Simon Svoboda has taken us into the ethereal depths of winter on his intriguingly complex new EP, ‘Kaamos’.
The five-track collection sees the Australian-Finnish musician take inspiration from Kaamos, the time of year in Finland where the sun barely rises.
The duality of that period, which Svoboda describes as both “truly beautiful and eerie”, is felt all throughout ‘Kaamos’, with each track touching on an aspect of Finnish winter with magically sinister results.
Taking cues from his time as an active part of the Finnish classical scene, ‘Kaamos’ opens with the enrapturing string arrangements of the title track.
While it’d be easy for Svoboda’s cello to take centre stage as it veers from angelic tinkles to jarring whirs, ‘Kaamos’ is just as focussed on vocal work.
Here, Svoboda harmonises with the strings to create a soundscape that’s somehow enchanting and menacing in equal measure.
We’re taken further into Svoboda’s bewitchingly dark winter wonderland on ‘Halla’, which derives its title from the Finnish word for ‘frost’.
Fittingly, the track feels like icy daggers with its punchy cello strings and glassy vocals, swelling to mountainous heights before fading as if on a never ending horizon.
Later, Svoboda belts out some truly powerhouse vocals as a backing organ reaches anthemic heights, before ‘Usva’ ushers in the EP’s more reflective moment.
While much of the tracklist could be considered ambient, it’s this track — named after the Finnish word for ‘smoke’ — that feels the most contemplative.
Flowing like an oral odyssey told around a campfire, the song features moments of near-silence as Svoboda delivers pristine croons, interspersed with villainous strings that seem pulled straight from a horror movie.
Penultimate track ‘Valo’ is similarly focussed on storytelling, and brims with airy, wistful harmonies that align with its focus on ‘mist’.
Svoboda’s efforts culminate on ‘Savu’, which translates to English as ‘light’ and fittingly offers dazzling moments of brightness.
There’s stirring violin moments courtesy of collaborator Varvara Vasylieva, and other strings so pristine and delicate they might just break.
If the earlier tracks were Svoboda taking us on a voyage through a dark yet beautiful winterscape, then ‘Savu’ is the light at the end of the tunnel; an EP closer that marks the end of our odyssey.
“There is something truly beautiful and eerie about this period of darkness,” Svoboda explained in a press statement, “and I aimed to reflect this in the music.”
‘Kaamos’ is the result of support from the Finnish Art Foundation, and comes in the year in which Svoboda received a 2024 scholarship from the institution’s Koneen Säätiö. It’s also the work of a talented and complex artist who is clearly in his prime.
Listen to Simon Svoboda’s new EP ‘Kaamos’ below.
