They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But with some records it’s actually helpful, because the cover practically screams what kind of music is inside. That’s the case with the re-released debut 10″ from Oiro Pena, the one-man project from Finnish multi-instrumentalist Antti Vaukohnen. The silk-screen printed cover looks like the cover of a long-lost private pressing from the 70s that was issued in a run of 20. It could be a previously unknown record by the cosmic Afrofuturist Sun Ra, or it could be by the mythical proto-hippie Eden Ahbez. And somehow both play a role in Oiro Pena’s music.
Something is always going on in the background of the Finn’s spiritual flute jazz; it clatters and rattles, the instruments Vaukohnen plays all by himself circle and intertwine, everything seems a bit offbeat. This is the good old Sun Ra school, which is especially evident on the last track “Pritzch”. Here Vaukohnen offers everything he has: saxophone, flute, piano, double bass. The slightly off-kilter Eden Ahbez folk factor can be heard on the EP, especially in the flute playing. But beware: a slight penchant towards Eso-New Age sounds helps a lot when listening to “Oiro Pena”.
