LISTENING FIN
by Tony Marcus (*)
These are bad times for ambient techno. Since Mike 'u-Ziq' Paradinas
and The Aphex Twin detonated the genre with attitude, distortion and
easy listening, The Black Dog have split, Mixmaster Morris is
shifting towards ambient jungle and Warp are rumoured to have
rejected B12's latest LP.
But in Finland there's a guy called Jouni Alkio making classic
ambient techno under the name AURAL EXPANSION. Last year he released
his debut LP 'Exercises In Expansion' on Finland's Dum Records. It
sold an impressive 500 copies - and in Finland, that _is_ impressive.
"Well, this is a quiet country," offers Alkio, by way of explanation.
Like fellow Finnish label Sahko, Dum use cardboard sleeves and hand-
drawn artwork to package lo-fi, analogue tunes. In contrast to
earlier, almost Zen-like Dum productions, Jouni's LP was complex and
intricate. Inevitably, it found its way into the boxes of chill-out
jocks across the world.
But despite the modest sales and acclaim from electronica's elite,
Jouni's philosophy is far removed from the wilful obscurity and
weirder-than-thou stance of some experimentalists.
"For a track to be interesting," he acknowledges, "it has to be
strange and listenable at the same time. If something is too
experimental, you can't listen to it."
Having said that, he's not bothered that his records aren't
populist enough for the dancefloor.
"I wouldn't have anything against them if people did dance to
it," he concedes generously, "but I see it more for active
listening."
Now 24, Helsinki-based Jouni's been making music for about seven
years. He hardly buys any records, hardly goes to clubs but admits
to being a huge LFO fan.
Although he currently works part-time as a computer consultant at
a commercial high-school, a full-time immersion in music is
looking likely. Belgian label Crammed Discs have poached him from
Dum and re-released 'Exercises...' with some new tracks and a new
title, 'Surreal Sheep'.
Is that because Finland's got a lot of sheep or something?
Nothing that simple, of course.
"There is one sound towards the end of the track that sounded like
a sheep going 'baaa'. So I thought, 'Surreal Sheep' sounded a bit
catchy." Who said fluffy techno was dead?
(*) from NME 17 June 1995
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ERkki
Tampere, pHinland
trerra@uta.fi