My own musical output is stylistically all over the map, so if you like one you might not like another and vice versa. But then, if you’re open-minded, in the end of the day it’s all my music. Everything played by me unless otherwise noted.
Riitala’s Music channel in YouTube
El Morisco y la Bruja de Nagu (2024-01-03)
Featuring Marek Arnold, a legend of modern prog, on soprano sax.
As the initiated may know, El Morisco is a recurrent side character in the Italian western comic Tex Willer, a scientist of Egyptian origin, now living somewhere close to the Mexican border. Here he however appears as his younger self (as implied on the digi-single sleeve) long before meeting Tex, fighting an evil witch from the Finnish archipelago. I have absolutely no idea how the witch ended up on El Morisco’s turf though. Marek is skillfully playing El Morisco’s save-the-world part on his soprano while my guitar depicts the evil ambitions of the witch. Somewhere in the middle there is a huge fight, where a fretless bass solo crushes all surroundings.
Digital single : YouTube (below), Spotify, Tidal, Deezer, iTunes, Shazam,…?
New Day Dawning (2023-10-19)
A proggy rocker with a somewhat puzzling lyric about a dude who has apparently lost his memory and does not even recognize himself in the mirror.
Digital single : YouTube (below), Spotify, Tidal, Deezer, iTunes, Shazam,…?
Midnight Pink (2022-09-15)
A hats off to the 40th anniversary of Janne Louhivuori’s album Midnight Pink, whose title track has been reharmonized here as a fusion jazz tune.
Digital single : YouTube (below), Spotify, Tidal, Deezer, iTunes, Shazam,…?
Me Me Me Me Me (2021-12-15)
The long-awaited full-length, even double-length album (in vinyl times even a triple-album!!!) with music style bouncing all over the map. 22 songs, over 100 minutes of music.
Digital album: You Tube, Spotify (below), Deezer, iTunes, Google Play, Shazam and practically any other streaming service as well
Physical album available from my Bandcamp page or directly from me.
Reviews:
Hattua pitää nostaa.
Pekka Koskivaara (Retrokkiblog)
…
Jos nyt kolme nimeä tähän listaan – kaikilla on yhtäläinen taito ja tahto työstää valtavasti musiikkia, ainakin useimmiten tasalaatuisesti; mistä sitä kumpuaakaan! Todd Rundgren, Prince, Daryl Hall. Ainakin omassa mielessäni tuota trioa yhdistää melodiantaju, läpitunkeva musikaalisuus, kahden ensimmäisen tapauksessa myös instrumentaalinen monipuolisuus. Riitala, olet kovassa seurassa!
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Hattua pitää nostaa tyylitajustakin, siihen luen nykytekniikan rajattomien mahdollisuuksien rajoittamisen: vaikka aikaa, taitoa ja mahdollisuuksia olisi, kussakin biisissä on vain ne elementit, jotka saavat sen toimimaan. Ei siis tiluttelua, lurittelua ja näyttämisenhalua.
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Matti Pajuniemi (colossus.fi [Wayback Machine])
Yhden miehen bändinä ja tuottajana hän edustaa todella rautaista ammattitaitoa, soundi tuntuu kautta linjan täysipainoiselta ja varmaotteiselta. Yllättävän hyvää tasoa hän on laulajanakin, vaikka sitä puolta aiemmat projektit eivät nähdäkseni ole liiemmin esitelleet.
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Musiikista huokuu hyvää tuulta ja tekemisen iloa, ei missään nimessä silkkaa pätemisen osoittamista kokeneelta moniosaajalta.
The Finn was always able to impressively show the musical creativity he has. Across styles, he combines jazz, pop, rock and progressive rock into a successful mix, which has so far received far too little attention, at least in this country. [Germany, that is]
Horst-Werner Riedel (Bereutes Proggen), clumsy Google translation from German
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The red thread of the album is clearly the high variety of music styles used. Nothing is left out, whether rock & roll, rock pop á la Beatles, classic rock, jazz, jazz rock and fusion with fine brass inserts or progressive rock, as you know it from The Samurai Of Prog, the range of its possibilities seems almost limitless.
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Conclusion: Riitala is currently presenting a miracle bag in the form of the new double album “Me Me Me Me Me”. The multi-instrumentalist Jari Riitala presents (almost) everything the music world has to offer. Whether poppy, rocky, jazzy, progressive or anything in between, nothing is ignored. An album that impressively underlines the versatility and inventiveness of the Finn.
NB When MusicKickup went down early 2024 the singles below disappeared with it. The ones later appeared on Me Me Me Me Me have just been linkedthere (the cover images missing for now… working on that too), the others were re-released with another publisher in 2024, even to a wider array of services.
I Wanna Know (2020-11-01)
A bit of hard hitting prog’n’roll with a pretty hazy set of lyrics.
Digital single : YouTube (below), Spotify, Deezer, iTunes, Google Play, Shazam
Aggropolis (2020-06-23)
A weird and angry guitar instrumental featuring a fretless bass solo in the middle.
Digital single : YouTube (below), Spotify, Deezer, iTunes, Google Play, Shazam
Ruby Tuesday (2019-01-28)
The Rolling Stones classic reinvented and reharmonized.
Digital single: YouTube (below), Spotify, Deezer, iTunes, Google Play, Shazam
Soul Healing (2018-10-24)
Some R&B style stuff featuring a Hammond and a fretless bass, besides vocals that is.
Digital single: YouTube (below), Spotify, Deezer, iTunes, 24-77, digital8tracks, Akazoo, Amazon MP3, Anghami, AWA, Google Music Store, iHeartRadio, iMusica, InProdicon, KDigital, KKBox, Kuack, LineMusic, MediaNet, Napster, Pandora, Saavn, Shazam, Slacker Radio, SoundExchange, Tidal, United Media Agency (UMA), Yandex
Welcome To Reality (2018-08-13)
A somewhat darkish take on love.
Digital single: YouTube (below), Spotify, Deezer, iTunes
Fragments (2017-07-10)
Vocal pop? Featuring Kate Teschan Lueders on lead vocals.
Digital single: YouTube (below), Spotify, Deezer, iTunes, Google Play, Shazam
Ruthless Bloodsucker (2017-06-26)
Something closer to home of the tres bearded hombres.
Digital single: YouTube (below), Spotify, Deezer, iTunes, Google Play, Shazam
Inner Eyes (2016-12-18)
An acid jazzy tune, featuring Antero Salonen on trumpet.
Digital single: YouTube (below), Spotify, Deezer, iTunes, Google Play, Shazam
Bow The Statues (2000)
Mine All Mine / Been In An Asylum / Solarium / Mouse Trap / Good As Gone / Time For A Change / Goldmine / You Radiate / Weirdos Have More Fun / If You Want Me / Parade Of The Calendar Girls / Bitter, Sweet & Sour / Ain’t Comin’ Home
Available in SoundClick (see also SoundClick player below).
More
Some more music samples available in Soundcloud
and SoundClick.