Following the critically acclaimed LP's "The Isolated Rhythms of..." (on Uncharted) and "The Ancient Tonalities of..." (on No Pain In Pop) and the EP's "Erriapo", "Spatia" and "Aika", the mysterious Arctic producer known only as Ukkonen delivers his latest set of stunners. His credentials are clear, even if his origins aren't - apparently a background steeped in classical composition in a remote area of Finland and 'pretty much zero interest in dance music' somehow led to all this; confounding expectations from critics worldwide, who have compared his unique non-linear grooves to the likes of Gas, The Sight Below, Mark E, Aphex Twin, Brian Eno, Carl Craig, Mika Vainio and Isolee; as well as gaining DJ support from the likes of Agoria, Ame, Colin Dale, Norman Nodge, Terry Mitchell and Vince Watson. Invited to remix Patten before the latter signed to Warp, heads were also turned by a slew of mixes that went far beyond the average DJ set, where he 'Ukkonised' classic Detroit techno tracks, re-editing them into his trademark off-kilter time signatures whilst somehow retaining all the original soul and groove. Returning to his original home for this EP, it represents yet another left turn on the Ukkonen musical path. The man himself says: 'once again I want to change direction a little, whilst still keeping all the things I love in there - the polyrhythms, phasing loops, ambiguous timings and so on', however this set sees the tempo looser than before. We're not sure if "post techno" actually ever happened, but maybe "post discotronica" is, er, in the post. Anyway, we liked the tracks so much that we once again went the extra mile with the physical product - a clear and white splatter effect thing of beauty, cut to 10" size in a 12" pressing. Praise for Ukkonen: "Masterfully deep house music" Bleep "Stylish and understated" Trebuchet "A cushioned and indistinct microcosm" Connexion Bizarre "Excellent... wonderful... highly recommended" Norman "Quite unlike anything you can really place your finger on" Boomkat "Hypnotism and polyrhythm to delight the most discerning ears" DJ Mag...
