Out Of Touch

In this age of constant connectivity, switching off has become one of the great luxuries of modern life, and it's one of the reasons Jaakko Eino Kalevi has called his new album Out of Touch. On his second efort for Weird World - a follow-up to his 2015 self-titled release - he explores what he calls this "essential, blissed out" state, and meditates, in classic Jaakko fashion, on the merry-go-round of the daily grind. Written and produced by Jaakko in 2017 in studios in Helsinki and Berlin, these 10 new songs are among the richest he has composed. Ranging in style from the Gerry Rafferty swagger of "China Eddie" and Motown psych of "This World" to the Aegean dub of "Conceptual Mediterranean Part 1" and continental pop of "People in the Centre of the City," each song is characterized by that familiar Jaakko warmth and melodic flair. It feels like a natural step forward for an artist whose all-round skills have led him down some intriguing paths. Notably, he played on David Byrne's American Utopia album, and was invited to join the line-up of Crammed Discs' cult Belgian new-wave band Aksak Maboul for a run of shows.