Uton - Straight Edge XXS

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5...according to our Brian on Thu 05 Jun, 2008.

This record is sending me brilliantly insane. It's by some Finnish drone merchant called Uton who's gone to India, right, & captures, beautifully, the very essence of the country in groove after gibbering groove of tribal scree, rural farmyard noise, street market chaos, found sound, psychedelic wibbles, improvised noise, cerebral free jams, organic mantras....oh it's a real jawdropping spiritual journey is this record! It's called 'Straight Edge XXS' and is on Dekorder but belongs just as much on Sun City Girls' national audio geographic Sublime Frequencies imprint, such is the quality of the recordings and the sense of discovery on show here. Even the more chaotic, jumbled sections provide an inner peace for me as it's very expressive, surprisingly cohesive & deliciously otherworldly. It also makes me think of an unreleased soundtrack to a film by Alejandro Jodorowsky, especially, or Werner Herzog. The 2nd Finnish record this week that's utterly moved me! Ltd LP only with a fascinating collage sleeve. Wonderful sounds, the music of life & mad as a box of frogs to boot!

"Straight Edge XXS" is the 2nd vinyl album by Finland's Uton released in a strictly limited edition of 500 copies on the Dekorder label. It comes in a gorgeous full-colour collage sleeve assembled by Hirvonen himself.While Uton's last Dekorder album "Alitaju Ylimina" (and most of his other recorded works respectively) are hazy lo-fi drone masterpieces for the most part, this is a completely diffferent affair. Recorded straight to tape within one month, right after returning from a 6-month trip to India, these songs (if you couldcall them songs) are completelyout-of-this-world; very short and crazed sketch-like pieces sounding like a Nonesuch Explorer LP of long lost field recordings from anas yet unexplored continent. Or is it World Music from an unknown planet recorded by those Sublime Frequencies guys from mysterious short wave transmissions?Well, it is all that and more. It is pure ecstatic expression channelized through Psychedelia, Free Jazz, Noise and rural ancient Folk Music from all over the world in a completely naked, predominantly acoustic setting.One of the purest forms of music you could imagine; while all the familiar Uton elements remain evident in a hazy backcloth. Uton is the one-man project of Jani Hirvonenoriginally hailing from Tampere. Hirvonen is oneof the most active musicians of the Finnish underground scene that has recently presented usthe likes of Kuupuu, Kemialliset Ystävät, Islaja,Paavoharju and Lau Nau and a seemingly never-ending stream of beautiful and highly original record releases.

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