Tug Rec./Humpa Rec.
La Sega del Canto : Das Kekkonen (FIN,2002)***'
No doubt about the fact that a singing saw sounds rather funny. This cabaret-kind of group not only plays the musical saw very well for a change (most artists I have heard only pretend to master the instrument but they hardly do), they are also dressed up for making fun, visually. Every track somewhere has its musical saw arrangements. The songs are made for fun, with a bit of jazzy amplified guitar and bass and mouth harmonica, with some very satisfying artistic entertainment. The songs (with various instrumental parts) are partly in an in this case funny sounding Finnish, or in an even more funny sounding English. I found it also very original how they used a real saw in one track for leading sawing rhythms.
The four live bonus tracks are mostly singing saw solos on known melodies, like "Caravan" (Ellington), Swan (Saint-Saëns), Sous le Ciel (Giraud) and My Way (most known in the version from Frank Sinatra).
A bit more info from the band (2006) :
"We have this year our 10th anniversity year, new cd in march, book in summer and another cd in end of year. Also DVD coming if we get enough money for that. We do a lot of tours in Finland, German and Russia. Also we have been playing for example in Thailand, Poland, Austria, Italy, Estonia, Lithuania and Denmark. Trying to find agency from new countries (for example from Belgium, Netherlands and other EU-countries, just an hint:))
In live band is mixture of music and theatre, CD´s are theme cd´s around something. New cd "Light metal music" will be great collection of Finnish depressions. CD is like a book from birth to death."
Stupido Rec./Humpa Rec. La Sega del Canto : Light Metal Music
-the great collection of Finnish depressions- (FIN,2007)***°
This is the second title of this duo consisting of J.J.Calo (singing saw and complaints) and Mr.Pulp (pump organ, guitar, vocals, piano, saw, percussion) and a couple of guests on vocals, mouth harp, violin and slam. Title of this new album : “light metal music”, which refers to the saw, of course. Subtitle : “the great collection of Finnish depressions”, which is a collection of Finnish “losers”, alternated with funny, surprising humoristic, but never the less “depressed” remarks, and expressed dry as introductions for the songs and a few instrumentals (with words like the sad solo voice saying “another 2 beers”, or “one day I discovered the dark side of the moon” or “then my wife found another woman”). The songs hang together well and show a variety of emotions, accompanied by well played singing saw, with nicely arranged harmonies of a few other instruments, mostly pump organ and a bit of guitar, and a rhythm here and there. I can imagine with this collection how successful they can or could become on stage. I will pick out a few tracks with recognisable origin. “I wane be loved by you” is sung in Finnish, while pump organ, guitar and singing saw, are swinging extra hard with the few extra “bubelapup” vocal fantasies. With the theme of depressed fun, of course and no doubt, an instrumental like “Havannah Gilah” is not outplace. The singing saw plays here quite fast. “Sixteen Tons”, also in Swedish, has some extra, “certain” Latin rhythms. On “Näpit irti” it is the pump organ which is supper fast this time, like ska, while the singing saw sounds more romantic. A true romantic old time song like “Heartaches”, also sung in Finnish, is another fine choice to this collection. Very beautiful also is the inclusion of the melancholic “Adagio” (Albinoni) performed by singing saw and pump organ, -an absolutely convincing version. A great, recommended album. Where is Belgium on the tour list ?
