Antero Mentu - 2024 - N​ä​in Unta Kaukaisesta Maasta

(38:46; Eclipse Music)






















Track list:
1. Unia I 4:55
2. Unia II 6:07
3. Unia III 5:01
4. Unia IV 7:38
5. Unia V 5:53
6. Unia VI 9:12

Line-up:
Antero Mentu - guitars, bass, keyboards, percussion
Otto Eskelinen - flute, keyboards, percussion
Amanda Blomqvist - drums, percussion
Jesper Anastasiadis - bass
Markus Pajakkala - flute


Prolusion.
Finnish artist Antero Mentu is a bit of an unknown quantity for me, and while it seems that he has been around for the better part of the last decade there is little information easily available about his background nor of his creations. From what I can tell he has released three studio albums at this point. "Näin Unta Kaukaisesta Maasta" is the most recent of these, and was issued through Finnish label Eclipse Music in the spring of 2024.

Analysis.
This isn't an album that, strictly speaking, revolves all that much around the progressive rock tradition. But it is a creation that might be of interest to fans of progressive music, in that it does cover some bases that had an impact on the development of progressive rock in the first place.

While the songs are named as being a part of a totality here, it is a totality that contains very individual parts. While the opening orchestral inspired creation comes across as a cross between a fanfare and a dirge, the second part use folk music elements and what sounds like a Mellotron to create a dreamladen landscape with occasional similarities to the moods created by a band such as Camel back in the day. The third part is a playful blend of jazz and world music elements, while the fourth chapter revolve around textured sounds and what might or might not be drones, with a bit of a world music seasoning. Cold and ambient oriented floating landscapes dominate the landscapes we find in the fifth chapter here, and then we get a more organic psychedelic and cosmic trip in light and dark tones in the concluding and sixth chapter of this instrumental journey.

This is very much an album with an introverted spirit in my view. Headphone music, or music you listen to in seclusion, inspiring internal journeys of the mind and introspection. Psychedelic music with folk music and world music ingredients, with some jazz flavors and cosmic tendrils occasionally appearing.

Conclusion.
For those with a taste and affection for a more introspective musical experience, and that appreciate an artist that makes use of psychedelic, folk music and world music elements inside of a context that cover orchestral inspired landscapes, ambient music and possibly some gentle elements from the rock music tradition, this is an honest and organic sounding creation that comes with a bit of a timeless sounding quality to it. Perhaps not progressive rock, but my perception is that music of this kind, way back in the day, was the kind of creations that inspired the progressive rock style to develop.

Olav "Progmessor" Björnsen, January 2025

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557444204303
http://www.eclipsemusic.fi/

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