TS06 - Mika Vainio "Behind the Radiators"

7" vinyl only
Limited edition

Artwork and photography by Jon Wozencroft
Cut by Jason at Transition

Track Listing:

Side A: Behind the Radiator Part 1 - 2:52 +
Side B: Behind the Radiator Part 2 - 2:58 +

Locked grooves

Mika Vainio continues the series of Touch Sevens, 7" vinyl-only releases, with this stunning record. The crackle... The fire of the analogue... Mika Vainio is the most adept at using crackle as a voice. Sound artists have used crackle ever since the reality of digital audio hit home, however there's a big difference between this and how other practitioners use it...

Here are two tracks recorded by Mika in Berlin this February.

He has released 3 solo albums for Touch under his own name [Onko, 1997; Kajo, 2000 and In the Land of the `blind, One-Eyed is King, 2003. He is perhaps best known as part of the Finnish duo, Pan Sonic, and he also releases work as Ø for Finnish label, Säkhö Recordings.

7" vinyl was the quintessential format for popular music. Today, it is an undervalued and mostly promotional medium, used as a fetishistic signpost to a time of musical authenticity and a "healthy" popular culture. It might seem like another retrograde step to launch a vinyl series just as the download format threatens to dominate, and indeed there is an element of "the rear view mirror"... the generation of Touch artists who grew up with vinyl [and cassette] still feeling a strong emotional attachment to it. This series is more than that... an overtly critical, non-digital statement is supported by treatments of audio work which cannot be applied to digital formats - the sonic texture, the use of a locked groove, the A & the B and the additional dimension of the visual counterpoint. As for the aspect of audience participation, we choose not to specify the RPM on the label, encouraging the listener to experiment with playback options and personal preferences. An attempt to make music that works at both speeds. The front cover might actually be the back cover...

http://www.phinnweb.org/vainio/

Reviews

Boomkat (UK):

This latest addition to Touch's always essential 7" series takes the form of two new tracks from Mika Vainio, recorded a few months back in Berlin. Both productions feel brilliantly tailored to the format, forging a language out of rich, crackling layers of hum and minimal popping rhythms that flirt with the illusion of being a particularly beautiful and freakish occurrence of surface noise. The A-side is especially evocative of this, structured around a stumbling mid-tempo loop and a chilly swell of sustain and airflow tonality. As with so much of Vainio's best work, this is a recording that's at once clearly rooted in forward-thinking electronic music, whilst vividly drawing on vintage sonic elements and analogue instability. Flipping over, the companion piece operates in a similar fashion, although the beat seems to modulate in a fashion that would have you believe it's straying out of time, attracting micro-rhythms fabricated from crackle textures. The end result sounds a little like an Alva Noto record that's been pressed up on some mucky, ramshackle run of vinyl; or perhaps even the first Opto album by Noto and Opiate's Thomas Knak. In any case, Behind The Radiators is another compelling triumph for Touch's singles club, and it's one which exhibits a real understanding and love for the format. ESSENTIAL PURCHASE!

Warpmart (UK):

Mika Vainio contributes to Touch's collectable 7" series. A warlock of extreme frequency abuse and static manipulation, Vainio harnesses these elements and creates two richly textured and varied tracks. With the aid of Transition mastering from 'Jason' - a name synonymous within the dubstep community - this little 7" carries a lot of weight and will be an essential listen for fans of this masterful producer. Highly recommended.

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