The average music fan is inundated with choices. Europe and America spew albums at a dazzling rate, and even the remaining continents (save Antarctica, for now…) seize the spotlight every now and then. Only a small chunk of this output can feasibly be heard. Of that, a smaller chunk still can be appreciated. And not only has the Internet brought music closer to the hungry listener, it's also fragmented music. We hear snippets of Real Audio, questionable leaks, single-track iTunes downloads.
How to make sense of this? A common response is to look for connections. Critics—the most media-numb among us—struggle to create scenes and mine for influences. This game of connect-the-dots provides some much-needed structure to an otherwise befuddling mess. The flood of music freezes into a regular grid with a place for every album, each only a few degrees of separation from any other.
This organization provides some satisfaction, thought it ultimately leads to exhaustion. Clumsily cataloguing diverse music takes considerable effort. Eventually one must escape and recharge.
A stint outdoors revives the spirit. Nature is a welcome balm for the brain burnt out by networking. Thankfully, the natural world doesn't refer to anything outside itself.
Experimental Songcycles, the long-running project of Fonal labelhead Sami Sänpäkkilä, exists in such a natural vacuum. Despite his label's seminal role in advancing the New Weird Finland trend, Sänpäkkilä takes a different route. Sateenkaarisuudelma hews closer to modern classical than psychedelic folk, though Sänpäkkilä cares little for genres. Sateenkaarisuudelma focuses on beauty rather than context. It provides seventy amazing minutes that need no analysis.