Buscar:tru tru song

They disbanded in 2015, much to the chagrin of their dedicated fanbase, leaving behind a highly influential body of work, including two gold- selling albums (United Paper People and Hymns for the Nonbeliever) and a slew of hit singles such as "Opinions Won't Keep You Warm at Night," "Do-Do's and Whoa-Ohs," and "Dinosaur." In mid-2025, alongside the vinyl reissue of Hymns for the Nonbeliever-- which reentered the Australian Album and Vinyl charts at #1-- Kisschasy released their first new music in sixteen years. "Lie to Me" and follow- up single "Parasite" both offer a modern edge to the band's trademark sound: blistering guitars, hammering drums, razor-sharp lyrics and, of course, irresistible hooks. It can now be revealed that these two songs form part of a larger body of work: a long-awaited fourth album.

Titled The Terrors of Comfort, the collection of ten brand-new songs finds Kisschasy at the peak of their creative powers. Band member Daz Cordeux describes the album as "raw, alive and commanding" and "the closest you're ever going to get to the true essence of our band." The Terrors of Comfort, Kisschasy's first new album since 2009, will be released on February 13, 2026

Banda Black Rio is a Brazilian musical group from Rio de Janeiro that was formed in 1976. They were one of the first to undertake the fusion of Essential Brazilian Music with International Black Music. The songs are based on funk but also including samba, jazz and Brazilian rhythms. Compared to other soul-funk groups, such as Kool & the Gang and Earth, Wind and Fire, Banda Black Rio developed a particular style of instrumental soul music fusing together elements from a number of genres. With saxophonist Oberdan Magalhães, trumpet player Barrosinho, Cristovão Bastos on keyboards, Claudio Stevenson on guitars, Jamil Joanes on bass and Lucio Silva on trombone. Arrangements are from Cristovão Bastos and Claudio Stevenson. The album “Saci Pererê” was originally released in 1980.

Acoustic Bass: Nobuyoshi Ino
Acoustic Piccolo Bass: Isao Suzuki
Alto Saxophone: Sadao Watanabe
Arranged, Conducted, and Piano: Masahiko Satoh
Drums: Motohiko Hino
Guitar: Sadanori Nakamure

The beautiful new world that master bassist Isao Suzuki built with the support of a diverse group of musicians finally returns to life after nearly 50 years!

With his deep musical insight and collaboration among some of Japan’s finest jazz artists, Isao Suzuki created a work of timeless beauty that now resonates
once again in the modern era.

Crystal Tides’ long-awaited debut album Toothpaste is the sound of a band truly coming into their own. Written and recorded completely independently, the record embodies the spirit of resilience, creativity, and raw honesty that has carried the Portsmouth outfit through their journey so far. “We wanted the focus of this album to showcase our independence as a band. We felt it important, given our journey thus far, that it come from us in as raw form as possible.” The seeds of Toothpaste were planted back in 2022 with rough voice notes on lead singer Billy’s phone, evolving into a collection of songs that capture both the band’s infectious energy and their most personal reflections to date. From collaborative writing sessions in the practice room to late-night home demos, every track carries the DNA of Crystal Tides’ unity and determination. Working with long-time collaborator and producer David Evans, the result is a bold, heartfelt body of work that celebrates their independence while delivering polished, stadium-ready anthems. The album takes its name from one of its most intimate tracks. Toothpaste was born out of Billy’s battle with Ulcerative Colitis, which led to life-changing surgery. A passing joke about naming the album after the song became a moment of clarity. It's unusual, striking title felt like the only choice, a symbol of the band’s authenticity and ability to find meaning even in the unexpected.

Stoop Kid is the jangly indie rock project of Diest-born Jens Rubens. After Camp Careful (2021) and Mount Cope (2023), Stoop Kid returns with his third full-length album Office Overdue, a ten-song collection that captures the quiet fatigue, flickering humor, and
fragile hope of keeping it together in a world that won't slow down.

