Electro and techno are at the EP’s heart, yet there are also flourishes of electronica embedded alongside the use of voice. A diverse record from a musician who has pioneered machine music for a generation.
Bold brass notes bend and burst
In terms of electronic music, Finland consistently punches above its weight. Greats like Morphology and Pan Sonic hail from the northern European nation, as does Kimmo Rapatti better known as Mono Junk. Rapatti has been sculpting sound for thirty years and is unique is both his abilities and approach. Cold Blow Records are more than aware of these qualities, with Iäti about to hit stores.
Five works make up the record with the title piece opening. Those unmistakable Mono Junk arpeggios open. Bubbling liquid lines are pierced by a crisp drum snap with vocals adding a melancholic grace. Cascading chords swirl for the entrancing “Love Divine” before a bruising kick sends the track into the sweat pit. The boundaries of styles are ignored, the Dum Records founder demonstrating the breadth and depth of his sound from the outset. “See Y” is cold and distant while also drawing the listener in. Frigid keys take on a glass-like quality, crystalline and fragile with spoken words ghosting in the backdrop. A shroud of menace eclipses the flip with “I Am Yours (You’re Mine).” A steady kick is the foundation from which coils of bleep and bass ensnare, breathy expressions adding another sinister layer to the piece. “Jam Band” closes. With all freedom and fluidity of an improvised work, bassline grooves and snipping snares are the fertile ground from which bold brass notes bend and burst.
Mono Junk’s range is clear to hear on Iäti. Electro and techno are at the EP’s heart, yet there are also flourishes of electronica embedded alongside the use of voice. A diverse record from a musician who has pioneered machine music for a generation.
Iäti is available on Cold Blow. [Bandcamp]
