This Empty Flow
Magenta Skycode
Avantegarde, 1996

This Empty Flow was a project formed by Jori Sjoroos and Niko Sirkia formerly of Finnish doomcult Thergothon. Joined by Sad Parade bass player Aku-Tuomas Mattila, they released Magenta Skycode on Avantegarde Music in early 1996.

The music of This Empty Flow is of a deeply melancholic nature. Distant and withdrawn yet strangely enveloping and even at times uplifting (in that blissfully sad manner), Magenta Skycode shares the despondency with Thergothon but expresses these feelings through a quite different sonic dimension. While Thergothon dwelled in the lethargic death/doom wastelands inhabited by the likes of Skepticism, Unholy and the like, This Empty Flow forsakes the deathly grunts and impending doom riffs for gothic disenchantment. The music is mellow yet thick with heavy emotion. the programmed percussion adds an element of coldness to the band's sound. This coldness merges with the ascending/descending/transcending atmospheres created by Sirkia's keyboards and the clean guitar picking of Sjoroos, making for the weeping melodies and ice cold soundscapes. Think The Cure in their most melancholic moments, yet more greyskied and defeated. Think of a world of grey, white and black with vast empty fields as far as can be seen in either direction.

"hold me as it seems i fall
take my hand as i think i am dying
overflow as the depths whisper me welcome
to sleep where all beauty turns grey"
--"Useless"

The singing of Sjoroos is not unlike that of Robert Smith, but only in its emotional delivery. It's a voice of world weariness and weeping-sleepy-sadness. A strange voice that is really unlike anyone I've heard before. His singing is a perfect vehicle for Sirkia's lyrics, as he sounds like he truly feels the way the lyrics read. He may just be the most despondent sounding singer I've ever heard.

Not much can be said of the actual instrumentation on offer here as everything is sustaining/creating atmosphere or building up to emotional splashes of beautiful dreariness. And therein lies the essence of This Empty Flow. "Useless" sounds just that way throughout, making for nearly 9 minutes of forlorn sadness that is crippling in its overwhelming bleakness. "Stream" and "(But I Am) Still" both showcase how This Empty Flow build from slow lethargy to breathtaking beauty and back again. "Snow Blind" is cold, brooding goth until the end of the second chorus when the song ascends through the grey clouded sky that hovers above its desolate landscape, an astoundingly uplifting air of blissful sadness. In "Distress" we see the tempo at its quickest and the guitars at their loosest, composed by swirling leads and chaotic distortion in the Slowdive sense. It's a goth rocking song of disenchantment done about as good as such a song can be, and stands out easily on first listen of this disc due to its defining elements.

"this world is a deceiver
it vomits sticky oil on me
stab me kill me
i hate this all too much"
--"Distress"

Magenta Skycode would be the only official release for This Empty Flow as Avantegarde showed little interest in the band's efforts for a second release. Further recordings such as the out-take album Three Empty Boys (Plastic Passion, 1999) and the Useless And Empty Songs EP (limited to just 111 copies) are extremely rare and long out of print. Jukka Sillanpaa (producer of Magenta Skycode and As Divine Grace member) joined the band on guitar after this albums release, followed by the departure of Niko Sirkia. In 1997, This Empty Flow was ended due to the songwriting heading in a direction removed from the original intention of the band. Jori Sjoroos continues with his projects Fu-Tourist and Fun-Tourist, while Niko Sirkia keeps on with Niko Skorpio and A/H and Aku-Tuomas with Sad Parade.
 

2003

Tracklisting

1. Nowafter
2. Useless
3. Stream
4. Towards Distant
5. Snow Blind
6. Distress
7. (But I Am) Still
8. Sweet Bloom Of Night Time Flowers

This Empty Flow
Three Empty Boys
Plastic Passion, 1999

Three Empty Boys is an out-take album from the mysterious and enigmatic Finnish band This Empty Flow. Released in 1999 on bassist Aku-Tuomas Mattila’s label Plastic Passion, this disc compiles songs recorded during the years of 1995-1997, in three different studios, and with altered line-ups. As a result, the release does not contain a cohesive personality or establish a consistent atmosphere or presence, yet offers an intriguing listen by giving a glance as to what the future direction of the band may have been had they remained together, as well as pre-Magenta Skycode material revealing a clearer process of sound evolution.