'Office Overdue' is a collection of songs Jens made at home in his modest home studio. For this album, he wanted to let go of pressure and expectations more than ever, and only work on music when he genuinely felt like it.No fancy studio, no producer, just walking upstairs and messing around. The result doesn't always sound perfectly polished: the drums are sometimes clumsily programmed and more than a few wrong notes made it onto the record. The guitars were allowed to hit a bit harder this time, with the '90s slacker vibes coming through more prominently. The result is a record that feels raw and honest, and above all, was made purely out of enthusiasm.

Office Overdue explores the attempt to keep functioning in everyday life while the world around us feels on the verge of collapse. The songs move between mental exhaustion and self-reflection, carried by a dry, sometimes bitter humour that helps lighten the weight. The album focuses on repetition and routine, and on the tension between wanting to care for others and being trapped inside one's own head. Themes of anxiety, guilt and dissociation recur throughout, but are always accompanied by small moments of connection, gentle resistance and acceptance. Office Overdue embraces the mess, the doubt and the false notes, without drawing grand conclusions. Not everything is resolved, but the persistence remains.

All football teams for some reason or other adopt a song and make it their own. In many ways to sing along to or chant over, as their team roll out onto the football pitch. Mal-one a big fan of the instrumental track, likes the way they can set and capture the mood. He has adapted one of his tunes ‘Rude Boy Shuffle’ to help push up West London’s finest team ‘Queens Park Rangers’. In true reggae style he has added the version dub excursion to its B-Side, for further
enhancement. We hope this reggae inspired ditty hits the mark and hopefully the back of the net.

The album begins with the title track (Blossom) a light and immediate song composed by Besson. Also composed by Besson are 'Kyoto dans la brume', inspired by a stay in Japan's imperial city, and 'La Course', originally written for three slapstick short films by Fatty Arbuckle starring Buster Keaton. Suarez's composition ' Sans laisser d'adresse' , was initially written for a stage play titled ' Ici Nougaro' , and his ' Le jour J a l'heure H' for a film by director Jean- Henri Meunier. 'Les Tuiles Bleues' is a nod to Suarez's late friend, Malagasy accordionist and singer, Regis Gizavo.

There are also three covers on the album, 'Answer Me' by Gerhard Winkler and Fred Rauch, a composition recorded by Keith Jarrett during his 2016 European tour; Besson cites Jarrett as a major influence. There is also Carla Bley's ' Ida Lupino' and Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays' ' Au Lait'. These and their own compositions result is Blossom' ', a highly accomplished album on which trumpet and accordion shine in equal measure.

Tears Before Bedtime is the sparkling new album by the Would-be-goods, Jessica Griffin’s band of pop adventurers. Since The Camera Loves Me, their cult classic 1988 debut for the legendary él Records, they have blazed a musical trail through indie guitar pop, with a garage band edge and forays into other territories - glam rock, tango, French chanson… The result is unique and timeless.
The songs on Tears Before Bedtime balance delicacy and power. Perfect pop melodies are delivered in Jessica’s gorgeous and idiosyncratic voice. Her lyrics are intelligent and wry, wistful and witty. Every song tells a story, taking us on a journey through space and time, from belle époque Paris to a 1960s London biker café, from a riverbank in ancient Greece to a 1970s teenage bedroom.
Listening to a Would-be-goods album is like wandering through a gallery of portraits. Innocence gives way to experience. Danger lurks amid the lights of the funfair in the 1950s carousel whirl of The Gallopers. The sinister Dr Love promises heaven but sends you down to hell, to the sound of a last dance in a smoky soul basement. A nymph meets a god in disguise in a garage-band take on a Greek myth (Tears for Leda). The Rose Tattoo is the tale of a doomed love in a sultry Southern state. Don't Come Crying To Me flames an ex-lover to the sound of Bollywood horns and shivery guitar. In Madame X a portrait painter vents his fury on a spoilt socialite beauty. The album closes with a sweetly jazzy lullaby (The Moon Doesn't Mind).
The Would-be-goods began playing as a full band in the 2000s and have been previewing some of these songs at recent shows in England, Scotland, France, and Spain. The album was recorded in London with Jessica on guitar and vocals, Peter Momtchiloff (Heavenly, Talulah Gosh) on guitar, Debbie Greensmith (Thee Headcoatees and many others) on drums, and Andy Warren (The Monochrome Set, Adam and the Ants) on bass. Guest musicians have contributed organ, piano, vibraphone, cello, trumpet, and flute to make this the richest-sounding Would-be-goods record yet.

