In more recent years, my musical journey has led me slowly and steadily into the psych scene of Finland, through great events like INFECTED MUSHROOM, Kosmos Festival, and the Helsinki Psych Fest. This year, the latter of those organized an intimate 2-day festival at their Love Potion Club called Love Potion Psych Fest. It ran from November 10th-11th, 2023, at the Playhouse Bar in Helsinki.
With doors at 18:00 and the first band set for 20:30, the club allowed for attendees to arrive and get comfortable before the music began. The first act of the night was the EMOLA-HATSINA STRING BAND, who began their set with one member running a screwdriver, and later a violin bow, across an electric guitar as synth players fiddled with knobs. The music was long-form, progressive, and rather spacey, in a psychedelic sort of way. However, the immediate first highlight of the night was when one of them picked up the absolutely massive sitar that was sitting on the small catwalk, adding a distinctly Indian flavor to the sound. The first song lasted the better part of half an hour, before they greeted the crowd and and spoke a little about themselves and introduced either an album or the second song to be “Hobo Sapiens.” This track shifted away from the heavy synth sound, focusing more directly on the sitar and guitar, with the other band member leaving the stage. This second song was only a few minutes long and wrapped up their set, showing off an intriguing sample of sounds!
BUKO SHANE quickly piqued our interests already during the stage changeover, as they brought out some more traditional rock band gear and… an antique sewing machine. Their set started at 20:20 with the promise of some blues rock from the vocalist. The sewing machine was immediately put to use like a simplified hurdy-gurdy, creating droning sounds, while the vocal sound was astonishingly similar to proper classic American country music. The beat then got stompin’ (indeed, not stomping, but stompin’) as they continued. I had never expected to hear a blend of country and psych rock, with Jon Lord (DEEP PURPLE)-styled organs and all, but I may have loved it. After some upbeat bangers, they spent some time doing atmospheric soundscapes, using the sewing machine again. The band had announced a new song, “Father, You’re a Star,” in October, which I’m quite sure they shared with us, which leaned further to the psychedelic side and away from the country-blues influence. The material was a pretty eclectic collection, and well-executed – I certainly enjoyed them!
Next up was THE FERTILITY CÜLT and the name of their game was heavy stoner rock, but without the tendency to repeat riffs for extended periods of time. Keeping things rather punchy with the SABBATH-y low end, they had some interesting guitar grooves. The saxophone was another immediate allure, though it was a bit hard to recognize in the mix at first, as the backing music and guitar were a bit overwhelming in the mix. The sitar player made another appearance during their set, though again, he was unfortunately overpowered by the rest of the music (though the saxophone had become very audible by then, at least!). They had some groovy, even jazzy moments, as well, making for an intriguing set that surely requires further listening in the future!
The only familiar band of the night beforehand was FROM GROTTO, who just released a fantastic album, “Monuments of Our Time,” earlier this fall. Their set was, naturally, mostly made up of their new material, opening with “Turso,” “Shigir,” and “I Remember Summer,” meaning it was finally time for the hippies in the crowd to get the chance to dance. “Dandelion Tea” boasted an absolutely wild ride, instrumentally, with a special shout-out to the bassist for knocking my socks off. Some of the solo-jams were pretty spectacular and more than a few people were rocking out at the front – some of whom I’m starting to recognize from this band’s other shows by now. The first track from their album, “Wildfire,” was the last song on their setlist making for a very strong finale, especially with those drums, day-umn! I left their set quite satisfied and wanting more!
And finally, at midnight, hailing from all the way over from Denmark, was the ØRESUND SPACE COLLECTIVE. Though they were unfamiliar to me, they seem to have a fairly well-known name about them, having been around for nigh 2 decades by now. Every band was whipping out something unique on this night, and these guys boasted an electric violin* amongst their ranks. If one were to keep their eyes closed, you might think you were hearing a guitar-driven groove-out jam from that deceptive violin, which was actually in the lead. I even noted the violinist plucking along in some parts, and in other songs, the effects made it sound like a saxophone. The set also included a slow reggae drop, with spacey synths and guitar string manipulation; they had a theremin at their disposal too! The feeling in the crowd was more akin to chill, relaxed swaying along than dancing, and made for a mellow and enjoyable last act.
Overall, this was a very fun night of very positive surprises from all of the new bands, and a wonderful performance from the one familiar act. I went home with several new acts to look up and keep an eye on, and a great deal of enthusiasm towards seeing what might be in store for day 2 on Saturday!
Written by Bear Wiseman
*I played violin in my youth, so I always appreciate a good violinist
Photos by Arto Alho
