10'02

UPLAND Upland (TRICK022) Jester Records 2002 07 Tracks. 32mins51secs.

"Less is more" could be the motto of Oslo based Knut Ruud, aka Upland. His first self titled album comprises of seven tracks of dark minimal glitch spanning just over half an hour. Ruud started working on his project toward the end of the nineties, having spent most of his formative years playing with his brother’s synthesizers, eventually releasing his first album on the ever excellent Norwegian label Jester. Ruud, a worker in a day care centre for mentally disabled people by day, weaves intricate soundscapes together, hiding scarce melodies behind harsh beats and abrasive glitches, creating an intriguing soundtrack. Visceral and textural, this collection of arid tracks could deter the more open-minded listener wouldn’t it be for the intrinsic beauty of the complete work. Working as a little symphony, Ruud’s compositions are carefully articulated around meticulous rhythmic architectures and organic sonic structures embedded within each other. The album opens with a two-minute rattle-like drone slowly evolving into a shredded rhythmic pattern, before being swallowed by the metallic convulsions of the following piece. Twin Gap is as syncopated and scarce, but provides a more consistent base for a shy melody to develop in the background. Built around a complex and turbulent rhythmic backbone, the more vibrant –Nd Falling offers some of the more evocative and upfront moments of the album. Rudd maintains his mechanical sculpture going for a while before taking it apart entirely toward the end, leaving the blank noises on Root to take control of the sonic landscape and expand freely as they effortlessly morph from aquatic to earthy elements. The remaining three tracks present a rather surprisingly more conventional form, as if Ruud was reminding the listener of the human factor controlling the sonic manipulations exhibited here. The almost chirpy Block and Marshgate contrast with the rest of the album by introducing almost linear beats, allowing fully-formed melodic shapes to replace the more abstract constrictions heard previously.  Following a trend currently pushing the boundaries of electronic music beyond recognisable musical forms, Ruud retains the emotional impact of his music by preventing his compositions from veering into meaningless abstraction. Evoking the skeletal experimentations heard on some of Autechre’s more recent work, this album is nothing less than an impressive debut.

TRACK LISTING 01 Flex 05 Block 02 Twin Gap 06 Carrier Down 03 -Nd Falling 07 Marshgate 04 Root

THE SURFER'S GUIDE TO UPLAND UPLAND Nice little site, featuring a few reviews, an interview and a handful of MP3s to download. JESTER RECORDS This Oslo-based label is at the forefront of quality electronic music, with a roster including Ulver, Single Unit, Rotoscope and many more.