Shakali - Aurinkopari

Previously found on a short-run tape with Ikuisuus in 2021, the music of Simo Hakalisto aka Shakali is rich with swirling textures and Eastern mysticism, with a smart pre-midi bent. On ‘Aurinkopari’ Simo nimbly deploys a mix of massaged sine waves, hydroponic recordings, and a Javanese gendèr (a type of metallophone used in gamelan ceremonies) at the service of a mesmerising, naturally fractal-not-fractional conception of experimental ambient practice. Heady but heartfelt, the set proceeds within a remarkably well realised and self-contained system of sound from the lush bloom of the title tune to the pastoral rumination of ‘Rural Aural’. Where the Alice Coltrane-esque opener is reverberantly plush with thrumming bass, cascading plucks and its brooding wind motifs, the following parts dematerialise into a subtler play of the senses, trickling from the metallophonic iridescence of ‘Aja Udu’ to hypnagogic exotica in ‘Ad Astra’ and organic, airborne melody in ‘Aluilla’ with a marked care and empathy for your trip.