Raoul Björkenheim TRIAD

Triad

Raoul Björkenheim - guitars
Ville Rauhala - double bass
Ilmari Heikinheimo - drums & percussion

Raoul Björkenheim Triad's aptly-titled debut CD “Beyond”(not existing on Soundcloud) was released in 2017, staking a fresh claim on how energy can be transformed into music. Built on Raoul Björkenheim and Ilmari Heikinheimo’s previous duo explorations, Ville Rauhala joined them in 2013, forming Triad. Since then the trio has played all over Finland, most recently engaging in an eight-date tour last December (2017).

Raoul Björkenheim’s innovative guitar playing first appeared in 1985 on Edward Vesala’s “Bad Luck, Good Luck”, featuring Tomasz Stanko and Juhani Aaltonen. The drummer’s seminal album two years later on ECM, “Lumi”, brought him to the attention of the global jazz community and led to recordings on that label for Krakatau, a finnish folk-free-metal-jazz quartet which avidly toured Finland and Europe during the 90’s. Björkenheim subsequently lived for eight years in New York City where he made many new connections, recording and performing with artists like Bill Laswell, Paul Schütze, Toshinori Kondo, Mats Gustafsson, Lukas Ligeti, Hamid Drake and William Parker.

Ville Rauhala began playing the bass in his teens and has performed professionally since 1994, his first groups including blues and jazz influenced Groovy Eyes and Hot Pants as well as the roots rock group Stringbeans. Rauhala’s intense bass playing is deliriously infectuous, and his robust grooves and sensitive lyrical approach make him one of the most versatile bassists in the country. His dedication is matched by the members of Black Motor, the well-established trio from Tampere for which Rauhala is best known.

Ilmari Heikinheimo combines polyrythmical and rubato phrasing in his explosively dynamic and lyrical style, bringing melodic dimensions to his drumming, as well as a keen sense of tonal color . He has worked with many major figures in the finnish progressive jazz/improv scene, with the likes of Juhani Aaltonen and Jimi Tenor. His playing has previously been documented in the re-incarnation of Edward Vesala Sound & Fury’s album “Pulsacion”.

Raoul Björkenheim TRIAD’s tracks

• Aftermoon by Raoul Björkenheim TRIAD
• Dressed To Kill by Raoul Björkenheim TRIAD
• Good And Ready by Raoul Björkenheim TRIAD
• Birds On High by Raoul Björkenheim TRIAD
• Twenty Good Reasons by Raoul Björkenheim TRIAD
• Ballad In Brown by Raoul Björkenheim TRIAD
• BaoBob by Raoul Björkenheim TRIAD
• Caf-Fiend by Raoul Björkenheim TRIAD
• Jungle Fragments (Björkenheim-Heikinheimo Duo LIVE) by Raoul Björkenheim TRIAD
• Flight (Björkenheim-Heikinheimo Duo LIVE) by Raoul Björkenheim TRIAD