Blamstrain

In 2001 Finnish musician Juho Hietala launched recordings under the Blamstrain name, having worked earlier as Otwo. His approach to IDM suited Gabe Koch's Merck imprint, which issued the debut album Ensi in 2003. Reviewers drew favorable links to Autechre and Aphex Twin, after which Blamstrain Remixed appeared in 2005 with reworkings contributed by Gridlock, Funckarma, Proem, and Lackluster. A joint 2006 EP, Brothomstrain vs Blamstates, paired Blamstrain with fellow Finnish IDM artist Brothomstates and leaned more toward the dancefloor than either had previously. That same year the Sending Orbs label released the second Blamstrain album, Disfold, on which Hietala moved the music toward ambient dub-techno. Hietala established his own Erotus label in 2008 and entered a productive phase of albums and singles that opened with Lowblow and Exosphere. He also issued material under other names, among them Varia (with Jari Pitkänen), Invisible Hands, and OSC. After relocating to Amsterdam, Blamstrain returned to vinyl in 2013 with the Sunday Dub EP on Erotus—the first such release since 2006—then delivered the full-length For All the Dreamers In the following year.