I don’t know a single goddamned biographical detail about Sami Koivikko. I know he’s on Ghostly International’s minimal techno imprint Spectral Sound, and I know that I was fortunate enough to receive a promo copy of his soon-to-be-released single, Sapphire. In fact, the EP wasn’t even self-contained – it was burned onto the end of an Audion single I was sent to review. I don’t know if the gambit was to catch me when I listened through, or what, but it worked – “Sapphire” is a slick piece of beautiful melodic techno.
The a-side builds from a single-note bassline, tagging on hats, blips and chords as it goes at its own leisurely pace. The claps and occasional stutters place it near the intersection of techno and electro, at least until about the three-minute mark. After a brief rest, a chord progression begins – wholly unexpected yet totally in-tune with everything else that’s happening – and this chord progression anchors the track the rest of the way through. It’s one of those perfect moments of golden ratio release where you just have to lean back and go “holy shit.”
“Sapphire” is followed by a remix by Daso & Pawas, and the way they jump right into the progression of the track, it feels like nothing changed except the weight. The kicks are louder and the synth touches are dubbier. It’s one of those mixes that ups the bounce quotient* of the original, doesn’t do anything life-changing but doesn’t fuck anything up. By being placed second on the EP instead of tacked onto the end, it works to prolong the joy of the original track while switching it up and injecting a nice, house-y vibe.
The last track, “Tonalite,” toes the electro line even closer than “Sapphire.” The template is the same – a single-note bassline gives way to a dream-like melody. It’d be hyperbolic to talk this one up as hard as the a-side, as the tracks are both fantastic. Strongly recommended.
* “Bounce quotient” is totally a real thing, I learned it in physics in college