Petri Kumela’s and his ensembles new disc In Strange Company contains eclectic chamber music for the guitar. Composers on the disc are Markus Fagerudd (b. 1961), György Kurtág (b. 1926), Tapio Tuomela (b. 1958) and George Crumb (b. 1929). The juxtapositions of the works may at first seem a little surprising, but Petri Kumela describes the CD as follows: ”Some discs are perfect for savouring in small measures, one or two works at a time. This one was designed as a journey best travelled from beginning to end, first as a concert and now on CD. This journey is in three stages: we travel from the absurdism and unrest of the East, via some crisp Finno-Ugrian instrumental and timbral high jinks to the wide-open prairies and magic peace of the West. Our means of transport is a blues wagon bearing the patina of tradition. The feverish departure gradually gives way to profound contentment, to calm meditation as from the veranda we silently gaze across the nocturnal prairie.”