The first four songs were recorded during the autumn of 1996 in studio U96 in Pori, Finland, and were originally intended to be part of the second full-length album, which never came into existence. These songs generally follow the format of Magenta Skycode, yet not quite as gloomy in atmosphere or emotional expression. While songs like "Dive Nothing" and "To Drink Atlantic Dry" certainly engage the listener with gripping emotionality, the effect is far more tranquil in ambience, and their structure is more dynamic than earlier material. The guitar solo by Jori Sjoroos in "Dive Nothing", while aching in its yearning tones, creates a beautiful, uplifting feeling as if ascending through brilliant skies at dawn, and is one of this band’s most powerful moments, ever. Sjoroos also takes more chances with his singing as regards the communication of a wider range of feeling through these four tracks, which expands the band’s emotional horizons towards a more actively striving realm.

"Hello Spaceboy"(1996), "Abell" (1997), and "This Empty Boy" (1997) were recorded in Studio Studio Sputnik in Turku, Finland. Exhibiting an eccentricity of character and further distinguishing the band’s dream-pop influences, these songs seem to awaken boyhood fantasies and timidness which provides a less serious emotional communication. Of the three, "Abell" is the least interesting due to its lack of a centralized theme to suggest something of universal experience and awkward melodic ideas. "Hello Spaceboy" is appealing in its trance-ish ambience and lost-in-cosmos-wonder vocals of Sjoroos, and "This Empty Boy" is a quite charming number very reminiscent of The Cure’s clever and unique balance between adolescent melancholy and playfulness, which has clearly had a special impact on much of This Empty Flow’s material.

The remaining four songs were recorded at Eastward Sound in Turku. "Angels’ Playground", "Rebuilt Passage", and "Hunger" are demo tracks recorded in 1995 that did not find their way onto Magenta Skycode, yet would have fit perfectly on that album as they are of the same sullen character, though their less refined production grants them a murkiness unknown to the full-length debut. Each of these three songs are stunning representations of melancholy in both spirit and sound, achieving an enchantingly dark and somber, yet curiously uplifting atmosphere through ethereal keyboards, acoustic guitars, minimalist electronic percussion and vocals of emotionally dramatic yet sincere tone. Certainly, The Cure are the clearest influence here, but this music expresses a darker and more serious feeling that is piercing in its painful longing and desperation, at times reaching a degree of beautiful overwhelming sorrow quite rare in modern music of any genre. "Playground Of The Angels" was recorded in 1996, and while sharing lyrics with "Angels Playground", is quite dissimilar to these other songs brought to life in the same studio, drifting as it does through realms of spacey ambient rock and tropical aromas familiar to the direction the band would eventually gravitate towards.

"Drops", "Angels’ Playground", "Rebuilt Passage", and "Hunger" all reappear on the Nowafter compilation released through Eibon records in 2001, with the rest of this material remaining exclusive to this disc. Though never receiving the amount of attention their brilliant music deserved, during their brief existence, This Empty Flow created music of beautiful, emotional, atmospheric, exotic, fascinating substance, cleverly utilizing their inspirations to shape a character of sound quite unique for its time, yet blessed with the gift of timelessness rare in all but the most emotionally sincere art.

