lackluster - showcase cd review from the wire issue 241 march 2004 78 minutes of moody, crepuscular Techno, created in Helsinki by a man so confident in his own abilities that he chooses a name like Lackluster - hardly the most immediately appealing prospect in the history of recorded sound. The artwork isn't particularly inviting either - meticulous drawings of a gloved hand disecting a butterfly with a scalpel. But this selection, which gathers into one place pieces recorded by Esa Ruoho between 1999 and 2001 and released on various 7"s, 12"s and compilations released during that period, is shot through with sparks of imagination, suggesting that Ruoho's lowish profile, compared with fellow Finns like Brothomstates and Ovuca is undeserved, if altogether surprising. Lackluster's music is theoretically focused towards the dancefloor, but it's gloomy whispers and muted sparkles don't go out of their way to appeal to the 'hands in the air' brigade. The more discerning, however, will find much to enjoy in the inventive rhythms and sweet clarity of Ruoho's melodic lines. lackluster - showcase cd review from www.themilkfactory.co.uk Esa Juhani Ruoho, 26.10.1978, Finnish born and bred. The profile introducing Esa Ruoho, aka Lakluster, taken from the artist website, couldn’t more to the point. At just twenty-four, Ruoho is already a veteran of the electronic music scene, yet he has remained relatively unknown until now. This first release for American label Merck could well change everything. Already responsible for a string of remixes for artists such as Leafcutter John, Marumari or label mate Machinedrum, Ruoho has released four albums since 1999. With two albums for UK label defocus in two years and one for U-Cover, Ruoho is one of the most promising new artists to come out of Finland. Ruoho’s interest for electronic sounds started at the tender age of six, when he developed an interest for the music of C64 and Amiga games. Progressively switching to ambient and the then almost-meaningful IDM movement during the mid-nineties, Ruoho released his first MP3s in 1998, with his first CDR album, simply called CDR#2 released on internet label Monotonik, before being snapped by deFocus for his next effort, Container, a year later. As more of his work started to appear on various compilations, Ruoho released two albums in 2001, one under his own name (Spaces – U-Cover) and his second for deFocus (Wrapping). Although Ruoho has collaborated with Merck in the past with a series of EPs, Showcase is his first full-length offer on the Miami-based label. Has its title indicates, this album showcases some of Ruoho’s work, in this particular case recorded between 1999 and 2001. The striking thing with the nineteen compositions featured on this album is the wide range of sonic ambiences and genres, from the shapeless formation of interferences of the opening track, ironically called Tuneful to the classic electronica of the concluding track. Interestingly, there are a great number of untitled tracks here, simply identified by a date, a constant in Ruoho’s work pretty much since the early days. Sometimes associated with the seminal Artificial Intelligence series for his melodic approach to sonic environments, Eas Ruoho has certainly defined his own way of arranging beautiful soundscapes. Using relatively straightforward beat patterns as a basis for his compositions, he focuses on progressive sounds to create the primary structures of his creations, and then adds more subtle sources until each composition becomes utterly unique. From the hypnotic LL12 B3 Machine Drum and Haloaw to the sumptuous landscapes of LL7 07/05/00 and Mes, this album forever entertains and captivates. Perfect introduction to the sound of Lackluster, Showcase offers an interesting overview of his work during his first two years as a recognised recording artist. If since, his sound has become slightly more ambient at times, it still retains the energy of these tracks. Esa Ruoho’s constant effort at creating beautiful soundscapes and arranging them in his own particular way pays off on this outstanding collection of classic electronica. lackluster - showcase cd review from www.igloomag.com Lackluster, Showcase. A culmination of previously released Lackluster tracks from labels like DeFocus, Merck, Rikos, Monotonik, and Surgery, and a few you've never heard until now. 19 tracks spanning through 78 minutes, and a stunning abundance of enriching electronic music for your ears. This is the sound of Lackluster.. a precious mix of melodic upbeat tracks that are packed with pure entertainment all the way through. These are the tracks many of you may have highlighted in past releases, tracks that truly inspire thoughts of beauty, reflection and inner tranquility. With this formation