Using the isolation of the COVID lockdown to increase creativity, pianist Aki Rissanen went into a musical retreat and came up with the idea of featuring a new and unique instrument, the “Omniwokr”, created by Finnish builders Jonte Knif and Jukka Ollikka. He uses it for a number of the original pieces on this “solo” album along with his more traditional grand piano, creating a soft mosaic of delicate moods.
The album is divided into two sections, “As Above” and “So Below” with the former in a reflective and more “classical” tone, as on the sonata’d “Vallons”, ruminting “My Finnish Heart” and the stately to dramatic “Cold Code”, with the title track a complex conversation. The second half features more of the Omniwork, with fuzzy tones mixing with dots, dashes, stops and starts on “Decipgered”, rapid repeating lines and electronic sounding effects on “Great Expectations” and violin hints during “One Goes in Straightforward Ways”. The two are bridge by a mix of traditional and modern effects on an interlude, but the new instrument is featured more as a addendum and not a gimmick distraction. Satie for the 21st Century?