Photo: Jori Huhtala

There’s exciting news from Aki Rissanen, who has just announced his new album Imaginary Mountains. The talented and accomplished Finnish pianist and composer is pushing his piano trio into a rawer, more rhythm-focused, and emotionally honest territory. “The focus this time is more on rhythm and repetition,” Rissanen says. “It feels more direct and physical, maybe even raw at times. But at its core, it’s still me, just seen from a different angle.” Shaped by internal landscapes, visual art, and a sense of geopolitical unrest, the forthcoming album explores contrast and tension with a sharper sound. As he explains, “It’s about the emotional terrain that can keep us from fully engaging or empathising with what’s happening around us”.

The album title also refers to Keith Jarrett’s Personal Mountains. “I loved how he evoked vast, imagined spaces through his music”, Rissanen comments. “In a way, Imaginary Mountains is my own reflection on that idea, landscapes that exist more in the psyche than the physical world.”

We’ll have to wait until September 12th for Imaginary Mountains to drop through Edition Records but we can already hear the first single, ‘For E’. Dedicated to Erik Satie, it offers a striking glimpse of what Rissanen will be throwing at us. The single comes with an accompanying live video, shot by Jori Huhtala and post-produced by Rissanen himself. Watch it below.

And to tide us over until the album drops, listen back to the sublime mixtape Rissanen put together for us in September 2023.

Photot: Jori Huhtala

There’s a new album on the way from Finnish pianist and composer Aki Rissanen arriving in July. Entitled Hyperreal, the album saw Rissanen enlist drummer Robert Ikiz and long term collaborator, trumpeter Verneri Pohjola. Thematically the album explores ideas of change, of being aware, of renewal and letting go, as Rissanen explains:

“There’s a change to something new and yet unknown. With the rapid transformation of reality to the AI generated virtual reality or hyperreality, we have to be aware and adapt to these things and distinguish between what is real and unreal”.

Hyperreal will see the light of day on July 14th through Edition Records and we can already hear the sublime first single, ‘Quantum Ballad’. The track is offered with an accompanying video made by Ville Hyvönen.

Finnish pianist Aki Rissanen is set to release a new album with his long-lasting trio featuring bassist Antti Lötjönen and drummer Teppo Mäkynen. Entitled Art in Motion, the upcoming album takes its name from a word play with the initials of Aki Rissanen Trio and “the influence of art music from the European repertoire”, as Rissanen explains in the liner notes. On the word motion, he explains they are “a rhythmically intense band inspired by the aesthetics of electronic dance music”, adding that they, “as jazz musicians, are in constant motion because our form of art doesn’t ever stand still!”.

Following the release of ‘Aeropeans’, Rissanen has shared a second single from the record called ‘Cantus Arcticus, Melancholy’, an orchestral composition written by Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara. Listen to both singles below and grab the album when it´s out on September 13th through Edition Records.