02/01/2025
Last December 2024 edition of Blow Up Magazine featured a nice review of vÄäristymä 2014 - 2024 by Paolo Bertoni
Here the English translation of the review:
The Finnish brothers Janne Liimatainen and Jarko Hedenius had so far moved in obscurity, to the extent that they had not released anything in vinyl or CD format, despite beginning to experiment with computers in 1992. They later transitioned to analog synthesizers, which they eventually abandoned to focus on building their own synthesizers and sequencers. A collaboration between Unexplained Sounds Group and New Polar Sound has fittingly dedicated this collection to them, exploring Vääristymä’s productions over the last decade, most of which had been scattered in non-formats, including four live tracks, three from last year.
The pieces from the current decade are in the minority. Along with the live tracks, the collection includes only Tulppaveto, minimalistic and subtly sinister, with a shadowy tone, and Hullunarkku, resonant and dreamily spatial. The majority of the material comes from the previous decade, such as Radiopurkaus, icy yet hallucinatory, and Ennen muuta, with a distancing rhythmic component that seems unhesitant in taking up the mantle of Pan Sonic. Similarly, Valvoo features occasional melodic fragments that emerge with extended sporadicity; Äyriäissumu offers a rubbery texture with glitch distortions and a remote mechanical backdrop. Noteworthy is Kvanttiteleportaatio, which opens up to an emotional depth unmatched elsewhere in the compilation, while Epäluulo presents a disjointed abstraction accompanied by a material loop.
Rating: 7.5 – Paolo Bertoni
