HLER Ancient Grounds Signature Dark Cover

HLER: Ancient Grounds, coming out on 13th June 2025 on Signature Dark label

"Written, mixed and produced by HLER
Electric guitar, bowed lyra & effects by Heikki Lindgren
Pure data, Ableton Live, Renoise with Paketti by Esa Ruoho
Mastered by Jukka Anderson
Cover Design by Juuso Koponen"

dew and smog ep cover

Lackluster: Dew and Smog Ep out on Traum Schallplatten

Message from Riley Reinhold of Traum Schallplatten:

"I was looking for music that ways taking the label for an offroad ride. More meaningful and deeper then a lot of dancefloor music these days. Iam not saying i am done with dance music, because i have siged already some great music for this year, but there are times you need to dig deep. So Lackluster has that quality for sure!
This Finnish artist deliberately moves away from today’s prevailing sound aesthetics, refusing to create music that merely explodes in the listener’s face. Instead, his compositions are no fireworks but rather the glowing embers of a fire - shifting colors, subtle transformations, an appeal to the most primal human senses. In this, he shares a kinship with artists devoted to ambient music, yet he counterbalances their softness with an uncompromising edge - at times cold, at times unrelenting. The result is an experience that is as demanding as it is rewarding, an intricate soundscape that does not simply reveal itself but insists on being discovered.
This is, without question, the antithesis of a TV dinner. It is music that requires space, time, and patience—an ascent rather than an instant gratification. For those willing to engage, it promises something far more profound: an experience that unfolds and resonates long after the final note has faded."

Songs made with Renoise

these songs have been made with Renoise

Pale Green Renoise Theme File XML/XRNC download - Lackluster Renoise Theme

Here's a low-contrast Lackluster Renoise Theme.

This has been altered out of some other theme for usage.
Way back in 2011-2012, I considered this "to be quite soothing to the eyes at times, not as piercing as the default Renoise theme." Your mileage may vary.

Valley artwork by Salt/Ant-Zen

Lackluster: Alley: SilenceAndSound Review

La musique développée par Esa Ruoho aka Lackluster est étrange et magnétique, serpentant au milieu de paysages vallonnés, recouverts d’une végétation dense et mystérieuse à l’aura envoûtante.

Alley est un objet surprenant aux bordures cousues au fil de soie, se jetant dans des gorges de mélodies sinueuses, accumulation de strates au psychédélisme fascinant, d’où émergent des formes hybrides aux facettes multiples.

Plongeant l’auditeur dans des sonorités électroniques semblant surgir de la fin des eigties, Lackluster compose des titres enracinés dans un rétro-futurisme lumineux, mélange de nappes flottantes et de rythmiques mouvantes, nourries de proto-techno et d’électro torsadée, de trip-pop aux arrondis white funk et de downtempo en colimaçon. Inclassable.

Roland Torres