Karhunainen is the latest 65 minute 10 tracker
from Sasu Ripatti aka Vladislav Delay under his tech-house moniker,
Uusitalo. This is the third full length releases by Uusitalo following
`Vapaa Muurari Live' (2000) and `Tulenkantaja' (2006). Ripatti
has been somewhat prolific recently releasing some of his top
work under the Vladislav Delay and Luomo pseudonyms, and now he
has dropped the awesome Karlhunainen. Uusitalo occupies the middle
ground between Delay's abstract experimental dub-tech soundscapes
and Luomo's more straight-edged dubby tech/house compositions.
This album stylistically echoes `Tulenkantaja'
but song structures are made more complex, tempo's continuously
shift and melody/motif's are more delicious, groovy and play a
more prominent role. The album features all of Ripatti's glorious
trademark sounds including warping bass, spliced beats, treble-kicking
clicks, cut-up micro house grooves and echo and delay and these
are arranged with the utmost precision and delicacy. Alas this
is totally progressive electronic music with a pulse.
Tracks like `Korpikansa', `Konevista' and `Sikojen
Juhla' tease the listener with (relatively) micro and thoroughly
engaging motifs which slowly and complexly start to build patterns
and these patterns are used as foundations for the motifs to progress
and meander meaningfully throughout the track. Simultaneously,
sub-melodies and glitch's oscillate and fluctuate over a warm
and dubby backdrop of organic bass and tightly knit snares. `Satumaa'
and `Himo Perkele' are wonderful examples of tracks which consume
the listener with their perpetual display of alternating, shifting
and throbbing sounds. The album ends with `Puut Juuriltaan' which
provides an ambient `Tangerine-esque' soundscape which serves
to accentuate the glitchcore that preceeded it.
For Karhunainen, Ripatti utilises an all analogue
technique with no digital sound processing resulting in a very
organic and immensely warm sound which adds to natural and all-enveloping
sound which will consume the listener. If you are interested in
the more experimental facets of house, techno and electronica
and want an electronic album with a stylish groove you can dance
to yet take home and stroke your chin to then Karhunainen should
be on your wish list.
For
fans of: Luomo, Vladislav Delay, Geez n'Gosh, Audion, Sutekh,
SND, Thomas Brinkmann
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