Sami Suova and Mikko Pykari make up Shine 2009. Originally from Helsinki, Finland, Shine 2009 released their debut album “Realism” on May, 3rd, 2011, by way of Cascine and Expo records.
The electronic duo managed to fit many instruments into these nine easy listening 90’s pop tracks and despite the norm, these boys don’t mind a six and a half-minute song.
While this style of music was not what I would consider my personal taste, Realism is really bringing me into a new genre. The EP has flavors of pop, electro, hip-hop, jazz, and more all on one album, something that can be appreciated by listeners of different genres and musicians alike.
As a collection, the smooth sounds of Realism are perfect for a high-fashion runway, a restaurant on the lower east side of New York, or even your daily workout and everyday life.
“Graduation” is a dreamy song with a cool, soft vocal, and a hip-hop influenced track. The song speaks about knowing all the secrets but not giving them away. “So Free” is a catchy jazzy and danceable feel-good song about being happy and free, perhaps the band had truly found it’s place in their music. So Free features the backing vocals of Paula Abdul, Paula’s vocals add another soft and airy element to the song.
“New Rules” features a bridge of the chime rhythm often sampled in hip-hop, made popular in the late 80s by the Run-DMC song “Peter Piper”. Coming from somebody who has never really listened to music of this genre, “Modern Times” and “Naturally” are also noteworthy songs from the album.
Shine 2009 has produced an overall solid debut EP. The band has already made a few music videos for Realism and has live shows scheduled for the near future. They will be playing in their hometown of Helsinki next month, with a group that has had a good amount of success here in America; Chromeo.
