Uton - XXX (Gold Soundz, 2004)

1 Untitled (8:10)
2 Untitled (8:24)
3 Untitled (8:00)
4 Untitled (10:19)
5 Untitled (7:59)

As someone who regularly talks about the forests and green aspects of Tampere, Finland, I also acknowledge that there's another side to the city. Industrial spires rise in the cold blue air and spew black smoke into the skies. This cold, sterile part of the city is a major aspect to its functionality as a Finnish meteropolis. However, most of the music coming out of Tampere that I know and love focuses on the other side - the mystical forest gnome dances. Bands like Avarus, Kemialliset Yst?v?t, Master Qsh, and others, all embody this; it's engrained in their bones. And then there is Uton. I have long admired the cryptic sounds coming from the Haamumaa HQ, and Uton has never failed to explore a variety of landscapes with his music.

"xxx" burns down the forests and passes out on the charred ground. This is desolate music. In these glacial explorations, Uton reminds us of the industrial districts of his home city. The first track isolates the wail of machines and stretches it to infinity. Harsh edges are sanded off to minimize the damage done to your eardrums. Feedback scrawls are looped around and pulled tight, making this a greasy, cohesive mess.

Within this black goop arises an interconnected beauty. By the time the gurgling glow of the third track emerges from the burning steam, you are completely drawn in. Underneath this high frequency hum is chaos, always looming, always present. But it never overtakes the piece. The glossy finish is always at the center of your attention; keep your focus there, you won't be lost or destroyed. Magic happens here, but in a different, manmade way. Inside these massive factories, creation is taking place. Each hand that works each machine, putting parts together, is like its very own god of creation. Instead of seven days, this process lasts forver.

Uton's "xxx" is a subtle reminder that within every place, there are dichotomies at work. In order for these forests to thrive and exist in Tampere, it needs the industrial complexes to produce the goods that fund the parks. It's a modern circle of life, and without it we would no doubt be lost. These archaic drones show another side of Uton, and prove that he is capable of performing at high level within any context. This is perfect for those cold winter nights as it aurally depicts everything that they are.
Foxy Digitalis

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Uton - Ground's Dream Cosmic Love (Students of Decay, 2006)

1 Ground's Dream Cosmic Love (Magmamagnetic Golden Turtle Mix) (45:44)

Longue piste de 45 minutes de drone minimal qui sonnerait comme le battement de la pluie sur les toits et le grondement d'un train tout à la fois...

Once again, Finland's Jani Hirvonen pilots his Uton vessel through majestic, organic vectors of ur-drone bliss. These subterranean landscapes both threaten and beguile, with oppressive hum and hiss giving way to distant lullaby melodies that sound like they're being transmitted live
and direct from some primitive metropolis whose inhabitants have never seen the sun.
Students of Decay

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Peter Wright & Uton - Birdsong For Sewers (Digitalis, 2005)

1 A Hermetic Notion
2 Creeper
3 The Angels Of Melancholia
4 Japanese Paper Treehouse
5 And Mind Was The Last Thing
6 Feathers
7 Underneath The Bridge Is My Home

Le néo zélandais Peter Wright et le finlandais Jani Hirvonen unissent leurs efforts pour un album de drones particulièrement prenants...

Birdsong for Sewers are Uton and Peter Wright. Recorded on location in Christchurch, London, and Tampere between December 2002 and March 2004 and compiled by post.