Die Wurzeln von Cyclone aus Belgien, einer der populärsten Vertreter des europäischen Thrash Metal, gehen zurück bis 1981. In diesem Jahr wurde die Band in Aalst ursprünglich unter dem Namen Centurion aus der Taufe gehoben. Als ihre Musik immer härter wurde, entschloss man sich zur Umbenennung in Cyclone. Nach einer Serie von Demos unterschrieb man schließlich bei Roadrunner Records, wo 1986 das heute legendäre Debüt-Album »Brutal Destruction« erschien. 1990 folgte »Inferior To None« auf Justice Records, ehe man sich drei Jahre später auflöste. 2018 standen Cyclone von den Toten auf und waren seitdem live außerordentlich aktiv (mit eigenen Shows sowie bei prestigeträchtigen Festivals wie dem Headbangers Open Air). Die aktuelle Besetzung der Band besteht aus: Maxime Deschamps (Leadgitarre), Jesse Van Den Bossche (Rhythmusgitarre), Vincent Heyman (Bass), Gabriel Deschamps (Schlagzeug) und Guido Gevels (Gesang). Gevels sieht das neue Werk »Known Unto God« als die perfekte Kombination von »Brutal Destruction« und »Inferior To None« an: „Allerdings haben wir streng darauf geachtet, uns nicht selbst zu kopieren. Es gab kein Recycling. Entschieden haben wir uns für kürzere Songs, als es die meisten auf »Inferior To None« waren. Überflüssige Riffs wurden gestrichen. Wir wollten unseren old-school Sound einfangen, aber mit einem neuen Touch, ohne dabei an Eingängigkeit zu verlieren. Mein Lieblingssong auf der Platte nennt sich ‘Nothing Is Real‘. Er beleuchtet eine etwas ungewöhnlichere Seite von Cyclone. Hier zeigt sich deutlich die Inspiration der NWOBHM und des US Metal der frühen achtziger Jahre. NWOBHM-Bands wie Satan, Holocaust, Angel Witch, Sweet Savage, Diamond Head und Venom sind seit jeher ein großer Einfluss auf unsere Spielweise.“

Logical Absurd is very proud to present the 20th Anniversary of the album "She And Me Fall Together In Free Death" by Nurse With Wound. "She and Me Fall Together in Free Death" is probably the most approachable, largely "musical" album that NWW has released since Rock N' Roll Station. It's also one of his strangest concepts, a marriage of trance inducing Krautrock grooves with a traditional jazz standard and some jarringly atonal musique concrete. Side A is the 20- minute title track: a slow-motion jam reminiscent of of one of Can's sidelong tracks on Tago Mago or the more avant-garde grooves of Tony Conrad and Faust's Outside the Dream Syndicate.

The propulsive Jaki Liebezeit drumbeat is the foundation for a long jam session with what sounds like a dijderidoo and layers of guitar feedback. It's a massive, heavy sound, the kind that Julian Cope would devote a whole chapter to in his "Kratrocksampler". Side B is one long piece with three distinct movements. Beginning with those familiar, World Serpent-trademark windchimes, the listener is quickly ushered into Staple- ton's singing debut (!) in a rendition of the oft-covered traditional jazz ballad "Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair" This was a favorite of the recently deceased Nina Simone, and also of the avant-jazz screamer Patty Waters. Nurse With Wound's version is backed by cello drones, repetitive guitar strums and tambourine, sounding very much like The Velvet Un- derground's "Venus in Furs".

It's such a treat to hear Steven Stapleton's multitracked vocals cover this classic song, and this eerie version rates as one of my favorites. This song and the title track prove to the naysayers that Nurse With Wound is equally adept at rock n' roll songcraft as he is at demented sound collages. The creepy jazz cover seques into "Chicken Con- cret (For Missy E)", a truly warped tape-edit job that juxtaposes chicken squawks and sythesized birdcalls with random bleeps, speaker hiccups and gongs.

