Genre/Influences: Body-Pop.

Format: Digital, Vinyl + CDR.

Background/Info: Finish Huminoida, a project driven by ex-Neuroactive member Kimmo Karjalainen, strikes back with a new EP. This is a new chapter in the ‘seasons-series’ which was preceded by “Mystic Summer” (2013) and “Intoxicating Spring” (2014). Huminoida of course released other EP’s and two albums. We get three new songs and three remixes from earlier cuts. The vinyl format is strictly limited to 50 copies and also features a CDR.

Content: Karjalainen remains faithful to his familiar sound formula. It sounds as the perfect offspring between solid, EBM-driven, bass lines and polished, Pop-injected, choruses. The production of the vocals remains half whispering-like injecting a warm and sensual touch to the work. Among the remixes you’ll get one by Neuroactive and another one by NYX plus an EP-version of “Ghosts On Photos” -a track that originally appeared on the last album “The Grey Area” (2018).

+ + + : The debut song “The Lights Are Going Out” is a true sonic jewel and pure Body-Pop music with a clear connection to Neuroactive. The Neuroactive-remix of “Just By Wishing” is another masterpiece. The song is outstandingly composed and driven by a carrying and catchy chorus. Humanoida deals with irresistible vintage sound treatments and a personal approach in the merge of EBM together with Electro-Pop.

– – – : One great new song -the aforementioned “The Lights Are Going Out”, but both new tracks left are less inspiring. Especially “Lunar Lullabye” sounds as a slow running Halloween-pop song.

Conclusion: I was not convinced by the entire work, but the best cuts are truly accomplished and refreshing Electro-Body-Pop songs.

Best songs: “The Lights Are Going Out”, “Just By Wishing – Neuroactive Remix”, “Ghosts On Photos – EP Version”.

Rate: 7½.

Artist: www.huminoida.com / www.facebook.com/huminoida

About Huminoida

Huminoida is the project of Kimmo Karjalainen, who previously played in [Active] Media Disease and Neuroactive. Karjalainen set up Huminoida in 2007, initially as a duo with AugM, who ran his own label, Plastic Passion, and joined for the project’s first two singles before leaving. Karjalainen has continued Huminoida as a solo project since, releasing all of its output through his own label, Out Of Range.

The first Huminoida full-length album followed in 2011, then two EPs and the second album, “The Grey Area”, in 2018. The seasons-themed EP series includes “Mystic Summer” (2013) and “Intoxicating Spring” (2014), continued with “Haunted Autumn”, reviewed here, released via Out Of Range.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

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After the recently released 2-track download single “Night Flights”, Neuroactive now announces a full blown studio album: “Minor Side​-​Effects”! The album will be out on March 20. Important detail, Neuroactive recorded this album in its original line-up.

Leadvocals by Kimmo Karjalainen, Vesa Rainne… and Halo Effect’s singer John Peverieri

For the album Jarkko Tuohimaa reunited with his 2 original bandmates Kimmo Karjalainen and Vesa Rainne and decided to go for a harder edge through punching electro sequences and kicking beats compared to the band’s most recent softer dance pop releases through the US-based A Different Drum label. This new 7th full length studio album is a logical and natural evolution in the band’s impressive music repertoire. Invited as well is Halo Effect’s singer John Peverieri performing guest vocals on 2 songs.

The album is available in 2 versions, a CD version (available here in pre-order) and a download version (via Bandcamp and other services once it’s released). Note that the Bandcamp pre-order comes with an immediate download of two tracks: “In Rust We Trust” and “Night Flights” (the album version).

For those who haven’t yet downloaded the 2-track download single “Night Flights”, you can do that right here, or via Spotify of course.

Neuroactive, delivering outstanding synth pop since 1991

It’s back in 1991 that Vesa Raine, Ville Brusi and Jarkko Tuohimaa created the now cult synth pop / EBM band Neuroactive. Signing their first album, “Morphology”, in 1994 with Cyberware Productions, the group went on to produce “Phonic Trace” in 1997. Shortly thereafter, Brusi and Rainne left the group, and Kimmo Karjalainen came on board to sing for the next two albums “Fiber Optic Rhythm” and “Transients”. Note that “Fiber Optic Rhythm” also featured Geoff Pickney of The Nine on guest vocals.

