Frode Fjellheim, leader of Transjoik, is primarily an electronic composer. Here he has assembled a band of percussion, bass, guitars, and reeds to service something more than an ambient dance groove. Along with singers and joikers (shamanistic vocalists from the Sami regions of Scandinavia), they have created a soundtrack of mystical technology and technological spiritualism. Like most music from machines, it can vary from plodding electro-coustics to some inventive, unheard of sounds. This album scores better than most because the use of the acoustic instruments is very strong, especially the percussion. There is a heartbeat here that is usually missing from electronic experiences, and it drives the music home. Shrieking singers are in stark contrast to the joikers" droning beauty. Droning saxophones meet waves of electronic wind. The beauty is bleak, the danger is sublime, the feel of Mahkalahke is one of confusion and mystery. --Louis Gibson