As the fifth chapter in the band's discography, " The Neonai" arrived at a critical juncture in Lake of Tears' career, marking both an end and a reluctant new beginning. Released in 2002, three years after the melancholic masterpiece Forever Autumn, the album came to life under less-than-ideal circumstances.

Despite the commercial and critical success of its predecessor (the band's best- selling album to date) Lake of Tears found themselves adrift, unsupported by their label at a time when the world expected them to rise higher than ever. Instead of world tours and deserved recognition, the band withdrew, disillusioned, and made the difficult decision to put all activities on hold. But one last obligation remained: to deliver a final album to Black Mark Productions. What could have been a soulless, contract- bound release turned out to be anything but. "The Neonai" pulses with haunting melodies, infectious refrains, and a deeper embrace of keyboards and electronic textures, without ever losing the emotional gravity and sorrowful beauty that define Lake of Tears.

If this album was truly written "in haste," then let us hope Daniel Brennare continues to compose under pressure, for rarely has urgency sounded so inspired. As with the previous vinyl releases, we do not single out any specific tracks. Each song, like every Lake of Tears album, carries its own unique charm, its own shade of shadow and light. "The Neonai" is not simply a continuation, it is a transformation, an echo from a band caught between endings and new beginnings. Another gem in the band's catalogue, a masterpiece where the doom/ gothic equation tilts gracefully in favor of the latter. A deeply cherished album, long adored by Lake of Tears' devoted followers, who have waited patiently for 23 years to finally see it released on vinyl. After all, every ending is but the beginning of something new. And as we've said before: The end for Lake of Tears has not yet come, and we truly hope it won't come for a long, long time.

As the fifth chapter in the band's discography, " The Neonai" arrived at a critical juncture in Lake of Tears' career, marking both an end and a reluctant new beginning. Released in 2002, three years after the melancholic masterpiece Forever Autumn, the album came to life under less-than-ideal circumstances.

Despite the commercial and critical success of its predecessor (the band's best- selling album to date) Lake of Tears found themselves adrift, unsupported by their label at a time when the world expected them to rise higher than ever. Instead of world tours and deserved recognition, the band withdrew, disillusioned, and made the difficult decision to put all activities on hold. But one last obligation remained: to deliver a final album to Black Mark Productions. What could have been a soulless, contract- bound release turned out to be anything but. "The Neonai" pulses with haunting melodies, infectious refrains, and a deeper embrace of keyboards and electronic textures, without ever losing the emotional gravity and sorrowful beauty that define Lake of Tears.

If this album was truly written "in haste," then let us hope Daniel Brennare continues to compose under pressure, for rarely has urgency sounded so inspired. As with the previous vinyl releases, we do not single out any specific tracks. Each song, like every Lake of Tears album, carries its own unique charm, its own shade of shadow and light. "The Neonai" is not simply a continuation, it is a transformation, an echo from a band caught between endings and new beginnings. Another gem in the band's catalogue, a masterpiece where the doom/ gothic equation tilts gracefully in favor of the latter. A deeply cherished album, long adored by Lake of Tears' devoted followers, who have waited patiently for 23 years to finally see it released on vinyl. After all, every ending is but the beginning of something new. And as we've said before: The end for Lake of Tears has not yet come, and we truly hope it won't come for a long, long time.

As the fifth chapter in the band's discography, " The Neonai" arrived at a critical juncture in Lake of Tears' career, marking both an end and a reluctant new beginning. Released in 2002, three years after the melancholic masterpiece Forever Autumn, the album came to life under less-than-ideal circumstances.

