Description
Previously known as the mastermind of the acclaimed experimental pop group Paavoharju, Lauri Ainala draws a bleak picture with his forthcoming debut solo work, Orpokotijuhlat Saarella, set for international release on November 18th via Svart Records. The album is based on the Pietistic convention held at Saari in eastern Finland; the sectarian event has been held yearly since 1916, and it consists of sermons, Bible lessons, prayers, Eucharist, and a series of hymns. In 2015, while attending the convention with his family, Ainala recorded the hymns that blared out of rusty old speakers, and molded the raw recordings into Orpokotijuhlat Saarella, a dark ambient drone piece.
“I removed one of the floorboards in the lobby, and underneath it was a mummifed cat, whose belly was cut open and tied shut with a shoestring,” says Lauri Ainala, describing the moods of the album, “Next to the animal, there were eggs placed in formation and a broom made of birches. In the attic, there are pieces of human skulls I’ve found, pieces of Holy Bread, the Bible, and a crucifix fragment, which I once found in the cemetery of Montmartre.”
