Samuli Kemppi‘s back catalogue of music is closing in on two decades now, and it includes music for the likes of Berghain’s Ostgut Ton, Luke Slater’s Mote Evolver, and Arnaud Le Texier’s Children of Tomorrow, to name only a few.
Here, Samuli debuts on the Italian imprint Concrete Records LTD with Low Mileage which feels like a solitary drive through the outskirts of consciousness—an introspective, measured journey that builds tension without demanding resolution. As a vinyl-only release, it captures something fleeting yet permanent, a snapshot of raw emotion pressed into wax.
The opening track, “Trying to Bite,” sets the tone with a bubbling undercurrent, its steady pulse hinting at something lurking beneath the surface. “Conversation Without Resolution” drifts further into abstraction, its jagged modular textures mirroring the restless thoughts of a mind searching for meaning.
“All Warnings On” revs the engine, its relentless energy surging like machinery on the verge of overheating. There’s an urgency here, a sense of controlled chaos that bleeds seamlessly into “Looking for a Way Out,” where static-laden percussion and erratic bleeps form a hypnotic, locked-groove trance.
Then comes the pause. “A Chamber Full of Nothing” slows things down, allowing space for reflection. Dubby and cavernous, it feels like standing in the aftermath, staring at the remnants of something once defined but now slipping away.
Finally, “River of Names” reintroduces movement—a mechanical heartbeat underscored by ghostly vocal-like whispers, beckoning the listener back to the dance floor or perhaps deeper into thought.
This is techno at its most pensive, a collection of sonic vignettes that question rather than conclude. Kemppi doesn’t hand you the answers—he hands you the journey, and it’s up to you to find your own way through its desires.
- Reviewed by Jack! Who? for deathtechno.com
