Viima
Ajatuksia Maailman Laidalta

"Tarots and the North" (twelve writings each paired with a Major Arcana by Luis Royo)

"III. The Hermit"

Jukka Kinanen's illustration is enough to grasp the essence of the Finnish band Viima's debut: an old man, surrounded by a barely sketched, ethereal landscape, faces west of the viewer, his limbs motionless, his gaze entranced. Aristotle would have called him a "philosopher," pausing to examine the awe overflowing from his wide-open eyes, silent spectators of the incessant flow of events, inscrutable, too vast and complex to be deciphered by a single overwhelmed mind, which nevertheless continues to scrutinize and speculate on their hidden meaning.

Thoughts from the edges of the world. This is approximately the translation of the eloquent title of a lively yet introspective work, recorded in 2005 by a formation originally intended to revisit early Jethro Tull but ended up, driven by an invincible vocation, celebrating sacred unions between the melodic solo explorations of symphonic rock and the gentle rhythms of a rhythm section still faithful to the folk tradition. To this situation, already rather atypical, the lyricists decide to add the choice, far from popular but highly respectable, not to use English words, preferring to express themselves in a native language intimately connected to enchanting atmospheres of unmistakable Nordic origin, establishing a formula that will be reprised, despite stylistic divergences, in the following "Kahden Kuun Sirpit" of 2009, set in realms not so distant from the enchanted domains of the Greek Will-o-the Wisp.

"Ajatuksia Maailman Laidalta" is, objectively, an album quite easy to illustrate, as its scripts tend to replicate the same underlying scheme, where the roles of the protagonists are so extensive and recurring as to compel keyboardist Kimmo Lähteenmäki and Mikko Uusi-Oukari, in charge of the guitars, to divide themselves between convivial rural dances ("Leijonan Syksy"), village festivals culminating in joyous medieval carousel tournaments ("Ajatuksia Maailman Laidalta"), and quiet afternoons spent watching distant flocks of birds vanish into the diluted red of sunset ("Ilmalaiva Italia").
 
The tireless character behind the piano and various synthesizers, apparently not satisfied with his indisputable centrality within the project, is also credited as a drummer, wonderfully explaining the genesis of elementary rhythms that never sway conspicuously, content to accompany the evening relays between Anne Leinonen's flute and Kimmo Alho's saxophone ("Luuttomat") and, above all, Päivi Kylmänen's nostalgic voice, so expressive in telling the story of a wise sailor reminiscent of Jane Duboc in her vocal feats with Bacamarte ("Meri"). The other unmistakably overshadowed element is Jarmo Kataja's bass, hardly present except in brief whispers in the alleys of cities governed by the combined efforts of keyboard and guitar, both rulers, as if they were ancient diarchs of Sparta ("Johdatus").

Significant lineup changes will favor the creation of a second album more in line with progressive standards, but for this reason less curious and unusual than an eccentric and demanding debut, willing to reveal its effectiveness only in calm moments of stasis, when the mind, projecting beyond the atmosphere, allows itself to drift away in its contemplations, while places and outlines of things become, suddenly, only sketched.