Bands
Sigurdur Rögnvaldsson "Lúna"
Sigurdur Rögnvaldsson - electric guitar / compositions
Tuomas A. Turunen - keys & synths
Jori Juhtala - bass
Tatu Rönkkö - drums
Icelandic guitarist Sigurdur Rögnvaldsson's new album 'Lúna', with a brand-new lineup is out on the Eclipse Music label. With some of Rögnvaldsson’s favorite musicians from the vibrant Finnish jazz scene on board, the album features stellar turns from pianist Tuomas A. Turunen (Emil Brandqvist Trio), bassist Jori Huhtala (Raoul Björkenheim Ecstacy), and drummer Tatu Rönkkö (Efterklang).
The album's name 'Lúna' reflects feelings familiar to all of us from the pandemic times. However, Rögnvaldsson's compositions are far from melancholic. They are uplifting, groovy, and melodic. The overall sound of the album leans towards 70s jazz rock and fusion, accompanied by Fender Rhodes and analog synthesizers. The band's sound is rich and the improvisations are wild.
Photo: Jori Huhtala
Sigurdur Rögnvaldsson's Dark Forest
Sigurdur Rögnvaldsson - guitar / compositions
Johannes Sarjasto - alto saxophone
Eero Tikkanen - bass
Ville Pynssi - drums
Dark Forest is a concept band, founded by Sigurdur Rögnvaldsson in 2013. Based on Sigurdur’s compositions, Dark Forest invites the listeners to a journey through a dark and mystical forest, full of mutated creatures and their strange yet captivating stories in Kisima.
Kisima takes a unique and fresh approach to progressive jazz with rock influences. The album’s atmospheric and melodic qualities create a playful sound that draws from heavy riffs, dynamic drum beats, and screaming saxophone sounds.
Equally Stupid
Sigurdur Rögnvaldsson (IS) - baritone guitar, bass VI
Pauli Lyytinen (FI) - tenor, bass and alto saxophone, effects, synthesizer
David Meier (CH) - drums
Icelandic/Finnish/Swiss Equally Stupid is a powerful and energetic jazz trio founded by Sigurdur Rögnvaldsson, Pauli Lyytinen and David Meier. The music is furious and intense yet melodic and it ́s built on imaginative compositions and rhythmical layers. Equally Stupid ́s critically acclaimed debut Exploding Head was released by Finnish label Eclipse Music in February 2014 and their second album Escape From The Unhappy Society in January 2017.
All three members of Equally Stupid are active and versatile artists who have been touring internationally with their projects for over a decade in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. Some of their most active projects from the past few years are Elifantree, SchnellerTollerMeier, Sigurdur Rögnvaldsson's Dark Forest, and Raoul Björkenheim eCsTaSy.
”Sensitivity and powerful playing are bursting out inspiringly. Both Lyytinen and Rögnvaldsson enjoy the rough and the brutal but upon closer inspection the nasty and the beautiful come together in harmony in Equally Stupid's music.”
★★★★★ (5/5)
Pentti Ronkanen, Keskisuomalainen 23.01.2017
Sähkökitarakvartetti
Sähkökitarakvartetti is a Helsinki-based electric guitar quartet that represents different backgrounds, aesthetics, and approaches to the instrument. The quartet focuses on the breaking down of imaginary boundaries in relation to the sonic arts, the only constant being the guitar. By commissioning and performing pieces candidly, the group has found themselves in a wide range of settings: from fragile reductionism to extreme sludge drone, from uncanny conceptualism to sublime chamber music.
The quartet has premiered pieces by composers such as Clara de Asis, Léo Dupleix, Sami Klemola and Lauri Supponen and performed e.g. in the esteemed Musica Nova festival in Helsinki.
Juhani Grönroos, gtr / Lauri Hyvärinen, gtr / Jukka Kääriäinen, gtr / Sigurður Rögnvaldsson, gtr
