The dynamic duo has a simple mission: to conquer the world. Organ grinder Kantonen and his sidekick, The Drum Beating Maraqat, will drill, saw, join and hack away until the last jazz police hands in his gun and batch. This is how these gentlemen themselves see their lively act. Bending melodies as well as tempos way outside the rulebook they navigate from hot grooves through all kinds of interzones all the way to free improvisation with manic grins.

The main composer of The Two Men Galaxy is Seppo Kantonen (born 1963). He’s as much at home with organ and synthesizers as he is with a grand piano. Likewise he plays anything from classical to rock, African music and all manner of jazz. Currently Kantonen leads his piano trio Tokka and a drumless ensemble Albero, but he has served with distinction in the projects of Pekka Pohjola and Eero Koivistoinen as well as in Klang, Breadmachine, the UMO big band, Mikko Innanen’s Innkvisitio and the Manuel Dunkel Quartet. Those are jazz, on the rock tip he has backed up J. Karjalainen and Remu Aaltonen, to name but two important Finnish rock artists.

Joonas Riippa is a much younger man, but shares Kantonen’s open-ended attitude to music. His creative rhythm work has found a home in the projects of Mikko Innanen, the ones of Verneri and Ilmari Pohjola (sons of Pekka), the Jenny Robson Band, Warp and the mighty UMO, whose “young soloist” he was chosen a couple of years ago. Joonas also leads his own jazz quartet.

Pori Jazz 2010
text by Jussi Niemi

Two Men Galaxy released their debut album 'Um Jepa' on Fiasko Records in April 2013.