OUS MAL - ‘NUOJUVA HALAVA’
Published: The Big Issue #358, July 2010.
Nuojuva halava
Ous Mal
****
The debut record from Finnish composer Ous Mal, resonates with a rare duality. Across its 11 graceful, gradually unfurling vignettes, Nuojuva halava skirts both expanse and proximity, gravity and intimacy. Amid its grand, Finnish folk gestures and sweeping tones are the most unassuming of textures, melodies, static shuffles and pop minutiae.
Much about Ous Mal’s unusual sound can be explained by his methodological idiosyncrasies. Constructed via cassette tape loops pillaged from traditional Finnish hymnal albums, whispers of live cello, guitar and glockenspiel, these works effectively recast immense, historical compositions into stunningly wonky, DIY sketches.
There are several highlights. ‘Viima’ sees a sparse guitar motif expand over a mulching static underlay, plucked strings and gentle orchestration rising like a dusk haze. ‘Vaskiset kielet’ makes for a quietly ecstatic flash of pop prettiness, while ‘Merilaulu’ sees an achingly elegiac cello and piano overture morph into a pulse of new wave pop.
The centrepiece, though, is ‘Kumiseva’, its stirring hymnal loop rising, wraithlike, from a bed of ambience and melody before dissipating into an opaque sea of tape noise and analogue texture. It is a deft summation of Nuojuva halava’s unusual charms. It echoes with the great scope of history, but it feels close enough to touch.
Dan Rule
