THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Aulos is a woodwind instrument from ancient Greece — like the tenor sax is a woodwind instrument of modern times. In its mythological meaning, the Aulos symbolises ecstasy and this-worldliness. It was played by the Satyrs, who surrounded Dionysos, the god of earthly bliss. Will Jimi Tenor turn into Jimi Aulos on this joyful album? Find out yourself!
Aulos is Jimi Tenor’s second album on Philophon. Basically, the core crew is the same as on his Philophon debut Order of Nothingness: beside our Finnish singer and multi-instrumentalist we have again the two drummers Ekow Alabi Savage from Ghana and Max Weissenfeldt from Germany, the latter of whom is as well the producer of Aulos.
As the basic recordings were cut at Max’s former Tonstudio Blütenring in Berlin-Kreuzberg, the finishing touch however happened at Joy Sound Studios in Kumasi, Ghana. Therefore the album presents some local guests from Ghana. First and foremost, the two Frafra-Gospel queens Florence Adooni and Lizzy Amaliyenga, who are featured on lead vocals on Vocalize My Luv and the Frafra-Gospel classic Ki’igba, which Jimi rearranged in his own musical language.
Furthermore, you will hear a young shooting star of the vibrant music scene in Kumasi: Kofi Emma on the Kpanlogo, a Ghanaian drum which historically is the forefather of the well known Conga. Last but not least, we hear Pat Thomas’ guitar player Sergio Manuel on the krautrockish piece 128 Cosmic Rock. The instrumental Afroeuropean reflects in its title the bridge this album has built between the two continents.
This bridging also runs through the cover artwork: here the Ghanaian artist Babs provides his very personal interpretation of the epic painting Väinämöisen soitto by the Finnish painter Robert Wilhelm Ekman, who worked in the 19th century, which Jimi puts into a scenario surrounded by characters from Finnish mythology.
Jimi says: “Like the name of the album Aulos suggests, I wanted to feature flute quite heavily on it. I love complicated melodies and structures, so there are a couple of songs where went just for it. Of course the core of the album is groove based music with African-style basslines.”
Aulos is another landmark in Jimi’s fruitful career, which started back in the ’80s in the dark corners of Industrial Music and which evolved consistently into his very own kind of a bright and playful Nature Music.”