Despite the commercial and critical success of its predecessor (the band's best- selling album to date) Lake of Tears found themselves adrift, unsupported by their label at a time when the world expected them to rise higher than ever. Instead of world tours and deserved recognition, the band withdrew, disillusioned, and made the difficult decision to put all activities on hold. But one last obligation remained: to deliver a final album to Black Mark Productions. What could have been a soulless, contract- bound release turned out to be anything but. "The Neonai" pulses with haunting melodies, infectious refrains, and a deeper embrace of keyboards and electronic textures, without ever losing the emotional gravity and sorrowful beauty that define Lake of Tears.

If this album was truly written "in haste," then let us hope Daniel Brennare continues to compose under pressure, for rarely has urgency sounded so inspired. As with the previous vinyl releases, we do not single out any specific tracks. Each song, like every Lake of Tears album, carries its own unique charm, its own shade of shadow and light. "The Neonai" is not simply a continuation, it is a transformation, an echo from a band caught between endings and new beginnings. Another gem in the band's catalogue, a masterpiece where the doom/ gothic equation tilts gracefully in favor of the latter. A deeply cherished album, long adored by Lake of Tears' devoted followers, who have waited patiently for 23 years to finally see it released on vinyl. After all, every ending is but the beginning of something new. And as we've said before: The end for Lake of Tears has not yet come, and we truly hope it won't come for a long, long time.

As the fifth chapter in the band's discography, " The Neonai" arrived at a critical juncture in Lake of Tears' career, marking both an end and a reluctant new beginning. Released in 2002, three years after the melancholic masterpiece Forever Autumn, the album came to life under less-than-ideal circumstances.

Despite the commercial and critical success of its predecessor (the band's best- selling album to date) Lake of Tears found themselves adrift, unsupported by their label at a time when the world expected them to rise higher than ever. Instead of world tours and deserved recognition, the band withdrew, disillusioned, and made the difficult decision to put all activities on hold. But one last obligation remained: to deliver a final album to Black Mark Productions. What could have been a soulless, contract- bound release turned out to be anything but. "The Neonai" pulses with haunting melodies, infectious refrains, and a deeper embrace of keyboards and electronic textures, without ever losing the emotional gravity and sorrowful beauty that define Lake of Tears.

If this album was truly written "in haste," then let us hope Daniel Brennare continues to compose under pressure, for rarely has urgency sounded so inspired. As with the previous vinyl releases, we do not single out any specific tracks. Each song, like every Lake of Tears album, carries its own unique charm, its own shade of shadow and light. "The Neonai" is not simply a continuation, it is a transformation, an echo from a band caught between endings and new beginnings. Another gem in the band's catalogue, a masterpiece where the doom/ gothic equation tilts gracefully in favor of the latter. A deeply cherished album, long adored by Lake of Tears' devoted followers, who have waited patiently for 23 years to finally see it released on vinyl. After all, every ending is but the beginning of something new. And as we've said before: The end for Lake of Tears has not yet come, and we truly hope it won't come for a long, long time.

Vintage recording equipment has long been a bit of a fetish, but to sound pioneers Voka Gentle, even the most magical machines are a means to an end. The band, made up of twins Ellie and Imogen Mason, along with Imogen’s husband, William J Stokes, are a family band in the truest sense. Whilst they started as a folk trio, their new album Domestic Bliss is an album of throat-grabbing, avant-garde indie rock songs studded with eccentric choices: a synth with its keys jammed, playing a tune of its own making; field recordings – Morris dancers, motorbikes – captured on binaural headphones.

Domestic Bliss is concerned with power: the abuse of it, being on the cusp of it, and what it really means. The album is
teaming with imaginary people in picaresque scenes that reveal the band’s rich cultural storehouse. The songs draw on history, literature, everyday life and pop culture references (specifically Jude Law’s 1995 Vogue cover), with tracks like Cheddar Man reflecting on climate change and prehistory and Creon I tracing the unease of authority through the lens of Greek mythology.

Recorded in the orchestral studios of City University, the album folds intimacy into scale, from phone-recorded vocals and samples of breath to heavy, tribal electronics in grand acoustic spaces. The result is by far their most refined record yet, where the band treat the recording studio like an instrument.

