Events

Liima with Blue Cranes

8:00pm Thursday, September 22, 2016

Liima is a new band consisting of the Finnish percussionist Tatu Rönkkö and the three members of Efterklang, Mads Brauer, Casper Clausen and Rasmus Stolberg. The debut album "ii" includes songs written in Finland, Berlin, Istanbul and Madeira during four weeklong residencies. Each place has affected the sound, sometimes literally in the form of samples and field recordings, and each residency ended with a concert where the band performed the newly written songs.

For Liima ("glue" translated from Finnish), the spontaneity of writing songs and performing them live right away has become a liberating experience. With a simple live set-up, synthesizers, drum sampler, vocal, effects and bass it has been possible for the four members to get the most out of their common creative dynamics. Sketches made through improvising together have been made into songs in a collective, intuitive and immediate process.

The same approach was chosen for the studio recording of the album. In October 2015 the band recorded the album in just three days in the Vox Ton studio in Berlin together with the Finnish producer Jonas Verwijnen. Everything was recorded live with the whole band. No overdubs and no click track. Afterwards Francesco Donadello mixed the album on tape. Liima started 2016 with two more residencies in London and Copenhagen, and a European tour will follow in the spring.

Since their formation in 2007, Blue Cranes have become a key player in the Portland, Oregon creative music/DIY scene and one of the most exciting groups to keep tabs on in the Northwest. They've developed a singular musical voice grounded in melody and explosive improvisations--marking off their unique microcosmic territory in "post-jazz" circles.