Heikki Ruokangas & Friends

Based in Oulu, Finland, Heikki Ruokangas is an innovative guitarist, composer and improviser. By combining melody and noise, his music ranges from delicate and melodic atmospheres to avant-garde cacophony. Still in his ‘30s, he’s performed throughout Europe and released nearly 20 solo and collaborative recordings.

One of those is Äänisauna, a duet project with Anne-Mari Kanniainen. She is an award-winning accordionist and composer whose credits include various ensembles, solo performances, theater and a traveling circus.

Heikki’s second Right Brain Records release is 3 in Waiting, a trippy jazz trio project with Finnish bassist Jouni Isoherranen and American drummer/multi-instrumentalist Landon George.

Most recently, Heikki and Landon teamed up on a combustible duo album, Intro to Hunting Gods, which melds the energy of punk rock, the finesse of jazz fusion and the spontaneity of free improvisation into nine dynamic tracks.

As a duo Heikki and Anne-Mari manage to blend a love for Finnish culture and folk music with free jazz improvisation. This combination may be as unlikely as it is clear upon hearing it. Their goal is to create musical feelings and landscapes on the spot, using traditional themes to frame freeform exploration. In 2019 and early 2020 they performed together in various festivals, including Elojazz Oulu, Kaustinen Folk Music Festival, Etno Espa and Folklandia, among others. Their debut album, Sarja Kuvia, was self-released in 2020. They contributed a track to the 2021 Right Brain Records compilation Guitar Improv Summit Vol. 2. Since then, they’ve continued to deepen their remarkable musical chemistry.

Äänisauna’s nine pieces are spontaneous interpretations of various mental images, like riding the rails or making coffee, that build an arsenal of new textures for their familiar instruments. This album serves a bridge between centuries, though we can’t be exactly sure which ones.

“Äänisauna tarjoaa pieniä kuulokuvia vapaan ja abstraktin ilmaisun ystäville jotka haluavat musiikkia joka on haastavaa, mutta intiimiä.”
— Jazz Possu (Finland)
“Äänisauna floats between the tonal and textural, like two breathy beasts preparing for a brawl that devolves into a beautiful dance. ”
— Matt Benham, of Lotus Lungs

3 in Waiting came out of an open improvisation session in Oulu in the deep darkness of December 2022. Heikki was joined by Jouni Isoherranen, from Finland, and Landon George, who made the journey from North Carolina. Both are accomplished musicians, and the album highlights the trio’s experimental energy and easy chemistry.