Ozone Player
E
(VP 004) CD 49m

Finland suprises us with quite extraordinary album by Ozone Player.
Behind this mysterious name hides Otso Pakarinen. This guy
from Helsinki has composed, arranged, recorded, edited it all
by himself. He occassionaly get's help by Esa Hyvonen (vocals),
Jouni Halmari (guitar) and Kimmo Kivela (software additions).
This is not your ordinary electronic music, a lot of the times
it's challenging, leaving all the familiar paths behind.
I'm not gonna look at every piece in detail, but more try to picture
the scenes Pakarinen let's lose on the listener.
What's immediately clear to me in the first seconds, is, that this man knows
his sounds; they stand, sounding impressive and sometimes over
whelming, even if the're digital, the're full of warm feelings.
The music can have an eastern flavour, is full of constantly changing
rhythms and he even uses electronic sounds as rhythm. There's also
a fairy tale-like quality to it, like in the most sweet albums
from Ralph Lundsten. Another mark is the humor which slithers sneakely
through all those wonderous sounds and atmospheres which delight the ear. And
the humor not only hides in the music, what to think from a track with
the name, "The wobbling wardrobe"! Yes, this is a musical equivalent of
Monty Phyton, just listen to Ollism and you hear the sound of shoes being
brushed, wood being sawed and a pom pom voice makes the surreality complete.
So there's a lot of sampler activity, but although tracks sounds crowded,
all is in balance, the organisation was handled with velvet hands. Pakarinen
doesn't shy away from a decent portion of bombast. Sometimes it's too sweet
for my taste. The ballad type pieces are the weakest, though he's a master
of the weird. Still there are enough tracks which will keep your fascination
hooked for sure. I should say find out for yourself, your certainly in for
some surprising rhythmic tapestries.

Roel Steverink
Audion Magazine