Despite its title, Ratboys’ new album Singin’ to an Empty Chair is not defined by what’s missing. Rather, it’s the beginning of an important dialogue with a close loved one, vocalist Julia Steiner finds herself estranged from. The music on the band’s sixth studio album – its first for New West Records – fills the space that person left behind with 11 songs showcasing Ratboys at the peak of their powers — twangy, effervescent, as confident as they’ve ever been, and perhaps more emotionally interrogative than ever before. The four-piece Chicago band followed up 2023’s highly acclaimed The Window by reconvening with co-producer Chris Walla to begin tracking at a rural Wisconsin cabin before taking the songs to Steve Albini’s famed Electrical Audio studios in Chicago and later to Rosebud Studio in Evanston, Illinois. The results veer from bubbly power-pop on “Anywhere” to irresistible post-country on “Penny in the Lake,” along with heart-piercing ballads like “Just Want You to Know the Truth” and an exhilarating detour into the extraterrestrial on “Light Night Mountains All That,” which Steiner dubs the band’s mammoth “wormhole jam.” Singin’ to an Empty Chair also marks the first Ratboys album written since Steiner began therapy, which the singer/lyricist credits for the clarity found across the album’s unflinching examinations of relationship and self. Fittingly, as the album begins by extending a hand into the void, it concludes with a scene of serenity – all while weaving candid honesty, humor, chaos, and whimsy along the way. “It's not all doom and gloom,” Steiner says. “The experience of making this record definitely gives me hope for whatever happens next.”

Despite its title, Ratboys’ new album Singin’ to an Empty Chair is not defined by what’s missing. Rather, it’s the beginning of an important dialogue with a close loved one, vocalist Julia Steiner finds herself estranged from. The music on the band’s sixth studio album – its first for New West Records – fills the space that person left behind with 11 songs showcasing Ratboys at the peak of their powers — twangy, effervescent, as confident as they’ve ever been, and perhaps more emotionally interrogative than ever before. The four-piece Chicago band followed up 2023’s highly acclaimed The Window by reconvening with co-producer Chris Walla to begin tracking at a rural Wisconsin cabin before taking the songs to Steve Albini’s famed Electrical Audio studios in Chicago and later to Rosebud Studio in Evanston, Illinois. The results veer from bubbly power-pop on “Anywhere” to irresistible post-country on “Penny in the Lake,” along with heart-piercing ballads like “Just Want You to Know the Truth” and an exhilarating detour into the extraterrestrial on “Light Night Mountains All That,” which Steiner dubs the band’s mammoth “wormhole jam.” Singin’ to an Empty Chair also marks the first Ratboys album written since Steiner began therapy, which the singer/lyricist credits for the clarity found across the album’s unflinching examinations of relationship and self. Fittingly, as the album begins by extending a hand into the void, it concludes with a scene of serenity – all while weaving candid honesty, humor, chaos, and whimsy along the way. “It's not all doom and gloom,” Steiner says. “The experience of making this record definitely gives me hope for whatever happens next.”

,Long Time Caller, First Time Listener" ist der Nachfolger des Kult-Debütalbums ,Things Are Gonna Be Alright" der aufstrebenden Londoner Indie-/Alt-Country-Band Vegas Water Taxi aus dem Jahr 2023. Es vereint die gefeierte EP ,Long Time Caller" mit ihrem Nachfolger ,First Time Listener" und zeigt das Talent von Vegas Water Taxi-Frontmann Ben Hambro für tödlich witzige Songtexte, die sich nicht vor der allzu realen Traurigkeit in ihrem Kern scheuen. VWT fängt den kulturellen Zeitgeist perfekt ein und bricht den prahlerischen Charme der Americana durch ein eindeutig britisches Prisma: US-Roadtrips, Trucks und Whiskey in Spelunken werden gegen nächtliche Overground-Fahrten, Klatsch und Tratsch der Kreativdirektoren aus Dalston und Scampi-Pommes im Spurstowe Arms ausgetauscht.

