This could be viewed as a homecoming of sorts for Tuomo & Markus who have had a deep connection to the US since the start of their career. Their debut album Dead Circles was recorded in Tucson with help from various Calexico and Wilco members. Game Changing – their critically acclaimed sophomore album released 2023 – was recorded at Jonathan Wilson’s studio in Los Angeles and the late Ed Ackerson’s Flowers Studio in Minneapolis.
Verneri Pohjola is one of Europe’s top jazz artists, who was recently nominated for Nordic Council Music Prize. Pohjola’s skills far exceed jazz. Multi Grammy-winner, Finnish contemporary music giant Kaija Saariaho, who died in 2023, composed her last piece Hush specifically for Pohjola’s trumpet. Hush had its US debut at LA’s Disney Hall in January 2024 with Pohjola as LA Phil’s special guest soloist.
Music For Roads, however, started in their homeland already amidst the Covid19 pandemic, which shut down the world and made air travel and international touring impossible. For Tuomo & Markus it felt more natural to compose instrumentals than to write compelling lyrics at the time, so they reached out to Verneri Pohjola.
Having toured North America with Wilco just prior to the many lockdowns, the Finns realized how roadsick they were. Since they couldn’t tour physically, Verneri Pohjola and Tuomo & Markus created a musical simulation of a road trip in their recording studio. Most of the performances were cut live with the whole 7-piece band playing in E-Studio’s large live room. After the initial recording sessions Music For Roads grew into an international affair with French saxophone player Sylvain Rifflet and NYC-guitar legend Marc Ribot contributing to the project.
Instrumental music and immersive audio tech provided the perfect route to construct Music For Roads. The Finns got introduced to immersive audio during the pandemic and local studio monitor manufacturer Genelec lent them a Dolby Atmos setup at the studio. Interestingly, instead of going fully digital, they decided to use magnetic tape to capture the new music. Music For Roads was recorded, mixed and mastered onto tape, making it most likely the world’s first fully analog Dolby Atmos recording. For those who still prefer stereo recordings there will be a limited vinyl and CD release available.
Performed by:
Verneri Pohjola – trumpet, pocket trumpet
Tuomo Prättälä – piano, hammond organ, moog, synthesizers, mellotron
Markus Nordenstreng – acoustic & electric guitars, autoharp, dulcimer, Banjo, mellotron
Juho Viljanen – drums, trombone
Jaska Lukkarinen – drums, percussion
Jeremias Ijäs – bass
Miikka ’Mcgyver’ Paatelainen – pedal steel, electric guitar, ebow
With
Sylvain Rifflet – saxophone (appalachian landscape, deep deuce)
Marc Ribot – lead guitar, spoken word (waiting room)
Recorded at Estudio, Sipoo fi
Engineering by Jyri Riikonen, assisted by Petri Majuri
Additional engineering and editing by Tuomo Prättälä and Sylvain Rifflet
Stereo & dolby atmos mixes by Tommi Vainikainen at Sonic Pump Studios, Helsinki fi
Mastered by Svante Forsbäck at Chartmakers, Espoo fi
Analog to digital master transfers by Väinö Karjalainen at Kvark Studios, Helsinki fi
Vinyl master cut by Jukka Sarapää at Timmion, Helsinki fi
Cover design & photography: Tero Ahonen