Heiki Sillaste draws on his industrial roots while riffling through ambient, electro, house and techno. He selects elements from these varied genres with such a discerning ear that his compositions are never cluttered nor crowded.
A melting pot of ideas and influences
The draw of the 90s is intoxicating for electronic music fans. The mystery that surrounded artists, partially intentional and mostly thanks to no social media, was alluring. One group who were forging their own path over three decades ago are Digital Poodle.
Suction Records have celebrated the group with two retrospective releases, both of which focused gnarled industrial techno machinations that were originally released in (yup, you guessed it) the 1990s. One member of the Poodle, Heiki Sillaste, found himself becoming disheartened by the EBM scene and the sound of that era. Looking for a new avenue of expression, Sillaste has gone on to adopt a spread of pseudonyms as he expanded his horizons and wavelengths. It is to one of these monikers that Suction now turn, once again paying tribute to this local talent.
Under his own first name, Heiki, the Torontonian offers us the six track vinyl of Valley Beyond with the CD and digital versions being a full eleven pieces in length. The title track opens and immediate cross pollination takes place. Greasy acid lines are sweetened by circling strings, a Kraftwerkian choral line accentuated by terse beats. There are echoes of “Tour De France” to the track, the throbbing rhythm pushing towards arcs of brightness. More akin to the real cycling tournament, the collection is one of bends, descents, steep climbs and surprises. “Dieline” recalls Sillaste’s industrial past. Pulses of bass are menaced by trills of interference, a voyeuristic drum stalking the proceedings. “Andermatt” is a slow and elegant, gentle percussion falls on somber keys before radiance rises.
The squawk of the silver box is central ::
Those washes of warmth continue into “Next Summer.” Available on the digital releases, strings sail above burbling TB303 brooks with organic introspection meeting otherworldly exploration. Sharp drum programming is sliced through with vocoder lyrics in the blackened electrofunk of “Komplexoboxxx.” Further serrations are applied by a gnawing acid chord, Heiki delivering a dancefloor behemoth of deviant proportions. “Highway 10” takes those darker tones and adds some lighter shades. The squawk of the silver box is central as we descend into this basement jam of claps and toms, string refrains showering droplets of sunshine on the rusted rhythms.
The digital allows for a deeper journey into Heiki’s sound. Although “Mobile Mass” and “Lazy” did not make the vinyl release, they are welcome additions to the overall release. Two generous works of nurturing ambient abstraction, astral ebbing and flowing that illustrate yet another side of this sound sculptor’s skill. “Highway 10 (Part 2)” is cut from a different cloth, but the result is similar. Taking its cue from its sibling, this version softens the more jagged angles through mellow modulations. Even the meatier “Escarpment” can’t escape some tenderness. A chug thumps with a squirm of acid, a groove of Chicago measurements giving enough space for autumnal tones to enter.
Valley Beyond is a difficult one to define. The record is a melting pot of ideas and influences. Sillaste draws on his industrial roots while riffling through ambient, electro, house and techno. He selects elements from these varied genres with such a discerning ear that his compositions are never cluttered nor crowded. An accomplished collection of thought-provoking electronics ruffled by tougher floor tracks.
Valley Beyond is available on Suction. [Bandcamp | Linktree]