“Fiber Optic Rhythm” was a huge breakthrough for Neuroactive, and they gained new fans worldwide. The album’s popularity also attracted the attention of U.S. Synthpop record label A Different Drum who signed them, and released “Transients” in 2001, “N-Gin” in 2005, “Antidote” in 2009; and “Electra” in 2014.

“Transients” was the final album to feature Kimmo Karjalainen as vocalist for the band. The albums “N-Gin” and “Antidote” both included several guest singers, including Christopher Anton (Information Society), Kirk Taylor (The Dignity of Labour), Marcus Fellechner (Rename), and Albert Martinez (Neuropa) just to name a few. “Electra” featured all female vocals by Sonja Myers.

Neuroactive signed with A Different Drum in 1998, and continued to release material under that label until its closing in 2014. Now they are on board of one of the most prolific labels in the electronic scene, Alfa Matrix.

Welcome back guys!

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Neuroactive, the cult synth pop, futurepop band from Finland is back! For the comeback headmaster Jarkko Tuohimaa joined hands with long time vocal collaborator Kimmo Karjalainen and the duo signed up with the Belgian electronica label Alfa Matrix.

Out now is a 2-track download single (available via Bandcamp), “Night Flights”, which offers a harder edged electro style through punching sequences and kicking beats compared to the band’s most recent softer dance pop releases through the US-based A Different Drum label.
 
The “Night Flights” single also announces a forthcoming new album “Minor Side-Effects” announced for a Spring release.

You can download the single right now from Bandcamp.

Video teaser new single

Here’s the video teaser for “Night Flights”.

Neuroactive, delivering outstanding synth pop since 1991

Neuroactive was formed in 1991 by Jarkko Tuohimaa, Ville Brusi, and Vesa Rainne. Signing their first album, “Morphology”, in 1994 with Cyberware Productions, the group went on to produce “Phonic Trace” in 1997. Shortly thereafter, Brusi and Rainne left the group, and Kimmo Karjalainen came on board to sing for the next two albums “Fiber Optic Rhythm” and “Transients”. Note that “Fiber Optic Rhythm” also featured Geoff Pickney of The Nine on guest vocals.

“Fiber Optic Rhythm” was a huge breakthrough for Neuroactive, and they gained new fans worldwide. The album’s popularity also attracted the attention of U.S. Synthpop record label A Different Drum who signed them, and released “Transients” in 2001, “N-Gin” in 2005, “Antidote” in 2009; and “Electra” in 2014.

“Transients” was the final album to feature Kimmo Karjalainen as vocalist for the band. The albums “N-Gin” and “Antidote” both included several guest singers, including Christopher Anton (Information Society), Kirk Taylor (The Dignity of Labour), Marcus Fellechner (Rename), and Albert Martinez (Neuropa) just to name a few. “Electra” featured all female vocals by Sonja Myers.

Neuroactive signed with A Different Drum in 1998, and continued to release material under that label until its closing in 2014. Now they are on board of one of the most prolific labels in the electronic scene, Alfa Matrix.

Welcome back guys!

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Kimmo Karjalainen got some recognition as member of [Active] Media Disease and Neuroactive. In 2007 he set up Huminoida and started to release his own music, which reveals an atypical synth-pop approach. Earlier this year he released the album “The Grey Area” revealing a quite eclectic electro-pop release carried by a strong lyrical content.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: Kimmo, you gained some experience in music as member of [Active] Media Disease and Neuroactive. What did you learn and keep in mind from this experience with both bands and what incited you to set up Huminoida?

Kimmo: I have fond memories of both of those bands and I learned something about the recording  process and gigging also, but after all these years I think the camaraderie between band members is the thing that I value the most. There are some good points of making music together, and the times when everything clicks into place are just wonderful. But Neuroactive slowed down (we both had very time consuming jobs at that time), and I had always wanted to write and release my own stuff, so I eventually set up Huminoida.

Q: Huminoida was originally set up in 2007 as a duo. What have been the main facts in the band’s history and how does it feel to move on as a solo-project?

Kimmo: Yes, I was determined to set up this slightly skewed synth band (first single was an instrumental and the  B-side was carved by hand!), and AugM had his own record label (Plastic Passion) and some connections, so he joined in.

After a while it became clear that he really hadn’t time to contribute, so he left after two singles and I started to make the first full-length album which was released 2011. After that there were two EP’s and the second album “The Grey Area”, released in 2018. This kind of solo working suits me well, I love the  freedom of it.

