We Jazz Records’ sibling label Other Power launches a new archival series of Finnish electronic and experimental music pioneer Pekka Airaksinen’s vast archives of previously unheard music. Hevajra, out October 23rd on vinyl and digitally, is an album recorded in 1985 and now receiving wider distribution for the first time ever.
Pekka Airaksinen (1945–2019) was a versatile artist known particularly as a pioneer of electronic music and a significant figure in Finnish avant-garde. Born in Helsinki, Airaksinen was a painter, musician, composer, poet, and meditation teacher. His artistic career began in his youth, and his creativity manifested in both music and visual arts. In the early 1970’s Airaksinen developed his own composition system, which evolved and was used throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The system aimed to create compositions similar to traditional classical music without conventional logical structuring. Instead, Airaksinen aimed for associative creation, defining specific elements on which the composition was based. The compositions often had mathematical formulas and conceptual foundations, such as stars or buddhas. Airaksinen also explored the transfer of information from one system to another, for example, transferring verbal information into music through numbers or mathematics.
The music heard on Hevajra was born under lucky stars. Airaksinen plays all the instruments on the album and the music is filled with positivity and energetic playfulness. Hevajra was preceded by 18 Airaksinen albums and he released some 50 more after it. The pieces heard on this album, except for one, were heard again on the 1997 CDr release Union In Space, prior to which the material was made available in tape form in 1985. When thinking about Airaksinen’s output in terms of stylistic eras, the material herein comes right after a wild and experimental period (1968–1976), followed by a more mellow Buddhist music period 1978–1990 of which Hevajra is also part of. Hevajra was preceded by Mangala (1986, reissued by One Point Life in 2015), and followed by 1987’s In Balance (aka Mahavastu) which is stylistically much rawer than the previous two albums.
But who or what is the mysterious Hevajra? Hevajra is is a meditational deity and enlightened being in Tantric (Vajrayana) Buddhism, an ideal figure approached through meditation. Hevajra provides strength to overcome negative thoughts, Hevajra dances, trampling negative forces (emotions). This is reflected in Airaksinen music on this album, filled with humour and playfulness.
It is easy to think that Airaksinen’s Hevajra, had it been more widely distributed in 1985, would have caused a major stir in the music scene. Nothing like this had been done in Finland before it. The only release bearing any close resemblance to it could be Ajatuslapsi by Esa Kotilainen (1977, Love Records), which is also a landmark release in the canon of Finnish music. In Airaksinen’s vast repertoire, Hevajra is one of the more easily approachable recordings. The three albums previously reissued by the label One Point Life Mangala, Vitamins and Love and Additiction are recommended for all listeners who enjoy this release.
Text adapted from liner notes by Timo Laitakari and Sami Pekkola.