Kaisa's Machine - Moving Parts (2025)

Kaisa’s Machine, the quintet led by Finnish bassist and composer Kaisa Mäensivu, is already a powerhouse lauded as a “band of young aces” (New York Times) and “refreshingly inventive” (All About Jazz) with two prior albums – In the Key of K (2017) and Taking Shape (2023) – under their belt. Now, Kaisa’s Machine seeks to expand their horizons as the bandleader reflects, using a breadth of emotion and compositional tools, upon the nature of home as she ponders the reality of being divided equally between the dramatically different cities of Helsinki and New York. Moving Parts, the third album by Kaisa’s Machine releasing March 14th, 2025, represents these two cities with varying soundscapes and moods as Mäensivu explores the ever-salient topic of what it means to belong.

The seeds of inception for Moving Parts have long been present in Mäensivu’s mind. An album that pays homage to the two most central places in her life is an idea that has felt natural and began to organically unfurl as she wrote. The pieces representative of Helsinki were, aptly so, written during a stint of time when Mäensivu was in Helsinki with plenty of time on her hands. “I was thinking often about things that bring meaning to life, the feeling of belonging somewhere, and whether it’s important or not to have that,” she says. The pensive and ponderous tone is evident immediately throughout the tracks that were composed in Finland. Similarly, the wild hustle and bustle of New York City is quickly observed by listeners on the recordings that were written in and representative of that great American city as Mäensivu utilized more hectic energy in rhythm, meter, and harmony to mirror the often-intense headspace of urban life.

TRACKLIST

1. Kaisa's Machine - Tykytys
2. Kaisa's Machine - Midnight Sun
3. Kaisa's Machine - Origin Story
4. Kaisa's Machine - Moon Waves
5. Kaisa's Machine - Who’s Asking?
6. Kaisa's Machine - Satama (Harbor)
7. Kaisa's Machine - Best Kept Secrets