As one of Australia’s most prominent and well-known record labels of the last decade, Finn Audio has been striving to deliver the finest electronica from a whole host of local artists. The creation of Jani Ho some many years ago, Finn has a distinct Detroit Techno vibe in a lot of the label’s output – which can clearly be heard in a lot of Jani’s compositions themselves. As both an artist and label curator himself: Jani is always on the lookout to deliver fresh, unique, and interesting takes on techno and electronica to the Australian dance music community.
The latest release to come out of Finn Audio is the split EP called “Loose Parts” and is a 4-track EP between Jani Ho and a very well-known name within Melbourne’s rave community – Voiteck tD5.
With both artists maintaining an active contribution to the techno and electronic music scene that spans over many years, not to mention, very wide ranging personal discographies: ‘Loose Parts’ delivers a range of innovative, groovy sounds that separates them from the mainstream and more commercial imprints of today – delivering a more indie, homegrown, and very stylistically eclectic flavour to their releases.
A1. Voiteck tD5 – Truform
We start out with ‘Truform’ by Voiteck tD5. Voiteck is local Melbourne artist that’s been in the game for decades now, and is widely known to anyone Australian clubber & music fan who is knowledgeable in the grass-roots rave scene. He is the head of his own record label, called ‘TRuck music’, and has been releasing original tracks through the label for many years now, and has been seeing more widespread success through the Finn Audio imprint as of late.
‘Truform’ has very Detroit & Minimal Techno stylized vibes – there is a definite early Robert Hood influence that can be heard clearly in the track – and the constant, prominent piano/synth chord stabs that drive the main melody forward are crisp, precise, and give a classic 90’s rave feeling. As the stabs start to rise more and more in prominence, A filter cutoff is slowly (and gradually) opened on them, which gives a bright and dreamy quality to them.
In the near-off foreground, a grouping of metallic percussion sounds and loopy synth plucks all provide a steady pace of melody and drive: offsetting the swinging, shuffled nature of both the main chords and kick drums.
Every single individual aural element behind ‘Truform’ create an amalgam of rave anthem oriented electronica – working alongside the more simplistic, minimal techno sort of basis that the core of the tune is built around.
A2. Voiteck tD5 – Overlocker
‘Overlocker’ is a much more playful & jovial tune that starts out with a bouncing breakbeat 808-type percussive rhythm. Around 1 minute into the track this breakbeat is then joined by a very dub-influenced, detroit-styled chord stab that strikes repetitively during the track’s duration. As each stab hits more and more, there is processing by plentiful stereo ping-pong delay, sweeping filter cutoffs, and tight reverb: All of which add a lot of flavour and sonic interplay.
Outside of the tight mixing and sparing use of effects: The majority of this track sounds like it came straight out of the barebones hardware setup that Voiteck has been known to use a lot in his productions. Minimal, simple – yet effortlessly grooving, and raw to the very core.
‘Overlocker’ is a demonstration of how, when it comes to techno, less is more. The sheer practicality and essentiality of each track element is left to its own devices. It focuses the listener’s gaze upon the intrinsic compulsion to dance -Rrather than being left in awe of over-complication in sound design, or over use of a multitude of layered textures.
B1. Jani Ho – Tension
‘Tension’ begins with plucked and arpeggiated trance-style synthesizer stabs that flow up and down – almost in a ‘call and response’ – style of melody. As they reverberate and delay into the not too distant background, the effected portions of the sounds also transform and morph themselves into a new atmospheric background layer: helping to add yet more texture and and supporting soundscapes within the track.
Approximately one minute into the track, a heavily shuffled high-hat layer jumps into life and gives a fast paced forwards movement within the overall rhythm. This high hat layer takes some amount of influence from the chopped-up ‘Amen Break’ structure and nature of classic 90’s Drum and Bass songs, and when paired with the minimal, trademark techno 4×4 open-hat pattern that’s stacked over the top: it layers a more chaotic breakbeat feeling with a straightforward, dance-oriented constant drive that combines very well together in comparison.
Much like the name of the track, ‘Tension’ really builds upon the sort of electronica that Jani Ho is well known for – Grooving, percussively interesting compositions that blend various elements of Detroit techno, electro, and early 90’s rave oriented techno – All whilst tying the particular sounds and production methods together to create a complete, unique, and interesting piece of music composition in its own right.
B2. Jani Ho – Conveyor
The last tune on this spectacular, very tight EP is Jani’s track ‘Conveyor’. Overall it is bright and euphoric and starts off with a hazy (yet soulful) lengthy synthesizer pad chord – setting a sort of jovial tone.
From here, however, a quick progression is made towards a breakbeat pattern which now gets primary rhythm going and flowing. Directly after this, the track’s tone changes considerably to a classic 1980’s style electro and breakbeat sort of sound – very reminiscent to the sort of works you might hear from DMX Krew or Mandroid.
The heavy 808 percussions and thumping bassline that thud around under the main guts of the track are cleverly complemented by a stop-start high hat and shaker rhythm pairing, as well as a somewhat polyrhythmic sounding claves pattern. As the electro soundscapes of ‘Conveyor’ move to and fro in the mix – with filter automations, occasional delay, and a sort of beatmasher type effect coming into the frey every now and then, jolting some life and energy back into the primary bouncy rhythm section – the original euphoria of the backing pads rises and falls with an ebb and flow: Which makes for an upbeat vibe that contrasts very nicely with the downtempo feeling of the rest of phonic layers.
Musically, this tune is a funk-laden take on traditional 80’s breakbeat and electro; Thematically, this track really brings to mind the mental image of a busy, mechanistic warehouse or factory – products moving from one discrete unit to another: all with a destination, but also with distinct segments to pass through. Almost as if the beats and sounds were travelling upon a conveyor themselves.
Purchase ‘Loose Parts’ on the Finn Audio Bandcamp page (available as both digital, and 12” vinyl format) on the link below:
https://finnaudiomusic.bandcamp.com/album/loose-parts-ep
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