KO:MI - 'Seven Things'
Picture by Heta Saukkonen
Finnish artist KO:MI combines electronic influences with nordic Indie-folk on ‘Seven Things’, the mysterious focus track from her new album, ‘We Said We Didn’t Know but We Knew’.
Finnish indie project, KO:MI, is the spellbinding work of multi-instrumentalist, Sanna Komi. On the surface, the music often feels fresh and light, which are undoubtedly qualities that ring true to the fresh and light aesthetics of Nordic countries. The sea, blue and grey skies, icy temperatures. These are all elements that play out like colours in a paint palette, used by KO:MI to create dreamy sonic soundscapes and conjure up images of vast open lands for whoever listens. It’s never not a magical listening experience.
This goes just as well for the track ‘Seven Things’ from their latest album, ‘We Said We Didn’t Know but We Knew’. Climbing up the tracklist to this point, we get almost Celtic-sounding string segments, all accompanied by confident, bouncy and unapologetically bizarre vocals- specifically on songs like ‘Invisible / Invincible’.
However, when ‘Seven Things’ begins, it’s instantly noticeably more skeletal than anything before it- a swelling synth-pad and ricocheting percussion holding up Komi’s and guest feature, Mikko Joensuu’s vocals throughout. The melody and the duet-like nature of this song makes it reminiscent of classical folk tunes that have been sung for years at campfires and near lakesides. When the string sections flood in, the song becomes tear-inducing, as though commanding us to cry or wallow in its melancholy.
The lyrics about obsessive love and holding a romantic partner high up on a pedestal, only to realise that their strong presence may just be smoke and mirrors, is something that not only is easy for everyone to relate to, but KO:MI manages to make it sound like a tragic personal tale- a unique experience. ‘Seven Things’ allows us to feel the full effect of Nordic nature without being present, and to wade in the wisely told tales of love that KO:MI so elegantly warns us of.
Words of Curtis Saunders