Biography

Blending jazz, Middle Eastern music, and global folk traditions, Ilkka Arola Sound Tagine’s fourth album Adventures in the Now promises vibrant expression and colorful soundscapes.

For this new music, bandleader and trumpeter Ilkka Arola has drawn inspiration from the psychedelic ethno-jazz fusion of the 1970s and Turkish disco from the same era. Arola has long dreamed of creating a funk-driven album with the Sound Tagine ensemble, and the time has finally come. The new material bursts with energy, sweat-inducing rhythms, and richly hued sonic landscapes.

While Adventures in the Now invites listeners to the dance floor, it also delves deeper. The album’s themes explore the intensity of presence, the liberating power of letting go, the diversity of life, and the experience of time. The theme of presence isn’t limited to song titles: in the studio, the band’s goal was to capture the energy of live performance, even embracing “risky situations”. As a result, the album was recorded mostly live in just 1–3 takes per track, with the entire band playing together simultaneously.

Tracklist

1. Ice Cream Is
2. The Flying Cyborg Whales
3. Whispers
4. Mothers with Feathers
5. Surrenderer
6. Last 10 Minutes