Finnish guitarist Raul Bjorkenheim towered in Krakatau's albums
Ritual (Hieronymous, 1988 - Cuneiform),
Alive (Hieronymous, 1989),
Volition (ECM, 1991), and
Matinale (ECM, 1993).
Bjorkenheim's guitar was in high demand during the 1990s. In particular, he
joined Paul Schutze's Phantom City for Site Anubis (Big Cat).
Revelator (Innerhythmic, 1998), containing four lengthy jams, was
a collaboration with Nicky Skopelitis, but unusually laid-back and even sleepy
for Bjorkenheim's standards.
Bjorkenheim's solo
Apocalypso (Cuneiform, 2001) was scored for thirty guitars, eight basses and four drumsets, all played by him in person.
The Scorch Trio was formed by guitarist
Raul Bjorkenheim with the rhythm section of
bassist Ingebrigt Haker Flaten and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love (both members of the Thing with saxophonist Mats Gustafsson).
Their free improvisation is documented on
The Scorch Trio (january 2002),
Luggumt (january 2004) and Brolt! (october 2007 - Rune Grammofon, 2008).
After Live In Finland (december 2016),
Nilssen-Love was replaced by drummer Frank Rosaly on
Melaza (2010).
Meanwhile,
Dmg @ the Stone Volume 2 (Dmg/arc, 2008) was a collaboration with bassist William Parker and percussionist Hamid Drake, and
Blixt (Cuneiform, 2011) was a collaboration with Bill Laswell.
Box Studio 1 (2008) was him with Trevor Dunn (bass), Stale Storlokken (keyboards) and Morgan Agren (drums).
The Scorch Trio of guitarist Raoul Bjorkenheim, bassist Ingebrigt Haker Flaten and drummer Frank Rosaly recorded Made In Norway (may 2011) with guest multi-instrumentist Mars Williams.
Frank Rosaly composed the two suites of
Centering And Displacement (Utech, 2012) according to a complex
algorithm that mixes computer manipulation and chance.
His Malo (february 2015) was no less challenging, manipulating assorted
percussion with electronics.
Raoul Bjorkenheim recruited Pauli Lyytinen (saxophones), Jori Huhtala (contrabass) and Markku Ounaskari (drums) for Ecstasy (Cuneiform, 2014) that contains: El Pueblo Unido, with an anthemic Gato Barbieri-esque melody by Pauli Lyytinen's sax and a thundering, jarring guitar solo; the dissonant noir vignette Through the Looking Glass; and especially the dadaistic percussive orgy Subterranean Samba.
Its follow-up,
Out of the Blue (december 2012),
contains some surprises:
the sophisticated shuffle for gamelan metallophone and ancient oboe A Fly In the House of Love, which is the exact opposite of the metal-jazz for which the quartet was best known;
and especially
the ten-minute subliminal suspense of Zebra Dreams, a shroud of
sparse sounds against a tense paleo-African beat of percussion and guitar staccatos from which a lyrical saxophone aria slowly rises.
Another exotic pearl, OLJ, is perhaps the best display of instrumental prowess: synth-like glissandoes from the guitar, polyrhythmic tiptoeing from the drums, lugubrious bass saxophone phrases.
Half of the album is not what one expects. The rest is more conventional, but
the jovial whirling swinging Quintrille wins over
the metal-jazz frenzy of Uptown.
Heads and Tales toys with a half-baked circular melody that coalesces only at the end in a visceral crescendo.
However, there is much more to enjoy in the "exotic" pieces than in the
hard-bop ones.
Bjorkenheim formed Triad with drummer Ilmari Heikinheimo and bassist Ville Rauhala, which debuted on Beyond (october 2016).
Raoul Bjorkenheim’s Doors Of Perception (june 2017) featured
Pauli Lyytinen (bass, tenor, alto and soprano saxophones, wood flute), Jori Huhtala (double bass) and Markku Ounaskari (drums and percussion).
Awakening (november 2016) documents a live collaboration with
flutist Juhani Aaltonen
of Tasavallan Presidentti and the UMO Jazz Orchestra.
Bjorkenheim's Inaugural Sound Clash For The Two Americas (january 2017) contains the 56-minute suite Against The Empire Of Alternative Facts performed with Bill Laswell (bass), Hideo Yamaki (drums) and two other guitarists, Dominic James and Mike Sopko.
Raoul Bjorkenheim's Solar Winds (april 2019) featured
an Italian trio: Silvia Bolognesi (contrabass), Tiziano Tononi (drums, percussion, gong) and Emanuele Parrini (violin).
The concept album
Ars Transmutatoria Iku-Turso (june 2022), about
a legendary sea monster of Finland, was recorded with
Jorma Tapio (flute, saxophone), Sampo Lassila (double bass) and Michel Lambert (drums).
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