Helén, Kimmo: Helén -LP

Helen, Kimmo: Helén -LP
Svart Records v.2017
Black vinyl, ltd to 500 

Helén is the heart- and brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Kimmo Helén, known for his work with Hexvessel. Production- and music-wise the project’s debut, due out on February 17th on Svart Records, is a proper solo album, as Mr Helén is responsible for all vocals and instruments apart from cello and saxophone parts and a violin solo.

“As long as I’ve been active in music I’ve had the idea of making a solo album, an urge to create something entirely my own. This is it, an amalgam of my personal musical history since the beginning, with echoes of folk music, heavier sounds and anything and everything I’ve dabbled in over the years”, comments Helén.

In addition to band projects Helén has also worked in underground film, providing soundtrack material to for example Justin Oakey’s acclaimed short film The World Is Burning. An antithesis to the disciplined working methods required for film scoring, he sought total freedom for his solo project. “This is a journey of exploration, with no defining genre boundaries. Regardless, I aimed for a cohesive cycle of songs.”

This is by no means a concept album, but lyrically and mood-wise themes of melancholy and losing control are prevalent. Helén has chosen to express himself in his mother tongue, Finnish. “Some of the material came to me in dreams, other pieces are more personal and include snippets of actual events. I’ve often contemplated the concept of losing or giving up control of one’s self to someone or something outside yourself, and that is a theme which recurs often in these songs”, says Helén.

Svart Records is set to rehease the self titled album on February 17th. Cover artwork is by Antti Haapapuro (Arktau Eos).