Mika Vainio
Onko CD
Touch # TO:34
late 1997
1. Kelvin
2. Jos [If?]
3. Onko Parts 1-11 [Is It?]
4. Viher [Green/Cellular]
MIKA VAINIO is one half of the ground-breaking PANASONIC (Blast First) and
the man
behind the highly acclaimed sound sculptures of ø, released by
Sähkö in Finland, one
of the most influential labels of the early nineties in pushing so-called
Minimal
Techno.
ONKO is Mika Vainio's first release under his own name. It marks a departure
from
his previous work, more tranquil, symphonic even, but no less intense in its
exploration of the post-digital landscape and its quest to reveal the grain
of the
one/zero lifeform.
Imagine the sounds that cellular patterns might make as they face the
scrutiny of a
high-powered microscope. Or the soundtrack to a road movie, filmed in the
Arctic
Circle in high summer.
ONKO means 'It Is'.
In a category all on its own, a mystery to the marketing executives at the
Coca Cola
bottling plant, at once 'ambient' only to ignite in a flash of pure tone. An
essential pleasure for anyone for whom the act of listening is still first and
foremost a creative activity.