Ilmiliekki Quartet from Helsinki return with their new self-titled album on We Jazz Records on 11 February 2022. The group, including Verneri Pohjola (trumpet), Tuomo Prättälä (piano), Antti Lötjönen (bass) and Olavi Louhivuori (drums) is a mainstay in the Finnish scene and the band has been steadily developing their sound for nearly two decades now. It could be said that the group's musicians, each also a solo artist of note these days, has grown with and through performing together with this regularly working quartet. Ilmiliekki Quartet's music has a song-like melodic quality, which pairs naturally with their often freeform search for new musical landscapes.
The second single ahead of the album, "Aila", is a tune borrowed from the Finnish group Karina. It continues the tradition of Ilmiliekki Quartet taking a fresh look at a composition they love. Usually, as in this case, it involves the quartet turning a more pop-oriented original into a new entity altogether. This one is a grower, starting slow with just the piano and trumpet, and then building up to a beautiful, melodic piece with remarkable depth.