Nurkostam: 1908 (DVD)

The Finnish progressive rock band Nurkostam have been around for a few years now having released their debut XIII in 2005. Their last studio album was C released in 2009. You can read reviews of those albums on this site. Their latest musical endeavor is a DVD entitled 1908 and is quite an interesting beast.

1908 is a short film documentary about the Tampere Fire Hall which first opened its doors in 1908 which should not come as a big surprise given the title of the film. The film is set in the fire hall and the surrounding town of Tampere during 1970s. Scenes of the Tampere firemen battling fires, committing search and rescue operations, training and leisure activities are included for your viewing pleasure. It is actually quite an interesting film and I did find it enjoyable to watch, mostly because of Nurkostam's music. I am not sure exactly how Nurkostam became involved with this project but apparently the original score for the film was lost and Nurkostam was asked to contribute their considerable talents to the film.

I think the band does an admirable job matching the music to the DVD's various scenes. As the images become more intense so does the music. This is some of the band's spaciest music yet thanks to the wonderful use of effects and various keyboards and synths. At times the music slowly builds but never gets very heavy, often staying in the mellow end of the spectrum. The keyboards seem to float through the soundscape with gentle guitar passages adding to the ethereal textures. As the music increases in intensity it develops more of an edge, the tones become darker and the guitar has more bite which should make fans of the David Gilmour 'school of guitar' happy.

Considering this is Nurkostam's first foray into film music they should feel proud of what they have accomplished here. Although this may have limited appeal for those outside of Finland, anyone interested in history may find this a worthwhile thirty minutes and hey, the music is quite good. 1908 is a Kipinäraina production.

Track Listing:
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Added: May 8th 2011
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band's Official Site
Hits: 3103
Language: english

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