Kari Ikonen hates to sit still. Over the past decade, the Finnish pianist has played on almost fifty albums, toured with countless groups and still today seems to come up with a radical change of direction every week. And yet, even within this vortex of activity, ‘Ikonostasis’ sticks out as something unique and special. A deeply personal project, it sees Ikonen inviting his favourite musicians - including Louis Sclavis, Bob Moses and Mathias Eick - to play compositions that are both highly experimental and yet strikingly beautiful. The first ‘Ikonostasis’ studio album compiles ten of these tracks into an innovative and beguiling work - managing to sound both strangely familiar and yet like nothing you've ever heard. Especially in the courageous duets with Louis Sclavis on clarinet and bass clarinet, the electronic elements create utopian sound worlds somewhere between the aesthetics of p-funk and avant-garde composition. But even in the 'acoustic' pieces, including the epic fifteen-minute journey "Trinity", what at first appear to be recognisable harmonies, delicate trumpet melodies and dreamy piano chords are gradually transformed into a slowly turning, sinister current underneath the surface. Even the inclusion of the human voice on "Track 6" only takes the listener deeper down into the dark corners of Ikonen's mind. Ikonen has not just established himself as one of the leader's of the Finnish scene, but contributed to putting Finland as a whole firmly on the European jazz map. With ‘Ikonostasis’, he is now taking an even bigger leap.
