Jori Hulkkonen loves his vintage synths - indeed he's a conductor of the world's first Acid Symphony Orchestra, comprised of 11 mad/brilliant Scandinavians armed with dinner suits and Roland TB-303s. It therefore comes as little surprise that "Man From Earth", the Finnish producer's tenth studio album, has its fair share of acid house stylings. It's at once moody and melodic, with Hulkkonen deftly using his machines to produce ethereal beats one minute and storming dance floor fodder the next. Some of these tracks have been lurking in the recesses of Jori's collection of nearly 20 years, some are more recent productions. And despite - or because - of this the album maintains an incredibly cohesive, mature feel. The slow
burning growl in "Dancerous" is one of the album's highlights, as are Jerry Valuri's vocals on "I am Dead" and "Man From Earth". Elsewhere Turbo boss Tiga chips in witha a vocal cameo on "Undercover" under his alias as the Dove. The vocals on that track - "undercover as a music man, I bide my time and plan, I have a greater calling" - could be quite easily an ode to Jori Hulkkonen, who often boasts about a stellar career in which he "has never become popular", thus allowing him to work unencumbered by the strains of stardom. The quality of this album suggests he'll be lucky if he remains "undercover" for much longer. (Juno) From this unsung Finnish virtuoso with nearly two decades of electronic production experience comes a gorgeous, dark, exhilarating 10th artist LP, replete with masterfully nuanced, soulful sounds coaxed from soulless vintage analog synths, thundering 808 beats, gripping vocal accompaniments from Jerry Valuri and Villa Nah, and a cameo by Tiga to boot. This is easily among the best electronic releases of the year (Montreal Mirror) Jori Hulkkonen‘s "Man From Earth" opens with a lowcutoff synth rambling anxiously over a filtered-out rhythm section. Striving towards resolution, the low melody finds harmony as the the backbeat emerges. The song, ‚I Am Dead‘, is a haunting slow banger driven by the tension in Jerry Valuri‘s positively morose vocals. The interaction that these emotions create - that of the aggressive overcoming the melancholic - is one that plays out throughout much of the album. Thus the more aggressive tracks, like ‚Dancerous‘, give way to the more ecstatic tracks, such as ‚The Other Side of Time‘, which in turn resolve again in to the morose tracks, such as ‚Re: Last Year‘. Ultimately the cycle is broken on the selfreflective, yet upbeat, ‚Man From Earth‘, which emotes a fleeting dream-like state. (Bangers & Trash)
TRACKLISTING
1. I Am Dead
2. Boying In The Smokeroom
3. I Dance To Your Bass, My Friend
4. Musta Gunilla
5. Undercover
6. Dancerous
7. My Brother Went To Space And All I
8. Got Was This Lousy Vacuum
9. Ridge Over Troubled Forrester
10. Re: Last Year
11. Bend Over Beethoven
12. Man From Earth
13. The Other Side Of Time
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