If it’s December at You Ain’t No Picasso, then it’s time for Mixmas! Every year I like to turn YANP over to some of my favorite bands to showcase some of their favorite songs through a themed mix. They pick a theme, five songs that fit the theme and then share a little about why they picked each one. This year I’m also giving away a YANP shirt, so check below for the hint about tomorrow’s mix.

MP3: Joensuu 1685 – I’m On Fire (Bruce Springsteen)

I saw Joensuu 1685 play a showcase while I was in Finland this year, but unfortunately couldn’t get close enough to take any photos. Still, they were one of the best shows I caught while there, and one of the best I saw anywhere this year. They sounded so great, in fact, that I asked them to contribute a little bit to this year’s Mixmas.

“Top 5 instrumental songs at the moment” by Risto of Joensuu 1685

Instrumental is an interesting way of composing music. You don’t have to go for the obvious lyrics about love & despair but instead you can deliver mood or some image through the plain music. I haven’t met too many good instrumentals recently(or maybe I haven’t even been looking) so I listed mainly older stuff here, what I have been really enjoying to listen lately.

MP3: Neu! – Seeland
Second song from the 75 album is just an easy way to get started with this list of instrumentals. I could have gone with many other Neu! songs too, but this has just been a lot in my stereo lately. Song is a definitive hit, and brings back recent memories from our tour of driving down autobahns with a smile on everyones face. Easy-going sense of inevitability.

MP3: La Dusseldorf – Rheinita
On Seeland it was Dinger& Rother perfected with Conny Planks producing& recording skills, now it’s Klaus Dinger all over the place, and it still sounds fantastic. I think i could have as well gone the post-Neu Rother way, since he has some really good instrumental tracks on his solo-albums. The clip from La Dusseldorf’s TV-performance of Rheinita is something you should take a look at too.

Lasse Mårtenson – Myrskyluodon Maija [Youtube link]
Well, this song is classic Finnish 70′s instrumental music. It’s a song that you can’t miss if you live in Finland and own a tv since it’s made really popular by a local coffee brand by using it in their tv-ads. Composer is a famous finnish artist who has even made his own version of Lou Reed’s Take a walk on the wild side, with a title ‘Miltä meno maistuu’. This Myrskyluodon Maija takes us to marine themes, and it’s quite a sad tune but still with a flavor of finnish poured thin coffee with a hint of milk.

Oneohtrix Point Never – Zones Without People

Just that this list wouldn’t be all about the 70′s music i wanted to take a song from some more recent artist. This Oneohtrix Point Never is something i came across i guess at some blog. Blog-instrumental.. Well whatever it is called, I just think it sounds perfect and the title Zones Without People takes me to Andrey Tarkovskys Stalker’s atmosphere which cannot be anything but good. I don’t know too much about the artist but i really hope to get my hands on some records.

MP3: Popol Vuh – Vuh
I have listed quite much German music and what would be better way to end the list with than some more German music. This is a song from Popol Vuh’s In den Gärten Pharaos with a running time almost 20 minutes. It’s long enough to really get in the mood, and imagery starts running through the ancient Egypt. I haven’t tried but i think this record would be perfect soundtrack to listen to while reading Finnish author Mika Waltari’s Sinuhe Egyptiläinen. I have to give it a go next time I read that book…

Happy Christmas time!

Tomorrow’s hint: The next contributing artist said yes to letting Chris Funk of the Decemberists produce his 2009 album. He also opened up the first show I saw at the Dame in 2005 when Robert Schneider snuck me in to see Marbles and Clem Snide.