OZONE PLAYER
PLAY OZONER
OH NO! IT’S OTSO!
Ozone Player is Otso Pakarinen. He is from Finland and he has a sharp wit and a biting sense of humor. Those characteristics are reflected in his music. He likes to laugh and shares that with others. He is also a bit “tetched” but might not understand what that means.
“Tunti Sitten” is an early project from Otso Pakarinen, recording as Otso (He now records as Ozone Player.) It was originally a cassette only release. Otso remastered it and released it on CD in 2000. This is a very cool set of Berlin school analog e-music. He creates all kinds of funky sounds and experimental glurp. This is by no means ambient. The first clue is that there are 24 tracks covering one hour. That’s about 2.5 minutes per track. There is no such thing as an ambient composition at 2.5 minutes – hours maybe (probably) but not minutes. Otso certainly has room to experiment and to have fun and does both in great quantities. This is a great disc and it is loads of fun!
“Division by Zero,” a mathematical impossibility, is a musical probability from Otso Pakarinen, a.k.a. Ozone Player, recording as Visual. That is fairly fucking confusing. That’s OK because the music is not confusing at all. It is very direct hard-core Berlin school electronica with no pretensions of being anything else. The music is relatively dynamic. Otso’s sound design incorporates electronics and electronics. He loops and layers electronics into the mix to complete the soundscapes. This CD is a must for listeners who love, well, electronics.
“Koko Elma,” by Tapa Paha Tapa is a blast! It is a prog rock project with Otso Pakarinen on “koskettimet ja kitara,” presumably synthesizers and guitars. Jari Heiinen, Esa Hyvonen and Teija Korkia-Aho are on “laula,” presumably vocals. Hearing vocals in Finnish makes this a different experience. It is like hearing chants or “wordless vocals.” Thus, they become an instrument in the sound design. The music is definitely rock and definitely progressive. While it is also definitely in the European mode of that style, it is not as heavy-handed as Kraut rock (despite some similarities to Kraftwerk).
“Insane Logic” is an insanely eccentric soundscape from Ozone Player, nee Otso Pakarinen, out of Helsinki, Finland. Otso is a fairly regular contributor to the Beyond EM news group and he is a very well traveled musician. He has been performing since the early 1970’s. He has played everything from hard rock to prog rock to electronic space music. This CD is a very interesting set of deep sequences, vast atmospheres, experimental ambience, computer sounds and organized dissonance. Otso has put this together in unique arrangements and sound designs. The sounds play against each other and they support each other. So many CD’s come out overproduced and overwrought. And, while there are many different elements at work here, this disc is NOT overdone. Otso is doing quite well for himself with film and television soundtracks and graphic arts but he does have a new CD in progress. Deep listeners and space music fans everywhere await the event eagerly!
“Videozone” is a set of short e-music compositions from Otso Pakarinen, a.k.a. Ozone Player. The pieces range in length from 17 seconds to nine minutes, eight seconds. Typical of Otso’s releases, this defies any and all attempts at categorization. He just makes fun music and good music. These tracks are not interrelated. Each has its own thematic and sonic integrity. There are subtle atmospheres but that is not Otso’s style. There are lots of sequences and sequenced rhythms but this is not Berlin school electronica. It would be safest to call this “Otso-ism” or “Ozonica!” It is totally unique and totally important.
“E” is not an album for introspection, meditation or chilling out after work. Otso Pakarinen, a.k.a. Ozone Player, has created a deeply interesting, highly entertaining and profoundly different collection of, well, something. That is the best way to describe this. It is something. Otso has gathered his resources and developed some devious mischief. In all his personal humility (or lack thereof – who cares?), he describes his own charm as being “unlike … any (CD) you’ve ever heard.” Otso is certainly correct in that assessment. This is a cross-genre blend of styles and found sounds. There are elements of rock’n’roll, Berlin school electronica, avant-garde dissonance and novelty quirk. “Ollism” and “Re-Ollism” are very clever compositions, indeed. Otso developed these sounds by recording at a construction site and adding sequenced percussion. The entire project is tongue-in-cheek, right down to the photo of the optometrist in the CD sleeve. The photo is, of course, Otso dressed as a doctor with his hair (by his account) “all messed up.” Several authorities have given assurance that his hair is always like that. He does not have “bad hair days.” Otso is having a “bad hair life.”
Jim Brenholts
Tracks Across the Universe