Q: All Huminoida productions have been released on Out Of Range Records, which I think is your very own label. So in the end it all looks like you’re taking care of every single aspect of the production; from composition to recording to production to manufacturing… What does this D.I.Y. approach mean to you and why is it important?   

Kimmo: Well, maybe I’m just a control freak… 😉 I love the D.I.Y. aspect because it’s direct, fast and fun. Straight from the artist to the audience, there are no  middlemen filtering out the odd bits and telling what can or cannot be released. I’ve always loved records  where the artist’s personality shows through, and this is the way to do it. It’s also very fast and easy to  upload a new track to the net whenever you want.

The visual aspect is also an important part of the Huminoida releases. I like to make an effort to offer something extra with the music: paintings for the record sleeves, booklets, posters, little bits & pieces to make the whole package interesting. That’s the fun part, and I’m intrigued with the idea that the whole release is made by an artist including the artwork. (‘Gesamtkunstwerk’, like they used to say)

Q: What have been the main ideas you wanted to accomplish when starting the writing of the new album “The Grey Area”?

Kimmo: Musically “The Grey Area” is in the line of the other Huminoida releases. It’s varied, and I think a strong collection  of songs with nice pop tunes (“Just By Wishing”, “Beneath The Empty Skies”), harsher material (“Contradictator”, “Trying Times”, “Thoughts Like Insects”), plus the ‘difficult’ bits and some beautiful tracks also.

Lyrically it’s a whole different thing, it became clear very soon that this isn’t going to be a party record. I started the songwriting in 2015, and since then the news from the world and from my home country Finland haven’t been pleasant reading with all the hate-mongering, terrorism, wars, influx of refugees, racism, the relentless greed and short-sightedness of the business world and politicians. Not to mention the end of the world… It’s finally seeped into the common consciousness that this isn’t going to end well, and the problems  are so big that we can’t deal with them, or more likely don’t want to deal with them.

I wanted the lyrics reflect the anxiety of the the times, and I’m also venting my frustration and anger in these  lyrics. But I definitely wanted to avoid preaching or the ‘Fuck you fucking cunts’-type of argumentation,  because there’s enough moronic shouting on the Internet already. I think I managed to handle the difficult  topics well, and I’m happy with this set of lyrics, although they’re pretty heavy, depressive even.

Q: One of Huminoida’s main characteristics is the ‘atypical’ electro-pop approach. It’s hard to describe, but your music clearly is an antidote to all electro-pop clones and Depeche Mode copyists! Tell us a bit more about this ‘sound’ and ‘approach’?

Kimmo: Oh yes, I’ve had difficulties with this also…  I sometimes call it ‘uncomfortable synthpop’:)

The style of Huminoida is hard to describe mainly because it’s musically varied, there are some nice  synth-pop tunes, some beautiful tracks and then some dark, heavy stuff as well. To me it’s electronic music  mainly to listen to, there are the danceable tracks, but it’s not club-friendly at all. Lyrics are also an important part of Huminoida. This may sound odd, but I see myself more as a singer-songwriter than an electronic music  maker anyway.

When it comes to sounds I don’t have any rules. I’m a music lover and I’ve taken lot of influences from lot of  different genres, but naturally I try to maintain some degree of originality in the work. There has to be that ‘personal touch’, otherwise the whole thing pointless. (I don’t quite understand bands who want to copy  some other band exactly – there’s a tragic lack of ambition there.) So, I’m not so keen on following some current song writing style or ‘trend’ or imitate certain era in music. But I love those late 70’s / early  80’s synth sounds, and that’s why some Huminoida tracks have a very strong ‘retro’ feel.

Q: There’s a hiatus of 7 years between both Huminoida albums. How would you analyze your own evolution as musician from the “Whiter Album” towards “The Grey Area” and what brings the future?

Kimmo: Well, actually I don’t call myself a musician, because I’m not exactly a virtuoso.. I guess the new one is more refined soundwise, and the production/mixing is clearer (not too crisp or light though – I like my  synth-pop dark and heavy).

The future brings new records, next will be the “Autumn” and “Winter”-EP’s to complete the “Seasons” series. I’ve also thought of adding some other instruments along the synths to some tracks, trying some new tricks etc..  Lately I’ve had this growing urge to make some really insane, out-there release (in the same vein as the first hand-made single), but these are now just in my head, let’s see what comes out.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com