I have to confess, I run out of words when it comes to TENHI. Almost every album is a fabulous masterpiece and only described in words of the superlative. And so I have to do with Folk Aesthetic, again a wonderful masterpiece, a musical gem of folkloristic melodies and soundscapes.
Folk Aesthetic 1996-2006 marks the 10th anniversary of this exceptional Finnish band and comes as a 3 CD box in a book-like digipack with a 76-sides booklet full of lyrics, translations, liner notes, photos and the impressing drawings of brimming creative all-rounder Tyko Saarikko.
Folk Aesthetic 1996-2006 exclusively contains unreleased or rare material and is a Must-Have for every fan of this kind of music!

CD 1 contains the very first demo Kertomuksia (97) with its three songs Näkin Laulu, Havuisissa Saleissa and Tenhi, whereas the second one surprises with black metal leanings I wouldn’t have expected; the MCD Hallavedet (1998) with its melancholy-draped and deadly beautiful title-track and the Airut:Ciwi MCD from 2000. All of these 3 releases are officially not available anymore.

CD 2 comes with the missing song from the 97 promo tape and a conglomeration of to date unreleased songs, alternative versions, demo songs and the bonus tracks from the re-released debut Kauan.

CD 3 is nothing less than a full and to date unreleased album entitled Kaski, which wasn’t written in a regular session but contains songs that were composed during TENHIs entire history. These songs are definitely no outtakes just put together. It’s a coherent and homogeneous album, with many instrumentals, very quiet and markedly dark.

What’s left to say? I just highly recommend Folk Aesthetic 1996-2006 to everybody generally open-minded and accessible for this kind of music. That is truly fare for the soul!