Since CDs have largely become obsolete in the last 10 years and listening has moved over to Spotify, one can’t help but notice how often the same songs (often retro stuff, or songs from your favourites) are recommended through shuffling, selecting a song’s “radio station”, or the newer AI-generated daylists. Some of those daylist titles are amusing, pointed even. “Shiny city pop Wednesday.” “Midwest quiet folk afternoon.” “Lazy go outside today funk.” Ok, I made that last one up. The point is, human beings do a better job of curating music than computers.
Go to bandcamp.com and scroll to the bottom, where Bandcamp's staff shine the spotlight on their new favourites. Live events sit above this. At the top, you'll see a roll call of which single/EP/album or piece of merch is bought every second. In the last minute alone, listeners have made purchases in Ukraine, Romania, the UK, and Austria.
At one point, the independent record label Nature Bliss, run by Naohiko Sugimoto, floated into view on Bandcamp. Started in 2005, they have issued albums from within Japan, but also foreign selections including Frisian poetry, Argentine acoustic guitar, and at least five albums of Estonian music. This includes physical CDs — as explained in The Economist, “In 2023, 39% of recorded [music] revenues [in Japan] came from CDs…”). Sales are also made out of the Ethnorth Gallery in Taito City, Tokyo.
Each chosen melody flows through like a calligrapher’s brush, loosely and in unexpected directions. The higher inflections come in as flourishing whispers.
And two of these albums are by singer-songwriter Mari Jürjens (née Pokinen): 22 and 27, titles based on her age at the time of recording. Immediately, what's pleasant about her songs is her crystal clear, graceful voice. She doesn’t strain the notes. Each chosen melody flows through like a calligrapher’s brush, loosely and in unexpected directions. The higher inflections come in as flourishing whispers.
They’re not overproduced songs. Often it’s just acoustic guitar and her voice. As in the album 22, Jürjens sets the theme up with a distinct acoustic guitar riff that will underline the whole composition.
Of course, when there’s guitar and singing alone, listening to the lyrics is essential. “Sõpradele” is a song about true friendship that sustains you:
“Sõbrad tulge ja istume maha,
mul on vein ja ilmatum aeg
sellel hetkel just teiega tahan
olla koos ja teha üks naer
Leidkem aega, et kohale tulla
Pole tarvis teil pruukida suud
võime lihtsalt üksteise jaoks olla
Kui on öö, näiteks vaatame kuud”
No greater friendship exists than that, to simply enjoy being in each other’s presences.
She has some wine at home, yearning to sit and laugh with her friends. There's no need to even talk, they can simply be together. No greater friendship exists than that, to simply enjoy being in each other’s presences.
What gives goosebumps is the bend of the melody at the end of the chorus, when she points out the friends who have bid her call, before she plucks the resolving chord.
“Sest te olete siin, olete siin ja mina olen ka
Ja mina olen ka”
“Mõte” is also another highlight of the album, a super airy track with abstract lyrics. Over the decaying delay of Ott Kartau’s electric guitar, her lyrics ask for spring, its scents, sunbeams; imagining a peaceful childhood garden.
Jürjens has five studio albums (and is also an actress), so the aforementioned albums on Bandcamp are just a segment of her output. But 27, her album from 2016, includes a contender for her best song, “Tuhat elu”. Meaning “A Thousand Lives”, it’s a set of verses that reflects on growing complexities within her, as though she has lived through thousands of lives and intoxications — delight, sobriety, heartache, and joy.
“Minu sees on sada elu, sada tuhat joobumust.
Vahel kiuslik hingevalu, vahel hingemattev lust.
Vahel mina enesele hoopiski ei mahu pähe,
sest mu elu sinasele üldsegi mind pole vähe.”
Each new stanza she sings becomes more intense. An especially well-played version of the song is from her April 2020 studio concert.
So if you’re looking to refresh your music listening, set foot into the kinds of settings (digital and physical) that won’t just cater to what you’re familiar with.
