Lauri Porra: Utu - EP

Finnish heavy metal guitarist and composer Lauri Porra’s atmospheric orchestral miniature “Utu” (“Mist”) is taken from Cabins & Hideouts, a suite of movements describing his family’s summer nights at a cabin in the Finnish countryside. “It takes place around sunset as the air starts to get colder around dusk,” says Stasevska, who as Porra’s wife is part of that family, and has experienced this phenomenon firsthand. “This thin layer of slow-moving white mist appears on the surface of the lake—it’s a unique moment in the summer.”

Porra scores “Utu” using a combination of string harmonics, low sustaining instruments, and bass clarinet. “I’ve never actually heard anybody compose using harmonics in such a way that’s not simply an effect,” adds Stasevska. “It’s very meditative, and it takes you directly to the silence of Finnish summer nights.”