OMJ Jazz & Etno: Julien Tassin & Heikki Ruokangas

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OMJ Jazz & Etno: Julien Tassin & Heikki Ruokangas Wed 7.10.2026 at 20:00 AaltoSiilo Alvar Aallon katu 5, 90520 Oulu Duration approx. 1 h (no intermission) Out of a mutual love of spontaneousness and raw emotions, Belgian guitarist Julien Tassin and Finnish guitarist Heikki Ruokangas decided to start creating music together. As two guitars aiming to sound like one. The two guitarists met while they were both signed to the Australian avant-garde label Ramble Records. As they talked on Instagram, they wanted to play music together, so they travelled --- Julien to Finland and Heikki to Belgium --- bringing different cultures and influences together while also realizing they had a lot in common. Both studied classical music and traditional jazz before entering the improvisational music world, and both share a similar musical vision. In their music, the concrete and the abstract can co-exist at any moment. Melodic lines are combined with atonal sounds, creating an organic and exploratory approach to the acoustic guitar. Just like life itself, the music of this duo contains both beauty and beast. And, like the musicians themselves, it also carries a playful sense of humor. Their travels led to the composition of a new repertoire, which was recorded somewhere between Belgium and Finland. This material became the duo's debut album, Behind The Mask, released in August 2025. To celebrate the release, the duo embarked on a 17-concert tour across five countries. The final concert of the tour was recorded and will be released as Live In Brussels in May 2026 on the American label zOaR, run by Elliott Sharp. The tour also expanded the duo's musical language into new territory. Their performances began incorporating additional instruments such as mandolin and bells, along with various sonic accessories. The result captures a moment of rare intensity, where the two musicians push both their instruments and repertoire further than ever before. Their distinctive approach to the guitar duo format reaches new heights through the raw energy and immediacy of live performance. Heikki Ruokangas is a guitarist and composer from Oulu, Finland. He has appeared on more than twenty albums and compilation recordings and has performed extensively in Finland, the United States, and throughout Europe. He is considered one of the most prolific and internationally active Finnish guitarists of his generation, with releases published worldwide by several record labels. The dialogue between beauty and ugliness in melody lies at the heart of Ruokangas's musical expression, with melodicism always at its center. His musical storytelling combines the longing of the Finnish waltz, the starkness of delta blues, the deep echoes of Western-style twang guitar, and the ecstasy of jazz. Together, these elements form Ruokangas's vision of a slightly askew, distinctly Finnish sonic landscape. Ruokangas also challenges preconceived attitudes toward contemporary art by breaking down the elitist and i