Perttu Leinonen is making very interesting and creative music that is worthy of your attention right now. With abstract sound design and approaches to production that trace influences from drone, glitch, trip-hop, and IDM, Perttu is delivering visceral music that values expression over formula. “Happiness is Meeting an Old Friend” is a beautiful 10 minute journey that is both beautiful and cathartic in its impressive production.
Perttu Leinonen is a Finnish artist who created this tune with the intention of it feeling like a warm sonic hug. A “universal song for love and feeling happiness” is what he hopes for but like all instrumental music, the subjectivity of how it resonates is open for interpretation based on the listener. What is undeniable, is the range of emotions that will be felt. With beautiful pads, strings, and emotive vocal ad-libs at center stage behind the glitching rhythmic percussion, it’s easy to get lost in thought and time as the piece progresses naturally with no deliberate changes in its dynamics or sonics. At the same time, the song doesn’t feel repetitive because there are progressions and subtle changes within the individual sounds to keep it from ever feeling like digital looped music.
The warm bass line and faint piano and strings are almost telling a story that feels melancholic. The composition is arranged nicely to never make one sound overbearing. At the halfway point when the drums cut out for a few bars, it sets the table for a second act that is busier, but still in the same timbre realm to not take you out of the tune’s hypnotic state. The drum programming is impressive enough to give it its own focused listen too.
“Happiness is Meeting an Old Friend” is a refreshing tune that is proving Leinonen’s rightful place in the avant garde electronic scene. We look forward to hearing what’s next.
Written by Jon Kagan
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