Unilukkari (Finnish noun)
1. a church officer who would wake up sleeping people
2. (figuratively) one who provokes or arouses discussion, etc.

The debut album of new Finnish psychedelic dark folk duo UNILUKKARI was released on the 5th of April. Titled “Metsänpeitto” (Finnish for Forest Cover), the album delves deep into Finnish folklore and legends – especially their more obscure and strange side.

The album’s lyrics and spoken word segments are courtesy of Tonttufindergeneral Hanz-Baal (TFG), known from the martial industrial band TONTTU, while the instruments are performed by Markiisi.

“When we started working on this project, it was clear from the beginning that the subject would be Finnish mythology” says Markiisi. “However, we wanted to bring a fresh perspective to the material in some way. Quite a lot of folk metal and neofolk has been made about this subject, so we ended up with a slightly different approach, which came quite naturally from the depths of Finnish folklore. Finnish mythology has a lot of strange beliefs and peculiar characters, from which TFG drew inspiration from for the lyrics. Based on that, I got the idea to combine psychedelic folk with alternative rock and dark ambient.”

The album utilizes segments performed on traditional instruments like the jawharp, the kantele and the goat horn, to strengthen the folkloristic atmosphere. The psychedelic and ethereal synth soundscapes carry the listener from track to track. In places the album leans more towards folk, while in other places the songs turn into pure rock music, while also giving space for ambient interludes. As a whole, “Metsänpeitto” is a conventionally unconventional experience.

The album was released through Savo-Karelian Productions, and is available as a digital download and CD here.