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Uton - Whispers From The Wood (Last Visible Dog, 2005)

1-01 Tämän Sanan Jälkeen I (4:17)
1-02 Tämän Sanan Jälkeen II (6:00)
1-03 Tämän Sanan Jälken III (5:45)
1-04 Tämän Sanan Jälkeen IV (3:06)
1-05 Tämän Sanan Jälkeen V (4:48)
1-06 Tämän Sanan Jälkeen VI (2:20)
1-07 Tämän Sanan Jälkeen VII (1:17)
1-08 Tämän Sanan Jälkeen VIII (3:09)
1-09 Tämän Sanan Jälkeen IX (2:20)
1-10 Tämän Sanan Jälkeen X (4:19)
1-11 Tämän Sanan Jälkeen XI (3:20)
1-12 Tämän Sanan Jälkeen XII (2:15)
1-13 Tämän Sanan Jälkeen XIII (2:45)
1-14 Oua (5:38)
1-15 XV (4:34)
1-16 XVI (4:36)

2-01 Mikä Kasvaa Maan Sisällä I (5:18)
2-02 Mikä Kasvaa Maan Sisällä II (5:03)
2-03 Mikä Kasvaa Maan Sisällä III (7:19)
2-04 Mikä Kasvaa Maan Sisällä IV (4:40)
2-05 Mikä Kasvaa Maan Sisällä V (4:04)
2-06 Mikä Kasvaa Maan Sisällä VI (4:55)
2-07 Mikä Kasvaa Maan Sisällä VII (6:17)
2-08 Mikä Kasvaa Maan Sisällä VIII (4:21)
2-09 IX (4:07)
2-10 X (8:55)
2-11 Neutral Power (7:03)

3-01 Ay Um Au Law I (7:17)
3-02 Ay Um Au Law II (3:46)
3-03 Ay Um Au Law III (5:04)
3-04 Ay Um Au Law IV (4:29)
3-05 Ay Um Au Law V (2:04)
3-06 Ay Um Au Law VI (6:45)
3-07 Ay Um Au Law VII (10:26)
3-08 VIII (3:41)
3-09 IX (6:06)
3-10 Buddhamania I (7:41)
3-11 Buddhamania II (5:26)
3-12 Buddhamania III (7:16)

Réédition de 4 albums de Uton (pseudonyme de Jani Hirvonen) de la période 2002-2003: Tämän Sanan Jälken, Mikä Rasvaa Maan Sisällä, Ay Um Au Law, Buddhamania, augmentés d'un certain nombre d'inédits: drones, bruit, électronique sombre, acoustique, musique ancestrale....

Where to begin with a 3 CD set of one of my favorite artists around... that's not easy. Last Visible Dog's massive "Whispers From the Woods" set is an essential, monolithic look at one of the most underappreciated artists in the sprawling Finnish scene. This release compiles many of Uton's (aka Jani Hirvonen) essential, but out-of-print, releases along with some bonus unreleasted material. It's a huge set, but for those who haven't yet experienced the forest spirit that is Uton, this is the best possible place to start.

The best disc here is the first, just because it finally gives Uton's essential "T?m?n Sanan J?lkeen" CD-R (originally released on Hirvonen's own, now defunct, Haamumaa imprint) the proper reissue it deserves. This densely textured album is the aural emergence of the first primeval woods centuries ago. This music has an old soul and Uton's use of dark electronics in conjunction with acoustic instrumentation is nothing short of spectacular. This is a wholly satisfying release, combining all the elements that makes the Finnish underground so great.

Also of note is the long out-of-print CD-R on the Jewelled Antler label, "Ay Um Au Lam." This seven-song release was Uton's most impressive foray into minimal droneworks. Hirvonen never overwhelms you with the electronic tones on "Ay Um Au Lam." He knows when to hold back and let the listener's imagination fill in any gaps or cracks that he leaves out. It's an underrated skill, but is used to perfection on this album. "Ay Um Au Lam" is the logical precursor to what is my favorite Uton release to date, "The August Light." Where that release had rich, organic threads weaving through it, like it was the modern music of the magic woods, "Ay Um Au Lam" is more primitive. It's the primordial soup that all life emerged from. In this simple state, this is pure beauty.