of musical delights, Lackluster creates a birds-eye view of the feelings he's cultivated over the years and expressed with his music. Even with the pensive ambient flows that maneuver their way into some of the tracks featured on this disc, they are contrasted by the uplifting percussive melodies & rhythms of others. Lackluster, Showcase represents an accurate assessment of the fragile state of electronic music today. With the perpetual onslaught of genre's trying to fill a void in the collections of international trainspotters, Merck records manages to release the best of Esa Ruoho's musical discography without falling into one particular style/groove/genre. Lackluster's Showcase describes the assemblage of beauty manifested through one brain with the use of melodic tweaks, and layers of creative electricity. If you haven't been able to locate every release Esa Ruoho's put out over the past few years, than this compilation and/or best of.. will definitely bring you up to date to the classical sounds of this (sometimes) frustrated Finnish producer. Without mentioning any highlights or comparisons, we'll leave you to decide the fate of the tracks described on Merck Records' latest release. Place yourself at ease to absorb every emotive slice of electronics featured on this disc. Highly recommended. lackluster - showcase cd review from modsquare Esa Ruoho is Lackluster and here he serves up some delectable tunes on the Merck (aka M3rck) label in his retrospective release, Showcase. That’s right, this release is comprised of some of the best of Ruoho’s endeavors from previous offerings on labels such as Rikos, Merck, Surgery Records, and deFocus. The work featured in this release ranges from the years 1999 to 2001. Nineteen tracks coming in at well over sixty minutes feature melodic chivalry and noise-ridden auras woven sharply into a bed of miasmic beats ranging from dreamy to straight-up, in-your-face funky grooves. The longest piece present here is “Machine Drum.” At over seven minutes, “Machine Drum” is seemingly a simple track in its first minute but DON’T place your finger on the skip button now because you’re in for a treat. The piece continues to build, and at two minutes explodes into a fury of dance attack whirlwinds. After five minutes of this head-spinning wonder we receive a proper breakdown and the song goes out softly like a sunset over an open seascape. Personally my favorite gems on this collection of tunes are tracks twelve, thirteen, and fifteen through seventeen. These pieces show us a more delicate side of Lackluster’s work. The audible treasures reach into the softest of soundscapes to pierce my late afternoon daydreams with cool frosted cocktails and teal tinted lenses. “Onuj” easily gets my honorable mention as one of the best tracks on the album, offering up something different for the listener, possibly a small window glance into the surreal landscape of four and a half minutes in Ruoho’s brilliant and imaginative intellect. Showcase’s inner architecture is built rather intelligently and you MUST buy this release for not only are you getting Lackluster’s singles (eight of them to be exact) from the years previously mentioned, but you are getting eight tracks which succeed in filling the divide of these releases. On the visual side of this collection the cover features a butterfly/insect netting and you will open the insert to find nineteen lovely creatures pinned and painted. The artist may very well envision his work as collected specimens tapped out here for YOUR enjoyment! This release is limited to 1000 copies so hurry and get yours now, it is worth every cent you spend! -Kelly Cornelius lackluster - showcase cd review in german from nordische musik Namen, Titel oder Slogans sind nicht seine Sache. Statt dessen finden sich Bezeichnungen wie »07/05/00« – was nichts anderes bedeutet, als dass er jenes Stück an eben diesem Tag eingespielt und eingespeist hat (übrigens eines seiner wahrhaft schönsten: eine elegische Tonabfolge, darunter einen knisterigen, rauen Beat gelegt, während es auf einer dritten Schicht heraus wie aus einem Echolot eindringlich perlt). Lackluster alias Esa Ruoho zieht es immer wieder tief in elektronische Innenwelten hinein. Mal enthüllen sich so nahezu archaische Soundfetzen, wo es wild auswuchernd blubbernd, zischt und rauscht und nur ein beständiger Rhythmusteppich dafür sorgt, dass man überhaupt im weitesten Sinne im Reiche der populären Musik bleibt. Dann wieder scheint er sich fast in einen DJ zu verwandeln, der sein Publikum erst auf den Tanzboden lockt, um ihm dann eine Nase zu drehen. Eben mittels einzelner Stücke, in denen sich sein scheinbares Klangchaos immer wieder kurzzeitig in vertraute Popcluster verwandelt.

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