Mika Kallio & Janne Tuomi – Oresme Is Released Today
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
Also available on all other major streaming services.
VINYL
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
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