Turunen moulds Techno, Electro, House and Electronics into this wonderfully complex, underground dancehall record. A stunning 12” and a cracking first for Muhk.
[Buy at Clone] Incredibly there are still people out there with the tenacity, and financial insanity, to start a record label. Not just a record label, but a record label staying true to the vinyl roots. Welcome to Muhk Music, a new imprint from Sweden. This debutant enters the ballroom with a fair old corsage on the hand, the floral pattern spelling out half of Morphology. Strained analogies aside, Muhk opens its catalogue with Finland’s Matti Turunen.
Elokuu opens with the title piece. A slow rumbling 707 introduces the track. Keys build and a disjointed piano melody follows. The track is a blend of House beats and a wonderful meandering Techno chords. The track has a freshness to it and an underlying beauty that touches the fringes of Electronics. A soulful and superb opener. “Stars” lands with much more of a traditional Techno sound. Broad analogue strokes are draped over crisp beats—the track is astral and earthy. Turunen has a lightness of touch, and an airiness not usually displayed in his Electro and House outings. The Finn’s Electro bass arrives with “Things You Do.” As hollowed beats ricochet a warbling acid line arrives to add some squalor to the proceedings.
Muhk’s website propounds Turunen’s latest to be a Scandinavian equivalent to Detroit. I’m inclined to disagree. Yes, Elokuu definitely has influences of the Motor City in its movements but this isn’t mere pastiche. Turunen moulds Techno, Electro, House and Electronics into this wonderfully complex, underground dancehall record. A stunning 12” and a cracking first for Muhk.
Elokuu is available on Muhk Music. [Buy at Clone]
