Mika Vainio At Juno Download

Review: Always a trusted source of needlepoint sound design and spacious arrangements, Mika Vainio returns to one his favourite outposts, Touch, to deliver an album of noise in the truest tradition of the genre. Each track pivots on an axis between miniscule tones and droplets of sound, and gargantuan shockwaves of aggressive abrasion hat interrupt the cautious calm. It's quite clear what Vainio's objectives are in this case, and he executes the concept remarkably well as the gentle cooing of background hum draws you in to a false sense of security before a slab of noise cuts in sharply and floors you without so much as an apology.

Review: What can we say...anything remotely linked to Mika Vainio is always liable to cause shivers of delight with us, and this time we have a nice, full, digital re-issue of the artist's second and probably most diverse piece of work on his native Finland's Sahko Recordings. Olento is a seriously pioneering piece of work and it's power lies within the incredible subtlety of Vainio's production style: starting with "Oleva", a beautifully improvisational clutter of piano keys and vinyl crackles, the album sets the scene for a mesmeric voyage into analog electronics and mind-bending drones. "Stratostaatti" is another gem and it showcases Vainio's ethereal dub tactics, something which runs throughout the work; it would do no good to simply describe the entirety of this release, and such works as "Ohipumppu" or "Mugwump" are the blueprints for techno as we know it nowadays. If you're into anything remotely linked to the last twenty years of electronics, you would be committing a sacrilege by not picking this up - essential.

Review: Recorded live in 2008, Venexia is a meeting of the electronic - provided by ex-Pan Sonic wizard Mika Vainio and Kevin Drumm - and the acoustic - provided by avant-garde jazz player Axel Dorner and Argentinean saxophonist Lucio Capece. The interplay between searing, industrial sonics and delicate textures is particularly daring, and the fact the performance was captured live only adds to the sense of wonder - especially given the microscopic particles of sound which evaporate from the sounds contained on the record.