Broken Dream (2022)
Kokko Quartet’s third album Broken Dream is a journey to saxophonist-composer Kaisa Siirala’s dreamlike visions where musical cultures meet in creative interplay. The compositions capture moments both imaginary and from real life from her travels. Broken Dream brings out the musical traditions that have inspired Siirala; the Hindustani and Carnatic traditions from India and Arabic music. The musical concepts such as ragas, talas and lehras are intertwined with the composer's imagination. The album’s title piece Broken Dream has Ethiopian ingredients and refers to the film Broken Flowers by Jim Jarmusch, featuring music by the Ethiopian composer Mulatu Astatke.
The pianist Johanna Pitkänen has contributed two compositions for the album, one of them titled Enigma. Inspired by the Enigma cipher device employed in World War II, the piece itself presents musical enigmas which it strives to decode. Broken Dream features four guest musicians who bring in addition to their own artistry, also Middle Eastern nuances to the music and its microtonal sound. The featuring musicians are Ilkka Arola on trumpet and flugelhorn, Lotta Heiskanen on violin, Ali Haithem on oud and Ricardo Padilla on percussion. Track list:
All compositions by Kaisa Siirala except 5 & 7 by Johanna Pitkänen. Cover design by Alisa Javits. |