The Look of Helsinki Horn Soul on Mama Radical's Blue Moon in Pisces
The Look of Helsinki Horn Soul on Mama Radical’s Blue Moon in Pisces
A Red Damask Sleeve, a Funk Horn Pair and a Rare Full Moon Over Helsinki
Mama Radical named her October 2024 single after a blue moon. Then she dressed it in a sleeve that is almost entirely red: tufted damask, a lilac title and one figure repeated in half a dozen ghosted poses. Blue Moon in Pisces plays the same trick on the ear. It opens on lean pop rock guitar and drums, and then trombone, saxophone and organ crowd in, tipping it towards contemporary soul with a funk spine.
Mama Radical’s music is in the playlist below, and her full run of coverage sits on her artist profile. Blue Moon in Pisces reached this desk through PopHits.Co Music Charts, which verifies independent artists and places their releases across its network of music news desks. Play it once for the horns, then read on for how it was built.
Mama Radical Names Blue Moon in Pisces After the Sky and Writes About Inner Strength
Mama Radical is the stage name of Helsinki artist and musician Henna Hartikainen. She records with a changing cast of guest musicians and also works across the performing arts. She makes her own music videos and artwork, so the sleeve is worth a second look. In fact, her solo performance piece Henkilökohtaista, It’s Personal came with its own soundtrack, including New Human Revolution. Both show the same habit: a song is something to be staged as well as heard.
Blue Moon in Pisces takes its title from the astrological event, then points that rare full moon somewhere closer to home. The song urges listeners to unlock the strength they already carry. Mama Radical files it under alt rock pop, alternative pop and contemporary soul. On record, however, the balance tips further than that list suggests, and funk does a lot of the heavy lifting.
The single came out on 30 October 2024 and runs two minutes and 49 seconds. Keep that number in mind, because it matters once the horns arrive.
Live Guitar and Tero Sundell’s Drums Lay the Floor Before Trombone and Saxophone Arrive
The track began life as a live take of guitar and drums, and that origin is still audible in the opening bars. Tero Sundell, who drummed for the Finnish rock band Tehosekoitin, plays the kit. At first Sundell keeps it moderate, and the guitar matches that restraint. Nothing rushes.
Mama Radical’s vocal arrives quickly, and after that the build begins. Bass and organ were added later, along with a second guitar line, so the song gets livelier and funkier with every layer. Then a trombone and saxophone pair moves into the middle of the mix and gives the track density and weight.
What keeps it from turning into a pile-up is the rhythm. Instead of piling on, the arrangement leans on pauses. The band stops, holds, then pushes back in, so each lift feels staged rather than stacked. For a song about inner strength, it is notably polite about asking for your attention. Eventually the horns stop being polite. The saxophone takes a solo with real funk in it, while the trombone dances around it.
Fans of Amy Winehouse will recognise the direction. On Back to Black, the Dap-Kings’ horns gave three-minute pop songs the weight of a full soul revue. The brass here does the same job for a track that never reaches the three-minute mark. Similarly, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings are an obvious reference point. Their horn stabs punctuate a tight, live-sounding rhythm section instead of decorating it. That is also the order of operations on this single: drums and guitar first, horns as punctuation.
Mikko Elonen’s Mix Keeps the Horns, Organ and Funk Guitar Readable in Under Three Minutes
Mikko Elonen played guitar on the single and mixed it, and the mix is where the styling pays off. A lot of parts share a very short song here. There are two guitar lines, bass, organ, drums, trombone and saxophone, all under a lead vocal. Even so, the finished master keeps them blended while leaving each one identifiable. That is harder than it sounds at this length.
Elonen’s role is also worth noting for anyone following the catalogue. The same player reappears on the next single, Little Bit More, where a custom-made guitar and a lead solo take centre stage. Over two releases, Elonen has become part of the Mama Radical sound as much as any instrument.
The economy is a presentation choice as much as a production one. After all, a horn-led soul arrangement could easily run to five minutes of vamping. Instead, Blue Moon in Pisces makes its case and leaves, which is the alt pop instinct showing through the brass.
AltPop.News’s curator team: “The sleeve ghosts one figure into six poses. The arrangement layers one live take into a full soul band. Same idea, two mediums. That joined-up thinking between image and sound is exactly what we look for in an alt pop release.”
As a result, this is a record for listeners who like their alternative pop with a horn section. It also suits anyone who finds most contemporary soul too polished. If you came to Amy Winehouse for the brass as much as the voice, start here.
Where to Hear Blue Moon in Pisces and Follow Mama Radical’s Run of Helsinki Singles
Blue Moon in Pisces is out now on Spotify. It also opened a busy stretch for Mama Radical. For example, Little Bit More followed on 26 November 2024, recorded in Helsinki that summer and streaming on Spotify. It drew coverage from Edgar Allan Poets, who heard Nancy Sinatra in its driving rhythm. Meanwhile, Apricot Magazine singled out Elonen’s guitar solo. Since then, Buzzslayers has written about the reggae and pop single Hypnotic Fire. Later, RAGMAG covered the reggae and rock blend of Can’t Compare. The newest single, Rauhaa ja Rakkautta, is up on her official site.
So there is a clear direction across these releases. The songs are recorded in Helsinki, and Elonen stays constant while the guest players change. Above all, the artist treats the cover, the staging and the horn chart as one piece of work. Blue Moon in Pisces is the most direct way into it.
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