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EM crossover album packaged in lavish 8-Panel Triple-Fold Card Sleeve with a thick 28-Page Booklet containing artwork to go with each piece of music!
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Brand new album from legendary Finnish ambient explorers NEMESIS who merge Ambient music with the ‘Berlin School’ more successfully than any other and deliver their unique stylish modern soundscapes in superlative lavish packaging to give their listeners a full audio visual experience!
The line-up for ‘Off The Map’ is: Ami Hasssinen (synthesizers / editing / mixing / mastering), Joni Virtanenn (synthesizers), J-M Rautiainen (bass guitar & modular synthesizers) and Kimmo Heikkila (concept / artworks / design).
Here is our brief run-down on what to expect from ‘Off The Map’.
Track 1 is a lovely opening to the album with a quality atmospheric ambient soundscape.
Track 2 is TD ‘Rubycon’ style soundscape with some sequencer parts.
Track 3 is a deep atmospheric work with added electronic percussion effects.
Track 4 is a dark and brooding eerie piece with an underlying threat never far away.
Track 5 is the opposite – a light, airy, drifting and melodic ambient work that is truly uplifting.
Track 6 starts as a dark foreboding atmospheric affair with strange voice sounds then opens out like a flower into a far more beautiful landscape surrounded by waves of echoed synth sounds and distant twittering bird-like effects.
Track 7 features shimmering, sparkling electronic cascades and high-flying heavenly melodies with some added choral sounds added to beautiful effect.
Track 8 is a beautifully serene ethereal soundscape that creates vivid sonic pictures in the mind’s eye.
Track 9 features diverse, industrial style effects coupled with cosmic drifting and string backdrops, ending with a kind of snow flurry of sequencer patterns and heavenly chorals.
Track 10 – The album’s epic near 20-minute piece fades into a heavenly intro residing among blue skies and clouds with ethereal female choral voices weaving all around the soundstage, creating a beautiful sky of sounds and textures. The piece moves through the air with ease as new choral layers gently fold and unfold around you with light synth melodies intertwining through the hazy sounds. As the track develops it remains airy and atmospheric, but becomes darker and more ill at ease in places, but still totally captivating. This is kind of like and massively expanded version of the intro to TD’s ‘Rubycon’ album - Magnificent!
Here is what one reviewer has said of ‘Off The Map’…
Ami Hassinen & Joni Virtanen, two protagonists of the legendary Finnish ambient explorers NEMESIS, join their creative soundscaping insignias with their fellow drone bass guitar wizard Juha-Matti Rautiainen and ingenious mastermind Kimmo Heikkilä, the illustrator and designer behind all maps and artwork for this project. This quartet of gifted and soulfully connected artists takes us into magnificently evocative territories, no matter if authentic, terra incognita, historical, futuristic or imaginary. Thrillingly immersing and topographically abundant ‘Off The Map’ journey fully reveals all its infinite magic during these strange times we are now confronted with. A true oasis indeed, both aural and visual!
Richard Gürtler (October 2020) 48°07'35.0"N 17°07'42.7"E
Here are some details and descriptions on the concept and recording process…
This album is a collaboration between three parts; NEMESIS the pioneering Finnish electronic music group, Juha-Matti Rautiainen the ambient musician who has already produced two excellent albums of music realized with bass guitar and a huge set of effects and loopers, and finally: Kimmo Heikkilä, who is a visual artist and designer with great originality in his work and a reputation to prove it! Kimmo has designed several album covers for both NEMESIS and Juha-Matti Rautiainen soundscapes.
The idea for this collaboration had been in the air for several years and eventually Kimmo had his idea of working with the aesthetics of geographical maps. He produced a series of graphics based on old maps. This called for some musical input to make the project more immersive and he asked NEMESIS and J-MR to provide the soundtrack. That was very easy decision, as they all had been working together in different constellations and for different projects for quite some time.
The theme was decided to be about different places and spaces the map-like paintings could depict.
The musical side was to create soundtracks for those places. The musicians decided to have one, extended jam session to create the music. And so the gear was hauled to an old Kino movie theatre in Kaustinen on one August day in 2020. The stage, where the silver screen had once been, was filled with synthesizers, keyboards and a large array of effect pedals. Kaustinen is a part of the peaceful countryside in the middle of Finland and thanks to the Covid 19 restrictions, it was even more deserted than it usually is. Ami and Juhamatti spent one evening setting everything up and were joined by Joni the next day.
Day two was devoted to the actual recording. The only audience was the ghostly, empty seating of the movie theatre, with appropriate summer rain and occasional thunder outside…
After getting the recording equipment ready, we had a short conversation about what we would try to portray musically for the next twenty minutes. Then the record button was pushed and off we went.
This method ruled the day… we had just a few coffee breaks, otherwise it was all just pure improvisation.
In the evening we had several hours of multi-track material on an SD card. It was absolutely magical for it was so easy. The music just flowed and painted the different audio pictures and soundscapes very effortlessly. In the evening we felt we had achieved something rather extraordinary…
Then it was the time for the mixing stage. When I prepared the test-mixes, and I just took out the few bum notes, technical glitches, tests for a sound, etc. When we all were listening to the early mixes at our homes, everyone started to feel slowly that the results, for once, exceeded our initial good expectations.
The music seemed to have a life of its own, a spirit; something much more than our individual contributions could hint at.
Of course, the long stretches of music were not going to fit one CD, so it was a hard prospect to select and mix the most essential parts for shorter tracks. Eventually, that also was a bit easier than it seemed at first, as the material was mostly so strong that it was more a case of editing than remixing. It was basically a question of selecting the brightest stones and polishing them. We tried to select musically representative bits of the various styles we crossed with on that day…
So the music on the album is pure ambience, creating a place or a landscape. It may be off the real map in many ways if you like. In the end it depends on the situation and the mood of the listener. If you can give yourself to the music, it opens for you and will take you places. You can create your own map in your mind - take your bearings and feel your way through the varied landscapes in Kimmo's paintings… the journey really is more important than the destination.
Ami Hassinen 63°50'22.2"N 23°08'03.2"E
‘Nemesis-Off The Map’ was released on 17th March 2021.
Also available by NEMESIS …
CYBERIAD (70’s Style TD Retro EM) CDR – Stock # 725410
GIGAHERZ (2007 EM Classic / Digi-Pak) CD – Stock # 1592820
LIVING STATUES (2013 Album in Multi-Fold Card Cover) CCCD – Stock # 1609685
MUSIC FOR EARPORTS (Ambient Music Project) CDR – Stock # 725415
XTEMPORA (Berlin School Style & Cosmic EM) 2CDR – Stock # 948608
And as LaleuZ …
OUMUAMUA (NEMESIS & DEAD ZONE members collaboration / Digi-Pak) CD – Stock # 2205239
NEMESIS: OFF THE MAP Track List:
01. 63°32'42.8"N 23°41'47.3"E (6:25)
02. 52°30'52.3"N 13°21'00.6"E (6:06)
03. 60°58'09.1"N 5°07'12.6"E (4:20)
04. 53°53'47.8"N 27°32'41.8"E (4:26)
05. 64°41'50.0"N 32°09'12.5"E (6:16)
06. 64°42'46.0"N 17°45'27.6"W (5:07)
07. 37°35'21.2"N 26°-09'18.0"E (4:56)
08. 56°49'12.0"N 4°23'17.8"W (8:27)
09. 34°03'46.3"N 118°14'55.5"W (5:05)
10. 45°22'40.9"N 151°26'06.8"E (18:16)
TPT: 69:52