TRICK022
UPLAND s/t
IDM/electronica
Released 2002
UPLAND s/t
IDM/electronica
Released 2002
Release info/Press release
"Dense structures of sound from places visited in dreams, worlds moulded by the forces of guided chaos and skewed logic."
Based in Oslo, Norway, Knut Ruud is UPLAND. Ruud, a worker in a day care centre for mentally disabled people by day, weaves intricate soundscapes together at night, hiding scarce melodies behind harsh beats and abrasive glitches, creating an intriguing soundtrack.
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.
Cut press:
"Upland is certainly out to make some complex, rhythmic and stimulating electronic music. This 7 track CD is his debut, and it's a consistently good effort throughout. The music is a combination of chunky, IDM inspired beats and moody synth work; a dark, tense soundtrack for life out of balance, for a life of mounting tension." - Incursion
"UPLAND have reinvented Drum 'N Bass's manic approach to rhythmic chaos - less through clever but predictable composition than through an equally clever ongoing process of Process. Falling somewhere between the clinical precision of the Junglist and the random experimentations of people who gut old electronic gadgets and turn them into sound sources, this has an enjoyable raw edginess which might appeal as far from Cape Normal as the Japanese Noise enthusiasts, while maybe even teasing the expectations of those who like clinically precise rhythmic compositions." - Metamorphic Journeyman
"Upland's eponymous album is fudge-packed with enough creeping noises
and mysterious thuds that you'll want to listen with lights on and door locked. Trying to describe the sounds will make me feel like I'm in 4th grade again, so I'll spare you the "alien" and "weird" adjectives. But just know this: the sounds on Upland are so freakishly tangible that you'll feel as if something is tapping you from behind. One of the most cohesive electronic albums I've experienced in a long time. Warning: Don't listen alone." - TinyMixTapes
"Sputtering, chopped-up beats and oddly shimmering electronic tones come together in what seems like almost random patterns, until you realize that it's all part of the plan. It's beauty in the chaos, and while it sounds like a beehive full of mechanical bees, there's a method to the madness that will at least keep some listeners in tune." - Almost Cool
"They guy likes to fuck around with random beats and sounds and manipulate them and see what the hell happens. I have to say that I did enjoy this a lot but it is not easy listening music and has no commercial potential in anyway whatsoever. Far out." - Aural Innovations
"Dense structures of sound from places visited in dreams, worlds moulded by the forces of guided chaos and skewed logic."
Based in Oslo, Norway, Knut Ruud is UPLAND. Ruud, a worker in a day care centre for mentally disabled people by day, weaves intricate soundscapes together at night, hiding scarce melodies behind harsh beats and abrasive glitches, creating an intriguing soundtrack.
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.
Cut press:
"Upland is certainly out to make some complex, rhythmic and stimulating electronic music. This 7 track CD is his debut, and it's a consistently good effort throughout. The music is a combination of chunky, IDM inspired beats and moody synth work; a dark, tense soundtrack for life out of balance, for a life of mounting tension." - Incursion
"UPLAND have reinvented Drum 'N Bass's manic approach to rhythmic chaos - less through clever but predictable composition than through an equally clever ongoing process of Process. Falling somewhere between the clinical precision of the Junglist and the random experimentations of people who gut old electronic gadgets and turn them into sound sources, this has an enjoyable raw edginess which might appeal as far from Cape Normal as the Japanese Noise enthusiasts, while maybe even teasing the expectations of those who like clinically precise rhythmic compositions." - Metamorphic Journeyman
"Upland's eponymous album is fudge-packed with enough creeping noises
and mysterious thuds that you'll want to listen with lights on and door locked. Trying to describe the sounds will make me feel like I'm in 4th grade again, so I'll spare you the "alien" and "weird" adjectives. But just know this: the sounds on Upland are so freakishly tangible that you'll feel as if something is tapping you from behind. One of the most cohesive electronic albums I've experienced in a long time. Warning: Don't listen alone." - TinyMixTapes
"Sputtering, chopped-up beats and oddly shimmering electronic tones come together in what seems like almost random patterns, until you realize that it's all part of the plan. It's beauty in the chaos, and while it sounds like a beehive full of mechanical bees, there's a method to the madness that will at least keep some listeners in tune." - Almost Cool
"They guy likes to fuck around with random beats and sounds and manipulate them and see what the hell happens. I have to say that I did enjoy this a lot but it is not easy listening music and has no commercial potential in anyway whatsoever. Far out." - Aural Innovations