Esa Ruoho (born 26 October 1978 in Helsinki, Finland), better known as Lackluster, is a Finnish electronic music producer and performer from Kontula, Helsinki. He is also known as Esa Ruoho, XLLV, Can'O'Lard and Kökö and the Köks. Ruoho has lived most of his life in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, but has also, since 2000, travelled to

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 C ...

, Canada for six months in 2000–2001, and also spent time in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Musical career

Esa Ruoho started composing

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

in the mid-1990s and, after 2000 has been releasing recorded music (remixes, compilation-tracks, original work) on many labels, full-length CDs on such labels as deFocus records (

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

Merck Records Merck Records (2000– 2007) was a record label based in Miami and run by Gabe Koch. It released electronic music. Background Their releases cover a wide range of styles, from cut up vocal hip hop by their most prominent artist Machinedrum, to ...

(

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, Florida, US), U-cover (

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

), Psychonavigation Records (

, Ireland), New-Speak Records (

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

). He has since 2007 worked with SLSK Records from San Francisco and Nice And Nasty from Ireland, the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

-based netlabel TwoCircles Records and the Argentinian netlabel Igloo-Rec, and the American label JellyFish Frequency Recordings. Lackluster was formerly known as the

chiptune Chiptune, also known as chip music or 8-bit music, is a style of synthesized electronic music made using the programmable sound generator (PSG) sound chips or synthesizers in vintage arcade machines, computers and video game consoles. The t ...

musician, Distance, part of the

demoscene The demoscene is an international computer art subculture focused on producing demos: self-contained, sometimes extremely small, computer programs that produce audiovisual presentations. The purpose of a demo is to show off programming, visual ...

groups Orange, Monotonik, Calodox, The Digital Artists, The Planet of Leather Moomins (TPOLM), FLO and Satori. Esa also ran a

Bulletin Board System A bulletin board system (BBS), also called computer bulletin board service (CBBS), is a computer server running software that allows users to connect to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, the user can perform functions such as ...

, Cloudcity, from 1992 to 2000 – utilizing HectoBBS (1992),

SuperBBS SuperBBS is a DOS Bulletin Board System (BBS) software package written by Aki Antman and Risto Virkkala. It was born as a functional clone of RemoteAccess BBS (which in turn was a clone of QuickBBS), but extended the functionality with several ...

(1992–1994) and

PCBoard PCBoard (PCB) was a bulletin board system (BBS) application first introduced for DOS in 1983 by Clark Development Company. Clark Development was founded by Fred Clark. PCBoard was one of the first commercial BBS packages for DOS systems, and was ...

(1994–2000) BBS Software. The name Lackluster is taken from "Pyramids" by

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first nov ...

(

Discworld ''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat pla ...

series), encountered 1996–1997.

Collaborations

Esa has collaborated with Heikki Lindgren since 2018, forming a duo called HLER (Heikki Lindgren, Esa Ruoho), creating fully improvised Ambient Drone music using a rare Peruvian monophonic synthesizer, the Atomosynth Mochika XL.

Live performances

Since 2000, Ruoho has played numerous musical performances as Lackluster, Esa Ruoho and as a part of the ambient-drone duo HLER in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Ireland, England, Austria, Poland, Russia, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania and Ukraine. Ruoho has also played as warm-up support for numerous electronic musicians, such as

Biosphere The biosphere (from Greek βίος ''bíos'' "life" and σφαῖρα ''sphaira'' "sphere"), also known as the ecosphere (from Greek οἶκος ''oîkos'' "environment" and σφαῖρα), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also be ...

, Petri Kuljuntausta,

The Orb The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential 19 ...

Mixmaster Morris Mixmaster Morris (born Morris Gould, 30 December 1965) is an English electronica DJ and underground musician who has also recorded as The Irresistible Force. His work in the 1990s blended ambient music and chill-out influences with UK dance st ...

Brothomstates Brothomstates is one of the stage names of Lassi Nikko, a Finnish composer and musician. He also used to produce music in the demoscene under the moniker of Dune in the demogroup Orange. His works are mostly downtempo or ambient, but he is also kn ...

