- A spacey compilation that hovers between electro, techno and IDM.
- Sähkö Recordings is a one-stop-shop for Finnish electronic music, hosting almost every important Finnish artist on the main label or one of its subsidiaries. Puu, a series curated by Jimi Tenor—whose name translates to "Wood," in contrast to the label's main theme of electricity—has been home to some of Sähkö's more lighthearted releases. The latest is a four-track 12-inch that showcases lesser-known Finnish producers who pair low-key drum patterns with the kind of gleaming, futuristic synth sounds that have long defined Sähkö.
The EP's most recognizable name is Matti Turunen, who is also one half of Morphology. His "Travel Naskh" is icy electro with textures buffed to a polished gleam with an earthy bassline shading in some contrast. The rest of the EP shies away from any recognizable genre. You can hear electro and experimental, but the tracks don't move in predictable ways. An artist called 20.05.1996 delivers off-piste broken beat that staggers and stutters in fits, while Jarno Valli lays down a crawling rhythm lit up by incandescent synth work.
Ni Ko, who's Italian, offers more textural contrast, with earthy hand percussion making a bubbling bed for three-dimensional pads. "Sink Feeling" is almost pastoral in how it drifts, but the synth textures add a sci-fi tinge, placing the track between genres. Somehow both inscrutable and dead simple, it's more of the quietly brilliant electronic music that Sähkö and its family of labels have excelled at for 25 years.
TracklistA1 Matti Turunen -Travel Naskh
A2 20.05.1996 - Sinnah
B1 Ni Ko - Sink Feeling
B2 Jarno Valli - Waterfront