PLOP & JUNNU - PLOP & JUNNU (2022)

PLOP is celebrating their 15th anniversary together as a trio by releasing their fifth album PLOP & JUNNU. On the album the collective of saxophonist Mikko Innanen, bassist Ville Herrala and drummer Joonas Riippa is enjoying the company of a true living legend of Finnish jazz, saxophonist and flautist Juhani “Junnu” Aaltonen.

Helsingin Sanomat wrote something like this about their second album per se nine years ago: “PLOP are doing research on the possibilities of jazz. What is jazz and what is it not? The six-year-old trio are trying to answer these questions in their own existential way.”

PLOP and Juhani Aaltonen performed together for the first time in the summer of 2018. As common musical ground was easily found, they decided to continue their cooperation. In September 2020 the foursome made a recording for the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE in the legendary Finnvox Studios where Juhani has recorded non-stop since the 60s (everything from schlager to avantgarde).

The recordings are now released by Fiasko Records. All the tunes were composed during the first Covid year, including Letter to Han, Mikko Innanen’s dedication to Han Bennink and Täysistunto, a description of a plenary session in the Finnish parliament; Ville Herrala’s Totnoy, a word-play in the composer’s native Turku dialect and Joonas Riippa’s Yeah-Gary!, featuring a six-piece wind ensemble playing background hits. On the all-improvised tracks Alasumu and Saareke, kyllä vain you can hear improvisers from different generations melt together in a hotchpotch of sounds.