Lau Nau: Poseidon
New album out Nov/17/2017
on Fonal Records (FI, CD & digital), Beacon Sound (USA, LP) and Yacca / Inpartmaint (Japan, CD & digital)
CD order: Fonal Records
LP order: Beacon Sound
Japanese CD order: Inpartmaint
Laura Naukkarinen returns with her 5th album as Lau Nau. Poseidon has garnered a wide acclaim across media and fans. The biggest newspaper in Finland Helsingin Sanomat gives it ⅘ stars and Rumba magazine gave it 9,1 out of ten points and calls it Lau Nau’s best album and “one of the most important pieces of art” released this year. The album is also nominated for the best Emma (Finnish equivalent of Grammys) in the critics award category.
‘Poseidon’ is a suite of luminous, world-weary songs that exist in a world of all their own, treading the line between chamber folk and experimental pop with a distinctly Scandinavian melancholy. Centered around Laura’s beautiful voice and piano, the album also includes a small cast of guest musicians, including cellist Helena Espvall (Espers, Steve Gunn, Damon & Naomi), Swedish composer Matti Bye, and percussionist Samuli Kosminen on harmonium, kalimba and electronics. Samuli Kosminen has also co-produced the album, leaving a fingerprint of his artistic style. Each song is a gem of its own, with lustrous melodies spun from the web of seasons, by turns ghostly and earthy.
In Laura’s own words: “I was playing my grandmother’s piano and shortly realised that I was composing songs that were the beginning of a new album instead of the film music I was working on. The songs wanted to be performed by a character called Lau Nau. It’s the melancholic, always dreaming part of me that stands quietly on the stage and shares fractured moments with the audience. The songs on Poseidon are small secular prayers and messages of love, sorrow and care. Poseidon is a god of the sea but also the name of a certain bar in Helsinki. He veils us in the fog when the night falls.”
Composed by Laura Naukkarinen.
Played and arranged by Laura Naukkarinen, Matti Bye, Samuli Kosminen, Helena Espvall, Pekko Käppi and Antti Tolvi.
Lyrics by Laura Naukkarinen, translations in English by Pauliina Haasjoki and Laura Naukkarinen.
Recorded by Laura Naukkarinen, Matti Bye, Samuli Kosminen, Derek Moench, Pekko Käppi and Antti Tolvi in Kemiönsaari, Stockholm, Suomenlinna, Lisbon and Tampere 2016 – 2017.
Mixed by Samuli Kosminen at Ulappa Studio.
Produced by Laura Naukkarinen and Samuli Kosminen.
Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri at Black Knoll Studio (LP) and Sami Sänpäkkilä (CD, digital).
Released by Fonal Records and Beacon Sound 2017.
Cover art by Pauliina Mäkelä. The image was originally a flyer for the theatre piece Tyyppi vs. tulitikku.
Cover layout and typography by Bijan Berahimi / FISK.
Thank you for your support Georg Malmsténin säätiö, Musiikin edistämissäätiö and Galeria Ze Dos Bois ZDB.
Erityiskiitos rakkaille apujoukoille kotona!