Uton

Uton
Whispers from the Woods (3 CD set)

"massive triple disc overview from uton, my personal favorite of the contemporary batch of finnish lo-fi folk-psych denizens (also a known c-psi-p/antony milton affiliate) collecting prior cdr/small-run output on the hammastratas, humbug, haamumaa, jewelled antler, and 267 lattajja labels... as packaged in a double-tier two-sided pouch with a 12 (!) panel foldout booklet. This comes the closest to the lowpass flute/guitar/string echo-damage of early popol vuh and artemiev’s score to “stalker” as anything that has made the comparison in the intervening years... like some distant signal beamed back from saturn, peaks and troughs of the waves rounded in the vacuum of space. completely killer..."
-Mimaroglu music

"Once again, the very patient prevail. Or at least the folks who weren't lucky enough to catch any of these super limited cd-r's first time around. A massive triple disc collection that gathers about three hours of early releases from Finland's Uton. Sonically similar to their Finnish free folk brethren (Avarus, Anaksimandros, Kemialliset Ystavat, etc.), Uton specialize in wild and wooly, primitive free forest jams. Clattery rhythms, music box melodies, spaced out guitar echo, minimal vocalization, skronking horns and plenty of droning and rattling and scraping and thumping. Like a krautrock band that was left in the forest by it's parents and raised by wild woodland creatures. Epic and expansive sonic explorations, as spaced out as they are earthbound, soaring otherworldly freakouts collide with centuries old primal sound, to create a totally organic, totally alien wonderful world of sonic experimentation, sometimes percussive and propulsive, sometimes shimmery and dreamlike, sometimes crashing and pounding, sometimes gentle and mysterious but always completely mesmerizing and amazing! Quite possibly one of our Finnish faves! And that's saying a lot!
This collection contains all of Taman Ganan Jalkeen (released on Haamumaa in 2002), all of Mika Kasvaa Maan Gisalla (released on Hammasratas in 2003), all of Ay Um Au Lam (released on Jewelled Antler also in 2003), five rare comp tracks and six previously unreleased tracks!"
--Aquarius Records

Reviews of other Uton releases
"Uton is one of the most criminally underappreciated artists currently residing in the great white north of Finland. In The Wire's recent article proclaiming the brilliance of the Finnish 'scene,' Uton was conspicuously left out. For my money, Uton's meandering soundscapes are some of the finest being exported from the land of the Suomi. On "The August Light," Uton shows us a new side of his ever-evolving project. This album is bathed in the pine-scented forests of the north, touched by a spiritual, unspoken presence.

Solemn electronic drones rise and fall from beneath the coniferious canopy. Organic instrumentation finds its way between the seams, acting as the glue that holds this entire arbor symphony together. Uton's in his element here. This is music that is cerebral while also being accessible. The organic instruments do their part in keeping these album from feeling too distant. It's like walking through a mystical, almost-frightening world, but carrying some piece of home with you that keeps you feeling safe & warm. "
--foxy digitalis

"This is wonderfully eerie stuff you could compare to early Coil and kinda be on the mark. Uton a/k/a Jani Hirvonen couples electronic drone with plucked acoustic instrumentation."
--Brandon Stousy, Pitchfork

"Uton's 'The August Light' is that robot dream. Here electronic drones and pulses merge with accordion, noises, distant signals, ghost calls and rumbling low percussion. Here there are no people, no animals, just nature, land and eons of time. Glaciers form, move over centuries and carve the landscape. Music as deep and intense is the consequence of the mental journey by these musicians, it is an end point, where it is concentrated into pure sound that becomes one with the air."
--Lord of Misrule, Unbroken Circle