"... a tranquil and immersive listening experience which transcends boundaries." - Folk Radio UK

Real Music for Unreal Times by Kumea Sound is the second album by the Finnish sound artist Lauri Wuolio. Kumea Sound’s self-titled debut album (2013) was also structured around the instrument named handpan, or cupola.

On the new album all post-production processes are stripped away and a sense of deep passion and commitment to his instrument is transmitted from Wuolio’s playing. "I wanted the album to reveal something instead of trying to hide mistakes", Wuolio says. "Apart from mixing, nothing was changed or added after the recordings."

Even the haunting reverb was created and captured live in the studio with a complex setup of speaker arrays and experimental 360 degree microphones. The reverb itself was sampled in the historical Russian monastery of Solovetsky.

The recording of an instrument that has an exceptionally rich sound has turned out to be quite a challenge. Real Music for Unreal Times may so far be the most ambitious attempt to capture the full sound spectrum of the young instrument in all its history.

Real Music for Unreal times is a meditative counteraction to the experience of soullessness. Simultaneously timeless and contemporary, this acoustic percussion work reminds us of how rich and complex music may derive from a simple starting point.

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The album is available at Bandcamp (CD, LP, DL) and iTunes:

https://kumea.bandcamp.com/album/real-music-for-unreal-times
https://itunes.apple.com/fi/album/real-music-for-unreal-times/id971658417?uo=4

Stranded Variation

Drum and bell music from Finland, by Lauri Wuolio.