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√ò, "Konstellaatio"
Konstellaatio is yet another release in Mika Vainio's current prolific spate of recordings, and amazingly even here, alone in his solo √ò guise, there seems to be no reduction in quality. Half of this album channels the minimalist techno of Pan Sonic, while the other half hints at moody, sparse ambience that has characterized his other recent works. Like much of his discography, Konstellaatio manages to have an organic warmth amongst its machine generated noises that slowly reveals more of its character.
The first three songs of this album are the ones that make for the strongest throwback to the Pan Sonic sound."Otava" is carried along on a deep bassline and a synthetic kick drum that approximates a slow tempo house track.This becomes even more apparent with melodic synth pads fleshing it out and even pushing it dangerously close to new age territory without going too far.In a similar vein is "Syvyydessä Kimallus," which matches its sharp inorganic thud and brittle rhythmic pulse bar for bar with gentle passages of spacious ambience.
The first few moments of "Kesäyon Haltijat" are painfully shrill, but it is short lived, replaced by an analog drum thump and white noise puffs to approximate a snare.At the same time, a haunting bell like melody sneaks in and heralds the more placid moments to come on the album.Perhaps the most drastic manifestation of this sound is the ending piece "Takaisin," which is a skeletal song based upon a chintzy drum machine rhythm.Its basic melody gives a lighter, looser feel compared to the bulk of Vainio's work, while his penchant for deep sub bass tones stays in place.
The remainder of this album focuses less on the deep beats and more into pensive synths and electronics.On "Elämän Puu," rhythms are essentially tossed out the window for the sake of pure mood and melody.The bits of random noises that open the piece slowly meld into a melancholy structure, and even with the extreme high and low passages the mood stays somber and hushed."Syvänteessä Pukinjalkaisen" also stays away from rhythms and instead uses mostly soft synth stabs with dramatic low end accents, feeling like a light 1980s synth piece stripped back to its barest essentials.Far different, but still similarly avoiding rhythms is "Talvipäivä, Vanha Motelli," which is mostly a wet, vibrating spring type sound paired with textural static until it closes on digital chimes and sadness.
Even with all of these recent releases, Vainio has upheld his quality control, and also retained distinct identities for each.The ambient moments of Konstellaatio are strong, but I cannot help but favor the beat oriented tracks, with the simple rhythms of techno belying the complexity and nuance of the tones and textures he employs.Like much of his work, it is deceptively simple in its construction, but hides a world of electronic brilliance just below the surface.
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