Kiri Ra! (FI/SE)

It is likely that the word combination ‘kiri’ and ‘ra’ means nothing at all, at least in any widely known language. And this probably is why the band is called Kiri Ra! as it is also not trying to be anything at all – and certainly not to guide the reception of its music with verbal descriptions. This is also underlined by the song titles on the ensemble’s second album, nen (2026), such as ream, omewhere, oem, eroplane and ahiahi.

Rather than an inexplicable whim, however, Kiri Ra! is quite the opposite. Keyboardist Matti Bye (b. 1966), saxophonist Linda Fredriksson (b. 1985) and synth player Laura Naukkarinen (b. 1980) have been playing together for over twenty years. At their improvised concerts, they have at times also accompanied silent films – as musicians used to do a hundred years ago.

The trio’s unnamed first album (2021) was based on a commission of exactly this type, which Stockholm-based Bye had received from the Swedish Film Institute. Bye was already familiar with playing for moving images, as he has composed music for over thirty films, even including three Finnish dramas (One Last Deal, Life After Death, Tove).

At the improvised evening concert at Telakka, the band and the audience must imagine music without pictures, allowing the slow flow of existence to carry them away, with each sound bearing a lot of weight. Of course, it is ultimately up to the listeners to make up their minds.