album reviews
album review
"Insane Logic" is an eight year labor of love for Finnish keyboardist Otso Pakarinen. He composed, arranged performed and recorded the 50 minutes of music from 1993 to the date of release on his own label.
The music dabbles in every form of keyboard sound imaginable, from the avant-garde to the spacey, the frantic to the trance. Textures are many and varied. Ozone Player obviously has many influences yet remains curiously it’s own style. The most profound similarities lie in early German progressive space electronics ALA Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schultz, Michael Hoenig. A lot of keyboard rhythms also remind me of Jean Michel Jarre’s middle period.
"Whales In Fog" starts things off in a dark ambient manner and segues into the pretty and pastoral "Shipping". There are twelve songs on the CD and already we’ve experienced the diversity by song two.
The seven minute "The Reality Dysfunction" builds on Eno-esque brooding landscapes and swooshy sound FX. The trans-ie "Casino Mobile" has some wonderfully melodic textures and leads to the atonal, weird "Minibar" which is driven by odd repetitive, almost funky rhythms. It’s back to mood and textures on the title track, a short but personal favorite. This song builds on a simple, minimalist mood landscape and has wonderful psychedelic overtones.
Track 7 takes us back to the weird and irreverent. "Floyd"-ish samples and Sound FXs from their early period constitute the bulk of the song. For me, "Praise" is a bit too atonal, but it has some interesting middle Eastern influences.
"Beam" is mostly subtle spacey synth tones and would make great background music for a science fiction film. It’s short and perhaps doesn’t have enough time to develop. The quirky melody and rhythms which constitute a greater part of the CD continue on "Warezz", track 9. This is a space freak’s delight. "Pakarinen" has a field day with strange sounds and stereo FX.
"Process" takes us back into a space journey, coasting on that vintage 70’s German electronics. It’s the closest track to what is regarded as modern space music despite it’s classical approach.
"A short cut to nowhere" utilizes all of "Insane Logic’s" varying sounds and sounds uncannily close to Jean Michel Jarre’s early 80’s period.
"Transport", the last track reminds me of the subtle avant-garde styling of Can. It has a definitive 70s experimental approach that incorporates world, space, and as many influences as can be crammed into a five and a half minute song.
With "Insane Logic", Otso Pakarinen has crafted an interested and eclectic mix of electronic styles. It’s not for everyone. But those that lust for experimental music and electronics with a bit of a challenge will find the variance in sounds a real delight.
- Visual Power
