’s National Centre for Early Music; so much so that the audience, while
warmly appreciative, at times seemed slightly baffled by the manic, impish
figure of Johanna Juhola and her garishly dressed band. The musicians’ easy
banter and obvious engagement with their songs however soon won over the
eclectic crowd as they led us boldly through the world of Finnish tango music.
Juhola’s virtuosic accordion playing set the tone for the
evening, with most songs led by driving melodic lines, circling obsessively
round certain pitches and motifs, occasionally leading to superbly judged
cadential figurations. The occasional forays into different registers, notably
low, groaning glissandi, left this reviewer wanting more. The same was true of
the live electronics – courtesy of Tuomas Norvio – expertly performed, but most
exciting when it moved out of fairly comfortable drum-sample territory and
explored and manipulated other vocal and instrumental sounds.
The band began with two fairly conventional tangos, Limping
Foot Tango and Fantasy Tango, which they followed with a slower and more
musically interesting song, Hippo, with a central, beautifully constructed, contrapuntal
passage. Vocal samples featured heavily and effectively in Longing for the
South, a tongue-in-cheek paean to warm weather, and Carlos, a haunting
invocation of the voice of Carlos Gardel, possibly the most famous Argentinian
tango singer.
The second half of the evening was characterised by more differentiation
in terms of style and instrumentation; opening, as night fell, with a duet
between Juhola and pianist Milla Viljamaa. Perhaps inevitably the two performers seemed
to play with a deeper connection than when the whole band performed together,
more music for this reduced line-up could have been very effective. The
highlight of the half however was a track called Vitamin D, where the band
played with a video of Finnish rapper Promoe, employing the singing voices of Viljamaa
and bassist Sara Puljula to great effect. The longer, unison melodies in this
song hinted at a more jazz-based conception, one that suited the line-up
perfectly.
This was an evening of unlikely but effective collisions, but
one that felt like it was only scratching the surface of a rich vein of musical
possibility. I look forward to hearing more of Johanna Juhola Reaktori
and I hope these extraordinarily talented musicians continue to synthesise
their unique and potent sound.
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