VEF Radio explores a spread of genres, toying with limitations as Junolainen adds playful twists and unseen turns. There is a joyous carefree undercurrent and a sprite-like sparkle to the compositions on offer which is honest and refreshing.
Sometimes the most difficult thing to see is what is staring you right in the face. In an age where the financial constraints of releasing a record are becoming ever more apparent, simple unit sales being a major issue, collaboration not only between labels but also between pressing plants would seem like an obvious step. Obvious maybe, yet very difficult to achieve; difficult but not impossible.
Leipzig is a hot bed for electronic music and three machine music entities from the German city have come together for a unifying release. YUYAY and Possblthings are two imprints cut from the same cloth. Artists cross over the two with sounds and styles linking both. The pair have joined forces with R.A.N.D. Muzik Recordings, the label wing of the vinyl cutters, with the tripartite production of a debut album.
Although Vef 317 is a new name, Kirill Junolainen, the man behind VEF Radio, is anything but a novice. The boss of Datarocket, Lasergum Records and Intraflex Records has myriad pseudonyms and a decade of experience. Surprisingly, this eleven track LP is the Russian musician’s first physical release. The style pursued shifts from cold and calculated electro, as in the frigid “Datalab,” to reformatted braindance in the glitched and ruffled workout of “UKW.” The A-Side of the record is characterised by a more clinical sound. Tracks are often short interludes, as in “Introvert” or “ AM Transmitter”, with those of more substance, such as “Modern Wave,” cruising with a more glacial edge. “Auto Radio” is the most developed track of the opener six. Sonorous strings soar over pulsing patterns pierce a squelching bass for a piece of deep machine funk. Despite their length, huge amounts of energy and enthusiasm are packed into some of the shorter offerings on VEF Radio. “Retroman” is a glittering hummingbird of a piece, delicate and frenetic BPM’s buzz and zip before radiant keys. Junolainen pulls at with the parameters of electro, giving expectations an elbow and nudge and getting away with it, as in the off kilter “Telefax” with its futuristic mechanics and bright tinker-toy innocence. The finale of the vinyl gives another angle. “Lem” is a wonderfully absorbing piece. Astral chords sparkle against a stark beat while spoken words bob and float. The digital release is twenty tracks long with some cracking pieces that just didn’t make the physical cut. “Telefon 1-800” is a tongue in cheek synth pop reduction whereas “Speedway” is an acid dipped rollercoaster.
VEF Radio explores a spread of genres, toying with limitations as Junolainen adds playful twists and unseen turns. There is a joyous carefree undercurrent and a sprite-like sparkle to the compositions on offer which is honest and refreshing. Interestingly, the trident of cooperation between the Leipzig labels adds another idea to ponder alongside Vef 317’s debut; the notion of imprints and pressing plants working more closely together with a common goal, a novel concept that would sound like music to most ears.
VEF Radio is available on YUYAY / Possblthings / R.A.N.D. Muzik.
