Search - Nuspirit Helsinki :: Nuspirit Helsinki

- Robert Whiteman

audiostar | Chicago, IL USA | 08/07/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Finland's Nuspirit Helsinki is a sizable crew of DJs, producers, and musicians, a veritable "Big Band" of nu-jazz. We've heard this recipe before - from Japan's United Future Orginazation, to Jason Swinscoe's Cinematic Orchestra, to Germany's Compost Crew, Jazzanova - an elite few the world over have been fusing hip hop, neo soul, broken beat, two step, and drum and bass with afro-latin vibes and jazz-funk instrumentation and textures. Led by Tuomas Kallio and Hannu Nieman (a.k.a. DJ Ender,) Nuspirit Helsinki's take on the genre is a focused and mellow one, less ecelectic and staccato than Jazzanova, less brash than UFO, and less sprawling than Cinematic Orchestra's expansive arrangements. Theirs is a warm layered sound, thick with dubbed out reverb and detached yet sultry soul. On their full-length debut guest vocal spots are handeled by Naked Music's Lisa Shaw, Brooklyn neo-soulster Nicole Willis, Chicago poet Chuck Perkins, and Nuspirit's own resident chanteusse Ona Kamu. Perhaps the most affecting vocal perfromance is the Finley Quaye-esque atmospeheric electro-dub lead by a man called Daddy Ous on "Hard Like A Rock (Nuspirit Emorph)." Other highlights include "Orson" with its organic percussion and 4Hero-style strings, and the horn-driven future-bop of "Seis Por Ocho (original jazz session mix)." Equally at home on the deep-house dancefloor or in the sophisticate's lounge, Nuspirit Helsinki's debut is a refined, accomplished, set of well-crafted amd atmospherically consistent tunes."

Pulseradio.net - Rob Roy

audiostar | Chicago, IL USA | 08/06/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Coming in from the cold, Finland's Nuspirit Helsinki have released a nu-jazz gem that propels them to the forefront of the dance music community. Nuspirit Helsinki's remixes and singles on prominent labels such as Jazzanova-Compost, and Ubiquity have drawn high praise from the Downbeat elite. Combining soul, jazz, funk, dub, and a blend of big band, this Finnish collective have released their first full-length album on Chicago based Guidance Recordings. Well known for putting out high quality House, Dub, World, and Downbeat compilations, Guidance has definitely struck gold with the signing of Nuspirit Helsinki. Founding members Tuomas Kallio and Hannu Niemenen formed the group in '98 while drawing from the talent pool in Helsinki to add the right flavor required to produce this eclectic array of music. Spending a great part of 2001 working on this album, the guest vocalists who have contributed to this release include: NYC based Nicole Willis, Chicago spoken-word artist Chuck Perkins, and Finland's own Ona Kamu. Having up to 15 multicultural members contribute to an album is truly amazing. You can tell right away that this album was recorded with lots of emotion. It has a sense of "freestyle" that almost sounds as if they amassed a group of artists together in a room, pressed the "record" button and came out with an amazing blend of live strings, horns, drums, and vocals. "Trying", an uptempo tune featuring the female vocalist Mercury, is coupled with a minimal bassline, organ, and percussions combo that works exceptionally well. "Circular Motion", easily one of the highlights of the CD, has a nu-breaks drum pattern that gets you head nodding from the start. A smoky saxophone, and relentless guitar/organ weave in and out of the track creating the right atmospheric appeal. Also out on a 12" single, "Hard Like a Rock", Ghanian Daddy Ous's plea for liberation, is a Dub-inspired journey aimed at the wicked "system". Check "Orson" for some "worldly" percussion work, and the nu-jazz tune "Seis Por Ocho" to round out this eclectic broken beat release. Every time I listen to this CD I hear something I hadn't picked up the last time. If you are open-minded enough to explore the jazz/funk/dub/soul arena, then this CD will stay in your player for a long time. It almost seems impossible to have them duplicate the tracks in a live performance, but astonishingly they have plans for a full US tour sometime this summer from Helsinki with love. Highlight Tracks : 3. Trying 5. Circular Motion 6. Hard Like a Rock 8. Orson 11. Seis Por Ocho"

A must buy for fans of sexy rhythm

Alexander B. Anderson | Dallas, Texas United States | 07/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As one would expect, this album features fantastic and always interesting percussion (much of it "broken beat"), great horns, and a variety of vocalists, all of whom would be described as soul. Additionally, it features a lot of strings and enough electronica for ear-candy enthusiasts to satiate their sweet ear! This music will make you want to move, and I mean that in the most sexual way possible. In my book, very few albums receive 5 stars. This one gets a 4.5 and is good enough to make me round up.Songs of Note:
Subzero - Starts slow with soft piano, beautiful horns and then landing in chillout heaven and a peaceful heaven it is.
Trying - Great hip-hop beat, spare instrumentation featuring guitar and bass, and leads you straight to D'Angelo's Voodoo lounge. After about 1:20 of instrumental music, in comes beautiful soul diva vocals. Sexy.
Orson - This one starts with violin, some nice ear-candy flourishes, and then proceeds to feature fantastic percussion that propels the song beautifully along.
I wonder - Spoken word. Wouldn't want a whole album of it, but I've not at all tired of this song. More strings, and once again just fantastic percussion.
Skydive - A 10 minute free fall. Love the trumpet - does the guy ever breathe? Awesome. And some great electronica flourishes."