Mustik Motel Music

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Tahmela Six – Alight out now!

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Last August, Tahmela Six set up in the yard of Palmutsaari farm in Kiikala, on the open ground where the field meets the forest. No studio, no walls, no isolation booths — six players, an August afternoon, and whatever the day brought with it. The wind, the insects, the warmth, the distances across an open field: all of it is on the record, not edited around it.

That recording is Alight, the second Tahmela Six album, and it’s out on 21 May — on vinyl and digital.

You may already have heard “Ground VI,” the single we put out at the end of April. It opens the B-side. Around it sit three more pieces, from the “Endless Summer Sun” to the fifteen-minute title track that carries the whole arc of the day. The music moves between near-silence and full collective surge, with the place itself acting as a co-improviser.

Otto Eskelinen, alto sax, flute, shakuhachi
Sami Sippola, tenor sax
Eero Tikkanen, double bass
Eero Savela, trumpet
Janne Tuomi, drums, vibraphone
Topias Tiheäsalo, guitar

We’re celebrating the release live on 27 May at G Livelab, Tampere, Finland, with Lauri Kallio’s group sharing the night.

Listen at: SPOTIFY, TIDAL and all other major streaming services!
Buy digital & vinyl at: Bandcamp

A note on the vinyl: our test presses arrived in good time and we listened — just not loud enough to catch a background noise running through the pressing. That one is on us. The vinyl is delayed while we sort out a proper fix with our pressing plant. Digital is out 21 May as planned; we’ll write the moment the vinyl meets the Mustik Motel mark.

Latest Mustik Motel features in Media

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Recent press round-up: reviews and features for Mustik Motel artists across print various media.

SuomiJazz — Pentti Ronkanen

“It doesn’t take many minutes of listening before the feeling arrives: this is my kind of music.”

“They know how to build compelling musical narratives — the tension holds throughout these stories.”

Happy to receive review of Tahmela Six debut album review just before the second one is coming! Here’s another by Pentti who been busy listening to our releases.

“This quartet has its own sound — and it’s a good one.”

“Savela and his partners have crafted a record’s worth of really excellent contemporary jazz.”

“Clear structures and catchy melodic elements blend enjoyably with the music’s freer currents.”

UK Vibe — Andy Hazell

“Oresme is a triumph of close listening.”

“The music prioritises the extension of tone over the moment of impact.”

“Percussion that feels richer and more melodic as a consequence.”

One Man’s Jazz — Maurice Hogue

One Man’s Jazz featuring Mika Kallio & Janne Tuomi around 1h 44mins time.

Single: Viive – Sammal

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“Sammal” (eng. Moss) is Viive’s first release with their newly solidified four-piece lineup. The track has already evolved into a standout moment in their live set while touring their debut album.

“Sammal” captures the grittier edge of the band’s sonic spectrum: saxophone screams through the cosmic atmosphere in the heavy pulse of the rhythmic section. The quartet’s instrumental groove is also accompanied by Riikka’s lyrical expression.

The collaboration of the musicians results in an organic yet intense adventure that will unravel one chapter from the band’s second album currently in the works.

Riikka Suutari – vocal and synths
Antti Niiranen – drums
Samuli Heikkinen – bass
Oula Karppinen – saxophone

Listen at: SPOTIFY, TIDAL and all other major streaming services!
Buy digital at: Bandcamp

Viive to release new single: Sammal

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Single: Sammal – 23.4.2026 – DIGITAL

The single will be available on all major streaming platforms upon the release date.

“Sammal” (eng. Moss) is Viive’s first release with their newly solidified four-piece lineup. The track has already evolved into a standout moment in their live set while touring their debut album.

“Sammal” captures the grittier edge of the band’s sonic spectrum: saxophone screams through the cosmic atmosphere in the heavy pulse of the rhythmic section. The quartet’s instrumental groove is also accompanied by Riikka’s lyrical expression.

The collaboration of the musicians results in an organic yet intense adventure that will unravel one chapter from the band’s second album currently in the works.

Riikka Suutari – vocal and synths
Antti Niiranen – drums
Samuli Heikkinen – bass
Oula Karppinen – saxophone

SPOTIFY PRE-SAVE

Mika Kallio & Janne Tuomi – Oresme Is Released Today

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Two drummers exploring inner and outer space.

Oresme takes its name from a 14th-century philosopher who argued that a rotating Earth and a rotating cosmos would look identical from the inside. All perceived motion depends on where you stand. Kallio and Tuomi take that as their starting point: nine tracks built from drums, cymbals, gongs, vibraphone, and a lot of open space.

Today the record is yours to hear.

Featured Musicians

Mika Kallio – drums, percussion, Paiste cymbals & gongs 
Janne Tuomi – drums, cymbals, gongs, percussion, vibraphone

Let us know where the music lands! We’re always happy to hear your thoughts and share your support across our channels and celebrate the music together.

STREAM

SPOTIFY
TIDAL

Also available on all other major streaming services.

VINYL

BANDCAMP

Record store distribution has started!

Oresme is a co-release with Roku Records. The idea behind it belongs to Ville Vuorjoki — punk bassist, DIY legend, and the mogul running Roku Records. Inspired by Sandy Nelson‘s prolific drumming output, Vuorjoki had nursed an ambition for a record built entirely around percussion for over 20 years. When he caught Janne Tuomi playing live, the missing piece fell into place. After two decades, it was finally time to make the call. Tuomi said yes almost immediately — and then suggested Mika Kallio join him. It is the first release in Roku Records‘ catalogue that was, in a sense, commissioned from the artist.

Album: Mika Kallio & Janne Tuomi – Oresme

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Mika Kallio and Janne Tuomi are two of the most restlessly searching percussionists in Finnish improvised music. Across separate but frequently intersecting careers, both have worked consistently at the outer edge of what rhythm and texture can mean. Their debut duo album Oresme (MMM009) takes its name from Nicole Oresme, the 14th-century French philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer who theorised about the daily rotation of the Earth and the motion of celestial bodies well before the instruments existed to prove him right. In his Livre du ciel et du monde he argued that a rotating Earth and a rotating cosmos would appear identical from the inside: that all perceived motion depends entirely on where you stand. Kallio and Tuomi are asking the same questions here. Through sound.

“It’s about exploring inner and outer space,” says Tuomi. The nine tracks navigate that double territory openly. Several reach outward and deep: Bok Globules (the dense interstellar clouds that precede star formation), Eagle Nebula, Eeta Carinae, Moon-Tides. Hadein, Juwugo and Odys carry a more interior weight, untranslated and personal. Puut, the Finnish word for trees, sits near the record’s centre, grounding it. Odys closes the B side at nearly ten minutes. The album opens with a 95-second sketch and ends in open space.

Two percussion setups, one vibraphone, and the space between them. The music is patient, close-listening, and unafraid of silence.

Mika Kallio: drums, percussion, Paiste cymbals & gongs
Janne Tuomi: drums, cymbals, gongs, percussion, vibraphone

Listen at: SPOTIFY, TIDAL and all other major streaming services
Buy digital & vinyl at: Bandcamp

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