7/27/06

1. blear
2. drops
3. dive nothing
4. to drink atlantic dry
5. angels’ playground
6. playground of the angels
7. hello spaceboy
8. rebuilt passage
9. hunger
10. abell
11. this empty boy

    
This Empty Flow
Nowafter
Eibon, 2001

Eibon Records released Nowafter in an effort to compile unreleased and extremely rare material from one of the most underrated and mysterious acts in the dark music underground, This Empty Flow. The idea and release of this compilation is of high interest to those who were spellbound by the mesmerizing Magenta Skycode debut, as follow up material was quite difficult indeed to obtain due to the band's departure from Avantegarde and descent into even more obscure waters.

Nowafter features 6 songs that were previously unreleased, 3 songs from the sold out Useless And Empty Songs EP and 4 songs from the very rare Three Empty Boys CD released by Plastic Passion in 1999. The first six tracks are the unreleased songs that made up This Empty Flow's final studio recording in 1997. This material sees the band venturing into sonic territory that is quite different from the sounds that made up the debut. The two bands that come to mind when listening to songs like "Je(N!)i Force" and "Marmite" are Radiohead and Pink Floyd, as there seems to be a more experimental approach to their construction as well as a warmer, more organic feeling. Psychedelic elements and even jazz/funk playfulness can be heard in "Stilton" and "And Also The Drops", which are the two strangest songs I've heard from the band. They also hold my interest the least. The other two songs from this session, "Shoreditch" and "Ashby-De-La-Zouch", are simply outstanding in their delicate warmth and emotional expressions. Indeed, these songs possess a warmth that is a stark contrast from the cold disenchantment of the debut, yet the embrace is still as fragile and enveloping. It's a shame that most who enjoy the works of a band like Sigur Ros or even the mellower shades of Radiohead will never experience these songs. It's clear to hear how the band felt this material was too far away from the original concept, hence the decision to end recording under the name. In earlier songs "Drops" and "Dubby", hints can be heard that the band were taking on different influences that would lead to the sounds of the final recording session. "Dubby" can almost be seen as a combination of the Magenta Skycode sound and the more psychedelic, warmer aspects of the above mentioned session.

The remaining songs are very much in the same sonic region as the debut. In fact, there are moments in these tracks that are even more dark and somber. "One Song About Solitude" is a brooding journey through 80's new wave keyboard atmospherics, cold minimalism and dejected vocalizations from Jori Sjoroos. The darkness in this song is thick and highly convincing, the song acting as a swirling vacuum of suffocating mist. In "Angels' Playground" we hear how This Empty Flow express feelings of despondency through chilling beauty; a slow motion dance in the midst of a snow-covered field...a world of ice sculptures and blue serenity. "Hunger" and "Of Blossom And Decay" feature those emotional splashes that break up the near trance-inducing isolationalism that serve as the songs foundation, while "Rebuilt Passage" is a classic composition from this band, a barren wasteland of a song that explodes from its bleak origins into a volcanic overflow of yearning before being ushered to its end by delicate acoustic guitars over a sea of serene tranquility. Each of these songs could fit quite comfortably on Magenta Skycode.

Eibon records should be applauded for assembling this compilation. It succeeds not only in allowing fans of the debut to hear these rare gems, but also in providing information on the origins of these compositions (as told by This Empty Flow bass guitarist Aku-Tuomas Mattila) as well as a timeline that gives fans a look at the history of this criminally obscure act. If you are like me and worship Magenta Skycode yet have found it impossible to obtain the band's follow up recordings, this is nothing short of essential.
 

2003

Tracklisting

1. Je(N!)i Force
2. Marmite
3. Stilton
4. Shoreditch
5. And Also The Drops
6. Ahby-De-La-Zouch
7. One Song About Solitude
8. Dubby
9. Drops
10. Angels' Playground
11. Rebuilt Passage
12. Hunger
13. Of Blossom And Decay

This Empty Flow

Plastic Passion

Niko Skorpio

Magenta Skycode

This Empty Flow Discography

Magenta Skycode (Avantegarde, 1996)
Three Empty Boys (Plastic Passion, 1999)
Useless And Empty Songs (Plastic Passion, 2000)
Nowafter (Eibon, 2001)
The Album (Eibon, 2006)