Review: Regina - Puutarhatrilogia

Regina is one of the few successful Finnish electronic acts and what makes them special is that they happen to be very good at creating mellow indie electronica with deep influences from ambient, dance and alternative. Less than two months ago Iisa Pykäri (ex-Pajula) and company released their third album named "Puutarhatrilogia", but just yesterday I had the chance to listen to it. Actually I had to listen to it at least three times in a row in order to get used to their new sound.

With their newest release Regina are demonstrating an audible stylistic change, which perhaps is another effort to position themselves in a certain music niche. "Puutarhatrilogia" is their most downtempo and least electronic album up to now, concentrating more on the unexplored vocal abilities of Iisa and adding more instruments and samples than ever before. The whole record is like a sophisticated matineé and its texture is filling the air with tenderness and delight.

Although the album is less dependent on electronic it still contains satisfyingly a lot of electronic elements which perfectly fit with the live instruments and the contemporary classic samples. Throughout "Puutarhatrilogia" you could feel the vibes of dances like jazz and tango, which can make you shake some booty...of course this doesn't mean that the album is suitable for a regular dance routine in a club, but it is excellent for a background in a club to chill-out or just have your coffee to the voice of Iisa.

Tracks to hear: "Saanko jäädä yöksi", "Vapaus", "Olen häviöllä, Pauli" and "Totuus minusta"

Personal rating: 7 out 10

Stuck in my mind: Regina - Saanko Jäädä Yöksi?

Don't ask me what Saanko Jäädä Yöksi? means, I have no idea, but it sounds so nice. I love songs that can reach me even though there is a language barrier and this is a fine example of how emotions can be transmitted in any language.

My appreciation for Regina

This is not a post about Regina Spektor, although she's an excellent artist too. My true appreciation is for the Finnish electronic group Regina, which have become one of my biggest music affections for the last three years. I discovered them thanks to the kind help of Last.fm, on which the group was recommended to me. They had one free track "Katso maisemaa" and of course I just couldn't resist temptation and downloaded it immediately. o be honest, I've had a slight idea of how the Finnish language sounds and I was more amused than impressed, but after several listens it did grow on me...and when something draws my attention it has to be explored to its depths. Up to that moment they had only one album called "Katso maisemaa".

The band was formed in 2004 by Iisa Pajula, Mikko Pikäri and Mikko Rassinen and soon rose to fame in the Helsinki electronic scene and are most likely the next best thing in Finnish music.

Honestly every track on the album "Katso maisemaa" is excellent. Despite the fact that I don't understand even a single word they still sound amazing. I even learned some of the lyrics, no matter how impossible suomi sounds. Actually my appreciation for Regina pushed me to learn something more about Finland, its culture and music. Finland's most famous bands are Nightwish, H.I.M., Children of Bodom, Apocalyptica, The Rasmus and Sonata Arctica, all of which are in one way or another connected with the heavy scene. That is why I was a bit surprised to find a Finnish group which makes electronic music and it's actually damn good. Thank any god for Scandinavian music!

In 2007 they released their sophomore effort called "Oi miten suuria voimia!", which includes ten new wonderful compositions. Their second album is less electropop and more alternative electronica orientated, but preserves the unique sound of Regina. They even released their first ever video "Paras aika vuodesta".