, Aleksi Perälä/Astrobotnia/Ovuca,

Cylob Chris Jeffs (born in 1976), best known by the stage name Cylob, is a British electronic musician and producer closely associated with Aphex Twin. He has produced seven albums, three compilations and a number of remixes. Previously signed to Re ...

Wevie Stonder Wevie Stonder are a British group formed in Brighton in 1993. They have released 6 studio albums on Skam, Sonig and Cack Records. History Wevie Stonder first began making music in 1979 at the age of 6, by recording some chickens down an old a ...

Machinedrum Travis Stewart, better known as Machinedrum, is an American electronic record producer and performer from North Carolina.Jimmy Edgar Jimmy Edgar is an American conceptual artist and sound designer from Detroit, Michigan. Influenced by minimalism, Yves Klein and Immaterialism, early in their career Jimmy released two hip-hop glitch albums under the names Michaux and Kristuit ...

, Move D,

Jimi Tenor Jimi Tenor (born Lassi O. T. Lehto, 1965) is a Finnish musician. His artist name is a combination of the first name of his youth idol Jimmy Osmond and the tenor saxophone. His band Jimi Tenor & His Shamans released its first album in 1988, whilst ...

and Bad Loop.

Discography

* 1999 – Album – "CDR#2" (CDr) Monotonik * 2000 – EP – "FOC349" (LP) deFocus * 2000 – Album – "Container" (CD, LP) deFocus * 2000 – EP – "R U Oho?" (LP) deFocus * 2000 – EP – "Rikos005" (LP) Rikos Records * 2001 – Album – "Spaces" (CD) U-Cover (as Esa Ruoho) * 2001 – EP – "Spaces" (LP) Inc.US (as Esa Ruoho) * 2001 – EP – "Zealectronic Purple" (LP) Zeal * 2001 – EP – "One-Offs" (NET) Monotonik * 2002 – EP – "A Lackluster Sampler" (LP) Merck * 2002 – EP – "Wrapping Album Sampler" (LP) deFocus * 2002 – Album – "Wrapping" (CD, LP) deFocus * 2003 – Album – "Showcase" (CD) Merck * 2003 – EP – "None of That" (NET) Binkcrsh (as Can'O'Lard) * 2003 – LP – "None of What" (NET) Corewatch (as Can'O'Lard) * 2003 – EP – "Not An EP" (NET) Corewatch * 2003 – EP – "You Are on My Mind" (NET) Monotonik * 2004 – EP – "Showcase Sampler" (LP) Merck * 2004 – Album – "Remixselection_one" (CD) Psychonavigation * 2004 – EP – "R U Oho?" (LP) Merck * 2005 – Album – "Slice" (CD) U-Cover * 2005 – Album – "What You Want Isn't What You Need" (CD) Newspeak Records * 2006 – EP – "Lax EP" (NET) Digilog * 2007 – EP – "Repulsine EP" (CD) SLSK Records * 2007 – EP – "The Stationary Trout" (NET) Part2 Records * 2008 – Album – "Places" (CDr) Grundruck Records (as Esa Ruoho) * 2009 – EP – "Aeration" (NET) TwoCircles Records * 2009 – EP – "Cold Trail" (NET) Acroplane Recordings * 2009 – EP – "Proof of Concept" (NET) Yuki Yaki Recordings * 2009 – EP – "The Flows" (NET) Part2 Records * 2009 – EP – "Portal" (NET) Cornwarning * 2009 – EP – "Scattered Harvest" (NET) Format-Noise * 2011 – EP – "Remixed" (DIGITAL) Nice & Nasty Records * 2011 – EP – "Detro" (DIGITAL) Nice & Nasty Records * 2011 – EP – "Kaneel/Lackluster Split 3"" (CDr) Awkward Silence recordings * 2011 – Album – "The Invisible Spanish Inquisition" (CD) Igloo Pop Records * 2011 – EP – "Riversmouth" (3" CD-r) Attenuation Circuit * 2012 – Album – "On The Hangar of Spaceship Earth" (NET) Mahorka Net-Label (as Esa Ruoho) * 2014 – Album – "Moments" (DIGITAL) Igloo Pop Records * 2014 – Album – "Lexicon of Goods" (DIGITAL) JellyFish Frequency Recordings * 2015 – Album – "Merck Package" (DIGITAL) Lackluster Bandcamp * 2015 – EP – "Parched Throat" (CD-r/DIGITAL) Attenuation Circuit (as Esa Ruoho) * 2015 – EP – "Swansong" (NET) Kahvi Collective * 2015 – Album – "deFocus Package" (NET) Lackluster Bandcamp * 2015 – Album – "PSCHNVGTN K T H X" (NET) Lackluster Bandcamp * 2016 – Album – "Moonbears on Planet Earth Soundtrack" (NET) Lackluster Bandcamp * 2016 – Album – Esa Ruoho: KVA-015 (Cassette) Kaukana Väijyy Ambient (as Esa Ruoho) * 2018 – Album – HLER (Cassette) HLER Bandcamp (Heikki Lindgren & Esa Ruoho = HLER) * 2018 – EP – Yep, I'd Certainly take a Roland D2 for free (NET) Lackluster Bandcamp * 2018 – Album – "Hydroton - a model of Cold Fusion: Original Soundtrack" (NET) Lackluster Bandcamp * 2018 – Album – Collage (NET) Lackluster Bandcamp (as Esa Ruoho) * 2019 – Album – Avaruusromua Special 2016 (NET) Lackluster Bandcamp (as Esa Ruoho) * 2021 - EP - 100606 Kosmos8 Sinuus Sina

