CD: Siinai - Sykli

The sensation evoked by Sykli is that it documents a voyage, one beginning with anticipation for what will come and then journeying through diffuse territory which could be an endless, mist-filled valley, anywhere beyond this solar system or within inner space.

The mostly instrumental – the only vocals are wordless – album uses repeated guitar and keyboard figures as the basis for five lengthy pieces which openly draw from Philip Glass, Neu and Tangerine Dream. Yet an innate character stands apart from what is recognisable. At its core, Sykli is about intensity.

Siinai are Finnish. Half the band used to be two-thirds of Joensuu 1685, the trio led by the now-solo Mikko Joensuu. Sykli – meaning “cycle” – is their third album. Their first, Olympic Games, had an obvious inspiration. The second, Supermarket, sought to encapsulate the state of reverie induced by an environment defined by repetition. Fittingly, Sykli creates such a condition with its music. Here, the motivation is the cyclic nature of the day-to-day and how darkness becomes light and then darkness again, and how – so the band say – something as mundane as regularly buying bread can become exciting.

Anyone familiar with one of Brion Gysin’s trance-inducing Dream Machines will recognise a similar intent in Sykli. With the exception of the more measured “Mestari”, each track’s repetitive pulse is analogous with the blinking light emitted by a Dream Machine’s rotating slits. Although it’s unclear whether Siinai’s music is locked into the same patterns as brainwaves, the album is hypnotic. Listening while driving, cycling or even walking is not recommended.

The test of Sykli’s power will be in how it comes across live. On this evidence, there’s a good chance the four members of Siinai will assume the roles of shaman.

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