Instinct - Instinct (1986)

Instinct was a fusion jazz band lead by guitarist Ilkka Niemeläinen. He had been playing acoustic guitar in the fantastic world fusion band Wasama Quartet some years earlier. Here he plays all electric. Niemeläinen also composed all the material - apart from the last track, for which he shares the credit with Esa Kotilainen (they also produced the album together.) All of the songs are more or less twisted in their melodic and harmonic nature, which comes apparent after 5 seconds of listening. Take the song title 'Avant Rock' as another hint. Nevertheless the songs are strangely appealing, especially after a few listens. 

Niemeläinen plays most of his solos with a somewhat blurry tone, that sometimes tends to disappear in the mix. I can't say he's as convincing here as he was on the Wasama Quartet's album. Niemeläinen leaves most of the solo space to saxophonist Pentti Lehti, one the of most prolific session musicians in Finland. The rest of the lineup is also interesting. Keimo Hirvonen was on the drummer's seat on several albums of Pekka Pohjola in the 1980s and would later play in Cool Sheiks; a band of groove refugees in the musically depressing 1990s. Jussi Liski is an occasional bass player (like on this album) but he's mainly a keyboard player. He used to play keyboards in Pekka Pohjola's band aswell. Esa Kotilainen, a finnish synth music pioneer and a member of the cult band Wigwam, is not really a jazz musician, but has ventured into various jazz rock and prog projects during his long career, and has been the man to hire whenever credible synth backing is needed. Same is the deal on Instinct, as Kotilainen is not there to play solos, but rather to create a contemporary audial backdrop ranging from synth "brasses" to strange soundscapes. He's constantly present, but never takes the lead. (Take a peek at the man and (some) of his gear in the late 70s.)

Instinct cut 2 more albums over the next four years, External Loop in 1988 and We Dance the Skube in 1990, both of which were released on CD.