Best known as the frontman of the influential indie rock trio Dinosaur Jr., J Mascis has also been a solo artist, producer, and film composer. Getting his start as a founding member of the hardcore band Deep Wound, Dinosaur Jr. was founded in 1984 and the group emerged among the most highly regarded alternative rock. By introducing volume and attack in his songs Mascis shed the strict limitations of early 1980’s hardcore, becoming an influence on the burgeoning grunge movement. Mascis’ body of work continues to inspire a generation of guitar players and songwriters today.


In 1997, Dinosaur Jr. disbanded and Mascis released More Light, his first recording under the moniker J Mascis + The Fog. Members and collaborators of The Fog have included Mike Watt (Minutemen / fIREHOSE), Ron Asheton (The Stooges), Robert Pollard (Guided By Voices), Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine), Dave Schools (Hard Working Americans / Widespread Panic) and Kyle Spence (Harvey Milk).

We Jazz Records kicks off their new series of archival 7" releases with Esa Pethman "In Belgium 1967" released 23 September 2022. The two-tracker is licensed from the Belgian VRT radio archives and both of the pieces are previously unreleased. Finnish jazz legend Pethman, heard here on alto flute and tenor sax, joins forces with European jazz greats such as Heinz Bigler, Uffe Karskov and Jean Fanis. This is a small but valuable piece of unheard European jazz history from the early heyday of modern jazz. The physical release is a quality "inside-out"-styled EP with 3mm spine and small center hole on the 45rpm vinyl.

An excerpt from the liner notes by Mikko Mattlar:

"Esa Pethman (b. 1938) was one of the key figures of modern Finnish jazz in the 1960s. His album The Modern Sound Of Finland was the first Finnish modern jazz album and his composition "The Flame" a true modern Fenno-jazz evergreen.

Pethman was born in Kuusankoski, 135 kilometres from Helsinki in the Kymenlaakso area. The jazz scene was active even though it was an area of rural landscapes and paper mills. Pethman discovered jazz when he heard a Charlie Parker record being played at a local music shop in the late 1940s. Following Parker, bebop became his favourite style of jazz.

Young Pethman played flute and saxophone in local bands who accompanied schlager singers. They played tangos and waltzes for dancers, but usually started a typical dance event with an hour of jazz. In 1959 Pethman moved to Helsinki to study music at the Sibelius Academy. Back then it was a strictly classical music academy, but Pethman later described the studies as crucial for his development and career. He quickly made his way to studio sessions and into the best orchestras in Helsinki.

As a student of composition, Pethman also began writing his own music. "The Flame" was a melody he just got on his mind one night, and he decided to write it down. The catchy composition was released as a 7" single in 1964, a year before Pethman's debut album. Both records stand as benchmarks for modern Finnish jazz. The album consisted entirely of Pethman's compositions, not versions of jazz standards like a lot of the Finnish jazz released until then.

In the mid 1960s, Finnish jazz was also taking its first international steps. Pethman's quintet took part in the first Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland in June 1967. At the Montreux jazz band competition, the quintet came in fourth of the twelve contestants. Despite not winning the competition, the band got an honourable mention, and Pethman was now recognized outside Finland.

In December 1967 Pethman travelled to Brussels. His visit was organised by the national Finnish broadcasting company Yleisradio and their jazz program producer Matti Konttinen. Konttinen was supposed to go to Brussels with Pethman, but the musician ended up traveling alone.

In the Decca recording studios Pethman played two songs. He recorded a version of his most famous composition "The Flame", where he played the alto flute and was accompanied by Belgian musicians. On Swiss saxophonist Heinz Bigler's composition "Like Steel", Pethman played the tenor saxophone. The band was now more international, consisting of Bigler, the Italian Francesco Santucci, the Dane Uffe Karskov, a Belgian rhythm section and Pethman. After 55 years, Pethman still remembers Bigler's remarkable skills as a saxophonist.

The two-day visit included the recording session, a dinner and a concert. Pethman and the other non-Belgian musicians came to Brussels mainly to play at a jazz concert organised by the European Broadcasting Union EBU. They played at the studio first, and the concert was held the following day. Pethman and all the other soloists played as members of an international big band. The studio and live session were produced by the Belgian Radio and Television jazz section leader Elias Gistelinck."