The other releases on "Whispers >From the Woods" expand on these various themes and offer a deep insight to Uton's modus operandi. The more noisy and abrasive "Mik? Kasvaa Maan Sis?ll?" (from the noise label Hammasratas in 2003) has an almost childlike feel to it, like a baby learning to finally walk. And there's the underrated 3" from 267 Lattajjaa, "Buddhamania," that is like the same moments from "Mik?," but from the perspective of a concerned, yet proud, parent. It's full of anticipation and fear. This is simply an awesome collection by a wonderfully talented artist.

Uton should be mentioned in the same breath as all the better known acts from Finland. Sure, popularity or recognition means squat these days, but in the end, more people need to hear these excellent compositions. Jani Hirvonen knows what he's doing and does it very, very well. "Whispers From the Woods" is essential for fans of Uton and those who have yet to discover his brilliance.
Foxy Digitalis

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The Jewelled Antler Library Book 1 and 2 (Porter Records, 2008)

Book One
Green Laughter
1-1 Loren Chasse Green Laughter (18:11)
1-2 Loren Chasse Footpath 1 (1:02)

The Dreadful Gift
1-3 Tomes Part 1 (10:04)
1-4 Tomes Part 2 (10:38)
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1-5 Loren Chasse Footpath 2 (1:11)
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The Sun Is The Lamp
1-6 The Ivytree The Withering Year (2:53)
1-7 Ivytree Inner Groves (6:13)
1-8 The Ivytree White Sun (5:41)
1-9 The Ivytree Lake Of Fire (3:29)
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1-10 Loren Chasse Footpath 3 (0:47)
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Karst E.P.
1-11 Hala Strana Cutting Durmast (3:13)
1-12 Hala Strana Karst (5:12)
1-13 Hala Strana Sztajer (Trad. Polish) (3:13)
1-14 Hala Strana Cantecul Miresei (Trad. Romanian) (3:08)
1-15 Hala Strana Nettles (3:14)

Book Two
Their Feet Are The Foraging Ground Of Wolves
2-1 Dead Raven Choir Night Scene (8:29)
2-2 Dead Raven Choir The Horn's Sound In The Wood ... (5:45)
2-3 Dead Raven Choir The Shepherd's Hour (6:50)
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2-4 Loren Chasse Footpath 4 (2:01)
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Silvery Branches
2-5 The Famous Boating Party White Butterfly (3:37)
2-6 The Famous Boating Party The Orange Bears (3:36)
2-7 The Famous Boating Party Albion Moonlight (3:37)
2-8 The Famous Boating Party The Great Sled-Makers (3:20)
2-9 The Famous Boating Party The Deer Is Humble (2:40)
2-10 The Famous Boating Party Follies Of Summer (2:33)
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2-11 Loren Chasse Footpath 5 (1:27)
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Zwuij
2-12 Uton Zwuij 1 (5:35)
2-13 Uton Zwuij 2 (8:06)
2-14 Uton Zwuij 3 (5:29)
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2-15 Loren Chasse Footpath 6 (0:37)

réédition des douze volumes de la Jewelled Antler Library plus le CDR limité de The Ways of God to Man et des fields recordings de Loren Chasse.... Pour les amoureux de folk étrange....

With 13 groups, 59 tracks and over 4 hours and 40 minutes of music and sounds, the Jewelled Antler Library 4 CD box-set brings together experimental music from the U.S., Finland and New Zealand that ranges from psychedelic, abstract drone, soft psych, noise, folk and field recordings, to the outright strange and bizarre. Four CDs that collect together the entire 12 volume set of the limited edition Jewelled Antler CD-R Library, plus the limited edition recording of The Ways of God to Man and also 12 new field recordings by Loren Chasse. Musicians include: Fursaxa, Uton, Loren Chasse, Tomes, The Ivytree, Hala Strana, Dead Raven Choir, The Famous Boating Party, Claypipe, Muons, Thuja, Kemialliset Ystavat, The Ways of God to Man. This is a 1000 limited edition box-set. The box-set is made of chip board stock with the Jewelled Antler logo debossed in metal foil, includes 14 heavy stock panels with original artwork, CD faces have printed photos by Loren Chasse.
Porter Records

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