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The hotly-tipped jazz trio Mopo releases debut album "Jee!"

"Jee!", released by Helsinki's Texicalli Records, is an energetic outburst of jazz drawing from punk and the nature of Finland.

Mopo, one of the most potent newcomers in the vibrant Finnish jazz scene, release their eagerly-awaited debut album in April 2012. The release showcases just what the local jazz aficionados had already known: Mopo embodies all the necessary ingredients to make themselves a force to be reckoned with in the international jazz circuit. The sonic starting point for their music is jazz but their "take no prisoners" approach is not unlike that often found in punk. The band also have a self-reported inspirational reference point in "the Finnish nature"

Mopo was founded upon sheer intuition, at a bar in Helsinki's "Vallila" quarters. Band members Linda Fredriksson (sax), Eero Tikkanen (double bass) and Eeti Nieminen (drums) build their sound on the solid foundation of a natural connection on the personal level. The remarkable communication witnessed when Mopo plays live is a result of their common knack at finding new musical directions, and sharing a freedom for taking the necessary steps and missteps in searching for them. It's all based on friendship and mutual trust among the trio, although the band states that there are the occasional fights "where instruments are frequently being thrown at fellow band members".

This natural emotional strenght offers an explanation for the overtly enthusiastic reactions of the listeners, common at early Mopo gigs. Energy breeds energy. The high potential of Mopo was also noted by the jury of the Finnish leg of the Young Nordic Jazz Comets band contest, where Mopo walked away with the first prize and a slot at the Nordic finals.

What Mopo now brings on tape embodies the magic of the moment, so often a sought-after commodity in jazz music, at its freshest. The sessions included a live studio gig, results of which can also be heard on the new album on tracks such as high-octane "Metsärukkanen". A one trick pony they are not, as witnessed by more serene efforts such as the ballad "Jäähyväislaulu". It seems that there's always a surprise around the corner with Mopo, and the evolution of musical dynamics is always high on the trio's agenda.

The band themselves offer the following summary of their sound: "Mopo is a combination of humour, speed, melacholy, darkness, pranks and anarchy".

On occasion, the Mopo live line up includes illustrator Anna Tahkola, who has also contributed on the album cover design. The music comes alive in Tahkola's live drawings, which are done simultaneously and in connection to Mopo's on-stage antics. During those moments, Tahkola is a member of the band with a pencil as her instrument. She describes the images as being "both serious and amusing, just as the music of Mopo".