Discography – Collaborations

Kimmo Pörsti: Past And Present (2021)

  • Composed one track (Fused) and played all bass, guitars and keyboards on it

Get the album from Kimmo’s shop

There are a bunch of reviews here and there but these ones especially mention yours truly.


Complete change of style for “Fused”, composed by Jari Riitala (who plays bass, keyboards and guitar) which unfolds an energetic and high quality instrumental jazz-rock / jazz-fusion. The opportunity for Kimmo to show another facet of his job as a drummer! After this musical UFO, “Sorrow And Recovery” brings us back to a delicately fluted folk prog[…]

Pierre [Google translation from French] (progcritique.com)

‘Awakening’ lives up to his sunrise-like disposition, ‘Changewinds’ and ‘Fused’ are quite colorful pieces, ‘Darker Place’ has a lot of volume and gets under your skin and with ‘Second Arrival’ there is another big jolt through the album.

Marcel Rapp [Google translation from German] (powermetal.de)

 “Fused” starts off strong, with hard sounds and intricate melodies with keyboards in evidence with a virtuoso solo to which the guitar is soon added. With marked Fusion influences, this passage shows how the artists involved want to offer quality music, and Kimmo in some inserts enhances his skills as a drummer, while the whole track is a continuous intertwining of high-level virtuosity, excellent. 

Jacopo Vigezzi [Google translation from German] (progrockjournal.com)

And we arrive at “ Fused ” (5:04), music by Jari Riitala , which is proposed with its reference instruments (guitars, keyboards, bass) together with Kimmo’s drums. 
A decisive change of pace towards the paths of funk, favoring a path that smells of virtuosity and stage improvisation, and dynamism takes over the melodic line.

Athos Enrile [Google translation from Italian] (Athos by MAT2020)

The great Finnish musician Kimmo Pörsti released his third solo album, Past and Present , a few days ago Recognized worldwide as one of the main members of the fabulous progressive group Samurai of Prog , among others, Pörsti offers in this work five songs (the “Past” section) that were released on different occasions between 2004 and 2016, with some of them completely reformulated, plus six other new compositions by Kimmo (with the help of Spanish musician Rafael Pacha , one of the creators of the excellent project The Guildmaster ) and one created by Jari Riitala ( “Fused” ), who leads the band Intergalactic Huso Orchestra .

[Google translation from Spanish] (Mellotronweb.com)

Kimmo Pörsti: Wayfarer (2020)

  • Composed two tracks (Thunkit and Witch Watch) and played bass, guitars and keyboards on them

Get the album from Kimmo’s shop

Again, from a good number of reviews I’ve picked below the ones relevant to me.


Instrumentalisteista ja säveltäjistä nostan esiin Jari Riitalan. Hänen käsialaansa ovat levyn kaksi selkeimmin jazzrockiin kallistuvaa biisiä ”Thunkit” ja ”Witch Watch”. Ensimmäisessä, huimasti kiitävässä melodisessa instrussa Riitala ja Dave Bainbridge nostavat kitaroillaan ja koskettimillaan vuoronperään kierroksia – soundimaailmaan haetaan innoitusta ihanalta 70-luvulta. Mainio veto, jonka kuvittelisi livenä toteutetuksi, jos ei muusta olisi tietoa. Jälkimmäisen biisin rennossa, Marek Arnoldin sopraanon vetämässä groovessa viihtyy siinäkin.

Pekka Koskivaara (Retrokkiblog)

Jenny Darren comes in to provide vocals on the not particularly notable Morning Mist a ballad with some pleasant instrumentals, but who’s main purpose on this collection seems to be to step away from what has preceded it, as Thunkit breaks into frenetic jazz-rock featuring coruscating guitar and keyboards from Dave Bainbridge (Iona, Lifesigns, Strawbs).

If Southern Cross is mostly worth staying with for the extended keyboard workouts from Jaime RosasWitch Watch is back to jazz-tinged rock, Marek Arnold’s saxophone sparkles like champagne, cutting away for a funk-soul piano theme as though the Average White Band or Steely Dan had joined the jam, all the while Jari Riitala‘s bass hums sublimely and is deservedly thrust into the spotlight for a short solo. 

Andrew Cottrell (Background Magazine)

It also proves to be a perfect resting point after the exquisite Thunkit, which is an absolute highlight on the album. Full of energy and a bursting, summery vibe it is an oasis of refined interplay between guitars (Dave Bainbridge and Jari Riitala) and keys (again Bainbridge), spurred-on by virtuous drumming from Pörsti. In full swing, it flows through divine movements reminiscent to The Flower Kings and Journey in their pre-Perry, jazz-rock influenced period. A majestic track where everything gels and holds an irresistible charm.

This same type of charm, although this has to be seen from a different perspective, can be sensed by the melancholic vibes I get from Witch Watch. The jazzy intonation, through it’s alluring saxophone melodies, is great, but it’s the piano parts, the smoothly-natural shifts and the low-key drum part interactions that provoke precious memories of Fats Domino, and magically takes me right back to 1980 and his Sleeping On The Job era, encouraged by Riitala’s playful bass parts. A wonderful feeling.

Jan Buddenberg (DPRP.net)

The flavour of the album changes with the uptempo blast Thunkit, vintage keyboards and synth lines intermingle with harmonised guitar. Nice to see Kimmo cutting loose, and a great solo section courtesy, once again, from Dave Bainbridge. Another great instrumental is the jazzy Witch Watch, which took me back to Kimmo Pörsti’s days with Mist Season, here with some impressive bass, keys and guitar from Jari Riitala, and topping it all off Marek Arnold’s tasteful soprano sax.

Bob Mulvey (The Progressive Aspect)

“Thunkit”, is full of spirit, dancing guitars, deep bass and pounding drums that just drive the fast – paced melody onward. A very cool, jazzy instrumental.

Professor Mark (Progressive Rock Central)

Excellent guitar and organ highlights “Thunkit” followed by the title track […]

With five more tunes to explore and over seventy minutes of music, Wayfarer will no doubt feature prominently on my ‘best of’ list at the end of the year. 

Jon Neudorf (Sea Of Tranquility)

Only instruments for “ Thunkit” (6:20), whose music is attributed to Jari Riitala , also in charge of providing bass, lead guitar and keyboards parts; Dave Bainbridge gives away keyboard and guitar sections while Kimmo Pörsti plays his role as drummer. Here the trait changes significantly, and with the rhythm section increasing in pitch, solos and brushstrokes of “stylistic wisdom” are introduced, with the electric in the foreground

Episode number nine bears the name ” Witch Watch ” and lasts about seven minutes. This is an instrumental whose music was written by Jari Riitala (bass, keyboards and guitar) and which sees, in addition to Pörsti’s percussion , Marek Arnold on soprano sax. The entry of the sax on the scene pushes the path towards a contained funky jazz, and once again the ensemble chosen by Kimmo amazes for its ability to vary and propose new paths.

Athos Enrile [Google translation from Italian] (Athos by MAT2020)