Elifantree

“Gig of the year”, enthused The Wire after witnessing this lively and playful trio live in 2009. “The experience is almost gestalt in its extremes of both power and delicacy, something of an aural hallucination”, said All About Jazz. Anni Egecioglu’s amazing vocals dance like an elf, sometimes hand in hand with Pauli Lyytinen’s effect-laden tenor sax, sometimes against it, while drummer Tatu Rönkkö handles the tempos in a most elastic manner. They spice their bubbling sound occasionally with synthesizers, piano, cello, melodika and glockenspiel. A most charming combination of pop melody, experimental jazz chops, weird grooves and punky attitude!
Elifantree has been active already for over five years. The debut album Love & Trees came out in 2010 and ended up on many a critic’s “year’s best” -list. It’s follower Time Out was released in the spring and will do at least as well simply, because very few bands can mix pop sensibility with avantgardish tactics and sound so energetic, appealing and uplifting. Very cutting-edge stuff, indeed!