Islaja - Laivat Saapuu

I disagree somewhat with the terming of the group of Finnish artists to which Islaja is attached as "freak folk." While the American brand of that genre is quite distinct and has discernible stylistic ties to 60's folk, the Finnish sort is a bit in its own world. It contains elements that conjure much more ancient images—thatched roofs, hand-hewn tools, and deep kettles. It is perhaps a darker take on the psychedelic movement that is slowly but definitely sweeping the artistic world.

"Laivat Saapuu" ["Boats Arriving"] projects scattering indigenous ghosts onto persistent clangs and meditative wind instruments. If the text seems somewhat like a religious chant, it may be because it draws from the Finnish version of the Lord's Prayer: Aamen, aamen ja vielä aamen/ laivat saapuu/ isä meidän, the last phrase meaning "Our Father."