SHAKALI (FIN) - ambient/experimental/electro-acoustic

Finnish multi-instrumentalist Simo Hakalisto, known as SHAKALI, composes music from layers of strings, bowls, bells, plates, wind, water, and muted electronics. His latest album Toinen Luonto (Finnish for "second nature") reflects both Hakalisto's earthy, tangible sonic world and his deepening mastery of the craft - eight pieces sound more like they were summoned into being than composed, like a network of resonances set in motion and left to slowly unfold, build, or dissolve.

The album features several guests: saxophonist Julian Overall, Timo Juntunen (Hakalisto's partner in the duo Lunar Horns) on oud and percussion, American experimentalist Roy Werner, and Belgian ambient flute sampler Les Halles. Among the instruments is a 36-string kantele built by Hakalisto's great-uncle.