uusitalo

i have a feeling that whenever i post tunes that are more electronic in nature and less rock-oriented, visitors of the camera as pen just sort of gloss over it. i seriosuly hope that's not the case. i actually listen to a LOT of electronic music ranging from minimal, ambient stuff to heartpounding dancefloor. and i have just as much appreciation and passion for these forms of musical expression as i do for any other form. techno is all about pulsing through your system and making you feel something, taking over your senses and your attitude. the men and women behind the decks and laptops are using the most advanced technologies our society has to offer a musician to transmit that and express that in a different manner than most would employ. that's extremely appealing to me.
perhaps that's why i've enjoyed uusitalo's tulenkantaja as much as i have.
vladislav delay - a.k.a. luomo and/or uusitalo - lies somewhere between those two extremes mentioned earlier. tulenkantaja, delay's second album created under the 'uusitalo' handle, is an intriguing and pleasureable excursion through some of his favorite pieces of finnish literature. he has basically translated these narratives - excerpts of which fill the beautifully designed cd sleeve - into "tekno" (techno heavily informed by that of berlin, cologne, and detroit) via some fairly straightforward grooves and basslines, clubby dancefloor rhythms, washes of noir-ish minor-key synths, and field recordings. there's a tremendous amount of warmth and vitality in these tracks that certainly counteracts the frosty-looking photography that adorns tulenkantaja's cover artwork.
for delay, this is a remarkably personal record. both his father and mother have roots in finnish literature; his father was an author, his mother a member of the fairly well-known, freethinking literary group of 1940s finland, the "tulenkantaja" (from which this album gets its name). for the listener, the intimacy definitely comes across, making this a very human affair, considering that techno usually has a very cold and computerized feel.

MP3: "kalajuttuja" ('fishing stories')
MP3: "lumimies" ('snowman')
from the album: tulenkantaja
release date: 05/16/06
label: v. delay's own imprint, huume recordings
BUY CD (only $12.98!)