Ukkonen – Disambedience Mix – for the Acidted blog

Yup, a mix the wonderful Ukkonen did for this blog. Free download.

I’ve had a very small handful of mixes done for this blog over the years. But this is quite different. Ever since I heard his mix reimagining Detroit back in February, I knew I wanted to ask Ukkonen to do a mix for this blog. His Isolated Rhythms of… album with 5 tracks spread across 2 x 12″ is a must for any lovers of electronic music (buy now, including on vinyl) with references to Carl Craig and Warp not really getting to the heart of how good it is. Even now I struggle to get the reference points. It is as good as true classics like 76:14.

I asked for a mix with some trepidation, since he’s said he’s rather done with them. But, to my surprise, he agreed. His view of the mix is set out below with “disobedience”, “ambition” and “ambience” as the three watch words. The word cloud above comes from an email exchange with him which I’ve yet to work out how to do justice. But doing the word cloud made me think that in addition to his three I’d offer “music, structure, thing” as perhaps another three on which to focus in relation to this mix. As so much of his work, there is a deliberateness and a structure that underlies it. And it is a mix of his own original work – very much his thing.

The mix comes in a series of phases, as if movements in a symphony. The mix is undeniably complex but is put together in a way that sounds simple and accessible but disclosing new layers on each listening. The mix is probably best categorised as ambient but like the best ambient, floats above that description. From the first listen it sounds symphonic. The first 9 minutes has three parts that combine into a sort of overture. The next 4 minutes have a Detroit flavoured techno approach before it goes into a poly-rhythmic IDM jazz. The third movement from 22 mins returns to deep ambient before the final section withdraws into itself before fading.

Ukkonen’s view:

It’s called the Disambedience Mix – as there is a focus on three things that are important to me right now:

1 – Disobedience – I find a lot of techno I hear is very, very safe – it’s like it doesn’t want to upset anyone. It’s looking to compete with the past. My aim with this mix is a certain amount of disobedience – it’s not all-out rebellion, but I think it might stretch people a little more than anything I’ve done before. I’m challenging the future, and not showing respect for the past!

2 – Ambition – I am striving for higher and higher goals with each project. I want to progress with every track. Some reviews of the album mentioned the simplicity of what I do. This material is not so simple.

3 – Ambience – I was maybe focussed too much on rhythm in the past. This mix contains just as much rhythmic strangeness, but I’ve kept an eye on the ambient side of things too. Deeper, more complex sounds and production this time.

I think I should stop trying to analyse something I don’t understand and say, listen now and download. You will not regret it.

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?a319w4cneec38nk courtesy of uncharted audio

~ by acidted on August 13, 2012.