With a name that loosely translates as "vast plain" in the band's native tongue, Finland's Aavikko often uses its drums and keyboards to evoke the wide-open spaces of spaghetti-western soundtracks. The trio also reconfigures surf and spy music, as well as ska, disco, and video game soundtracks, channeling everything through turbo-charged vintage synths. You could say that the band's 1996 self-titled debut and 1998's Derek full-length resemble Donkey Kong on crank -- a sound the band's label, Bad Vugum, coined "maniacal monkey jazz." Throughout the loony tunes, keyboardists Paul Staufenbiel and Tomi Kosonen blaze away on flea market Yamahas, while "human metronome" Tomi Leppaenen (also in Finnish drone-prog act Circle) pounds out a drum machinelike rhythm.
Computer Boys
Details
Wednesday, July 10, at 9 p.m.
Tickets are $7
621-4455
Also Tuesday, July 16, 10 p.m. at
the Ivy Room, 858 San Pablo Ave.
(at Solano), Albany. Tickets are $5;
call (510) 524-9299.
Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St. (at
Missouri), S.F.
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Hailing from the burg of Siilinjärvi (at live shows band members often bark, "We are not from Helsinki!"), Aavikko has steadily garnered an international following with its goofy, hyper-pop ditties. To the uninitiated, however, Aavikko recordings can be a puzzling listen, sounding akin to someone plugging pre-programmed MIDI keyboards into a distorted guitar amp and taping the result. But closer inspection reveals a band quite unlike any other -- one with charm, humor, and compositions more insidiously infectious than the rhinovirus.
The Aavikko sound has transfigured in recent years, incorporating mellower textures and additional instruments like saxophone. Yet, even with the more subdued electro-lounge of 2000's Multi Muysic, Aavikko still offers a subtle weirdness. And reportedly the band has a new single out with (gasp!) vocals. Another recent project is a split 7-inch with Oakland's Mono Pause, on which the two bands cover each other's songs. The two groups are setting off on a jaunt together -- calling it the Finland-Oakland International Co-operation Tour -- with tonight's show marking Aavikko's U.S. debut.
If you need another reason to check out the performance, be aware that Euro-pop band Stereo Total, which has toured with Aavikko in the past, raves about the band's frenetic live shows. "It's like movie music -- sometimes really fast -- and it has something really Finnish in it," writes Stereo Total member Françoise Cactus via e-mail. "Live, they are really funny and beautiful, and we recommend them to you." Funny andbeautiful? What more do you want?