Media collaborations

*Utopias of Helsinki, a web report for Helsingin Sanomat "What would Helsinki be like now, if all of the grandiose city-utopias of the 1960s had come to fruition?" (composition)(2001) *Pauli Ojala (a Finnish graphics artist) on "13/10/99", a short music video which was presented at the

Assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

2001 Wild demo competition, placing 4th. *Wilma Mehtonen (a Finnish choreographer) "Ulottumaton Symbioosi" (2002). *Halcyon (demogroup) DVD, providing in-menu composition (2002) *Wilma Mehtonen "T.43" modern dance-performance (2003). *Teemu Niskanen (a Finnish photographer) on a web-slideshow project (2006). *Thuyen Nguyen: "The Most Powerful Person in the World" – 16 May 2007. **Synopsis: A love letter to video games. *Luca Barbeni (designer) on "dune.8081", a flash website, 2007. *Mari Helisevä (painter) on "Luontaisenkaltaisia", an art installation featuring a musical mixture of kitchen-recorded materials, displayed at Maa-Tila, Helsinki, Finland, from 9 to 20 January 2008. *Thuyen Nguyen: "Same as it ever was" – 29 February 2008. **Synopsis: Video game critics use the same arguments against gaming as they did for movies, television, comics, books. *

Jonatan Söderström Jonatan Söderström, also known as Cactus, is a Swedish video game developer noted for his unusual and innovative games. He is best known as the co-designer and programmer of ''Hotline Miami'' (2012) and '' Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number'' (2015 ...

: Retro 4, 2008 *scheltema/van beem NEPCO/ILC: "Headfooters", 2008 **Synopsis: Cutesy headfoot monsters jump around to the sound of "Hugytrak" off of Lackluster: Slice (released on U-Cover) *Antti Mutta/Pelaaja-Lehti (Journalist) on "Korg DS-10", a review, Pelaaja-Lehti September/2009 (2009) * Toisissa Tiloissa: "Suuri Koralliriutta" – 21 April 2018, 29 September 2018. **Synopsis: An improvised dance performance open to the public organised by Toisissa Tiloissa and Kontula Electronic, held at the Youth House of Kontula - re-run at Kanneltalo.

References

External links

Lackluster on Bandcamp
* *
Lackluster
at

Last.fm Last.fm is a music website founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. Using a music recommender system called "Audioscrobbler", Last.fm builds a detailed profile of each user's musical taste by recording details of the tracks the user listens to, e ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lackluster 1978 births Living people Ableton Live users Demosceners Finnish electronic musicians Jeskola Buzz users Renoise users Ambient musicians