Auri – III - Candles & Beginnings 2LP Coloured Vinyl

Auri – III - Candles & Beginnings

Gold vinyl.

Catchy, beguilingly beautiful, dreamy chamber pop with a folkloristic touch
Music can have a variety of emotional effects and create inner worlds of voices, sounds and moods. If you open your heart and ears to the mesmerizing, hauntingly beautiful soundscapes of Auri, you may find a beacon of light in a world of sound that can be deeply uplifting in today's often frightening, bleak reality.

On their third studio album "III - Candles & Beginnings", the stars have once again allowed themselves to be driven by the unique and heavenly voice of Johanna Kurkela, the magical textures of Nightwish mastermind Tuomas Holopainen and the almost limitless versatility of Nigtwish multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley. Auri create a world to be explored with all senses, in which folk, progressive and symphonic elements, world music, pop and avant-garde join hands.

Immediately following the completion of Nightwish's 2024 monument 'Yesterwynde', songwriting for the third chapter in Auri's musical adventures began in 2023, with Troy in Yorkshire and Tuomas and Johanna working their creative magic in Kitee, Finland. By the fall of 2024, a 10-song demo was ready, laying the groundwork for what would become another stunning Auri journey. The band and their trusted engineer Tero "Teecee" Kinnunen moved the mixing process to sunny Spain, infusing the Andalusian vibes into the music, while mastering was completed in March 2025 by Tim Oliver at the legendary Real World Studios - a landmark studio complex founded by Peter Gabriel in 1989.

The album is a tapestry of emotion - each song is a world unto itself, touching on childhood memories, vivid life experiences and even a reference to a historic place visited by the group, the Lion Inn at Blakey Ridge, in the North York Moors with one of the most remote pubs you'll ever find, if ever.

The cover artwork by Pete Voutilainen, layout and watercolors by Mikko Pankasalo and calligraphy by Johanna Kurkela provide wonderful illustrations that perfectly capture Auri's unique musical vision. With guest musicians such as Frank Van Essen (strings), Jonas Pap (cello), Juho Kanervo (basses) and the incredible drumming and percussion of Nightwish's Kai Hahto, Auri "III - Candles & Beginnings" sounds as lush as it is atmospheric with a fabulous dynamic.

Having been a studio project in the past until this release, Auri will finally tour Europe in 2025.

Tracklist:
Side A
1. The Invisible Gossamer Bridge 
2. The Apparition Speaks 
3. I Will Have Language

Side B
1. Oh, Lovely Oddities 
2. Libraries Of Love 
3. Blakey Ridge

Side C
1. Helios 
2. Museum Of Childhood

Side D
1. Shieldmaiden 
2. A Boy Travelling With His Mother

Label: Nuclear Blast
Released: 2025