Aho, Atte: Atte Aho

Helsinki-based fusion guitarist Atte Aho is impressive and delivers top-notch instrumental music that will have guitar lovers licking their chops. The opening “Labyrinth� is chock full of tasty guitar wizardry and the song itself is quite tuneful. He’s sneaky good, the tracks often have a laid-back feel, but there is fire in his playing. Tracks like “Ulan Bator� simmer and allow Aho to showcase his melodic licks, yet, you never feel like he’s showboating. Guest keyboardist Jasse Merivirta adds his stamp with the electric keys, followed by those fluid legato lines by Aho. “Wave� presents a different side featuring absolutely gorgeous piano courtesy of Kasperi Kallio; add cello, violin, and some subtle guitar and you have a winner. If you liked this track, “Guidance� has the same approach, an atmospheric piano that carries the song, and when Aho’s guitar kicks in with some punch, they work perfectly together.

Check out Aho’s phrasing on “Atomic Man�, he knows how to play for the song, especially here where it comes across as a vocal line. This is the type of track that once Aho gets cooking, I wish it would go on forever; he goes from smoldering to absolute fire. “Elastic Energy� is another track that cooks, I can’t say enough about how enjoyable his playing is to my ears, and the track includes some keyboard leads, so everyone gets a chance here. The closing “Firecracker� is aptly named, an upbeat track with intricate guitar lines as the band grooves and propels Aho to rip it up. As with many of the tracks, this one morphs into a cool keyboard-led section and then falls right back to where it started.

Guitar-led instrumental albums are often praised for what a great technician the player is, but then criticized that there is no feel and no songs to back up the ability. Well, Aho certainly has feel, and these songs are well-arranged and structured. This appears to be Aho’s debut release, and he’s the kind of player I want to hear more from in the future, so let’s hope for more, and make it soon!

Track List:
1. Labyrinth
2. Ulan Bator
3. Wave
4. Atomic Man
5. Guidance
6. Elastic Energy
7. Bankok Nights
8. Firecracker

Added: January 2nd 2024
Reviewer: Eric Porter
Score:
Related Link: Artists @ Bandcamp
Hits: 275
Language: english

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