THE WIRE

 The animation work of Finn McNicholas - aka Ultre - has been used on Warp's Works & 20th Century 
 Composers tour, and Warp's influence is certainly in evidence in the rhythmic chassis of All the Darkness, 
 with its intemperate bursts of squalid rhythm counterpointed by more placid sequences. However, what 
 lends the album its individuality is his use of instruments made from metal and wire, as well as slightly 
 bashed-about acoustic instruments such as the untuned piano that weaves unsteadily through "Nobodies 
 Favourite". There's a nice contrast between the conventionally sleek, futuristic aura of the electronic 
 components of these pieces and a bustling, clankier DIY element suggestive of creaky doors and busy 
 toolsheds. 

 FUTURE MUSIC
 
 Ultre's Finn McNicholas has composed music for games and TV and performed alongside Aphex Twin and 
 Squarepusher. He takes acoustic sounds into the computer domain and, basically, fucks with them for some 
 often stunning results. Within this collection of tracks there are gentle riffs, harsher beats, some ambient noise 
 (in the true sense) and plenty of treated strings adding to the overall mood. It is, at times, a little unsettling but 
 also quite mesmerising. At only 24 years of age he demonstrates a remarkable understanding of production 
 and composition and I would have said ‘this lad will go far' if he hadn't already… 

 SANDMAN

 This gently brooding debut from sound/visual artist Ultre is a release from the roster of Sheffield-based 
 Audiobulb Records. Across twelve tracks, Finn McNicholas mixes the violin, piano and guitar with delicate 
 electronic blips and clicks. It's an elegant combination of organic (the piano has a well-loved, slightly out of 
 tune timbre) and digital. The astoundingly complex production - even the panning is fastidious - can only be 
 the result of insomnia. Film composition, jazz progressions and even classical music are all subtle influences. 
 'Pictures of Piano Notes:' is based on a Romantic piano riff, and we're talking Schumann, not Milk Tray. 

 Such 'exploratory electronics' (Audiobulb's description) are not for the impatient, but All The Darkness's 
 experimental ambience has an accessible beauty that might appeal to Mogwai fans. Well, Mogwai fans who 
 can cope without the rock influences. 

 GRIDFACE

 Ultre  is Finn McNicholas, a 24-year-old musician from Barnsley (UK) whose attention to detail has summoned 
 the interest of Audiobulb Records . His debut album possesses an immediately well-defined style and confidence 
 based upon a series of tracks with well-composed melodic, percussive and structural design. Acoustic piano 
 motifs abound from the beginning as “Pictures Of Piano Notes” progresses across triplets of notes and 
 crescendos of violin. Whilst the sound palette is distinctly within a modern compositional mode the percussive 
 elements skitter and roll with a distinct Asian/IDM hybrid force. Ultre works an engaging mix throughout this 
 album without falter. Track after track of developing melody and rhythmic wanderings produce a steady and 
 mature narrative. Powerful details emerge through the evolving guitar of “Massive Things In Tiny Hands” that 
 builds and flows with seamless joy. 'Bricolage“‘s skittering rhythms present a contrast to the stilled ambience 
 of the textural pads, each wave of percussion rolling like a bongo and tabla piece from classical India. “Phrotos” 
 presents voices and deep kick drums moving forward with a steady certainty. “In The Nerves” is distinct, 
 tortured, and unresolved with its strange bowed string guttural sounds merged with distortion and beats.

 In summary Ultre's work is mature and engaging beyond his years. However, maybe this is not so surprising 
 when you read his press release. With a pedigree in animation his work has featured as a part of the ongoing 
 Warp Works and 20th Century Masters tour which has reached Europe's most prestigious venues. He has 
 played live with artists from Planet Mu such as Tim Exile, Max Tundra and has featured alongside Battles and 
 Clark on the recent Overkill compilation (LittleBig). All The Darkness Has Gone To Details is a very good debut 
 and clear indicator that Audiobulb has its eye on the up and coming talent of tomorrow and today. 

 ANGRYAPE

 Central to many of the tracks on 'All the Darkness Has Gone to Details' is Ultre 's home-made instrument, 
 one he describes as being "like a huge metal bow and arrow that's painful to play". Its sounds hurt, the harsh 
 shriek of the strings wailing through Being Invincible. It's not uncomfortable to hear, it resembles the darker 
 side of a violin sound, a violin that was not carved or cared for and never played in an orchestra.

 As 'All the Darkness Has Gone to Details' progresses it morphs and twists into something more electronic 
 and less organic than it began as. It opens with harsh strings and dusty piano in Pictures of Piano Notes and 
 progresses seamlessly to the electronic breakout of breaks and beats in quiet/loud ensemble Bricolage. This 
 progression separates the tracks, but also cements the album as a solid entity.

 The piano pieces are what I find most striking about Ultre, the small melodies, repeated and moulded around 
 the laptop sounds and programmed beats, they soften the sharp beats and clicks, without either being 
 drowned out or dominating.

 'All the Darkness Has Gone to Details' has an accomplished sound, not unlike a lot of other things, but 
 retaining a definite identity and well-developed tracks. McNicholas displays a sympathetic ear to the acoustic 
 side of things alongside bold use of meaty programming.

 Much is to be expected from Finn McNicholas in the near future, with visuals for Warp and sets with 
 Chris Clark  and Freeform  already under his belt, now complimented by this fearsome debut. 

 GROOVES MAGAZINE

 Ultre is the musical alias of Finn McNicholas, who apparently began his musical career performing in various 
 bands among the UK indie scene. Along the way, McNicholas' growing interest in graphic design and animation 
 led him to explore digital visuals as a parallel medium, a complimentary path of artistic exploration that's seen 
 him perform live visuals with Squarepusher, Aphex Twin, and Plaid as well as for Warp's recent 20th-century 
 Composers tour. An evolving interest in sound design and film composition also fuelled McNicholas' interest in 
 solo electronic composition, the results of which bear fruit in the form of his debut album as Ultre 

 Meticulously structured and composed of a mixture of both digital and acoustic elements (including McNicholas' 
 own self-made instrument, apparently something like a huge steel bow and arrow that's physically painful to 
 play), much of All the Darkness certainly veers towards the sorts of contemporary classical explorations evident 
 on Warp Works & Twentieth Century Masters . What sets it apart from that collection, however, are the 
 unmistakably indie-tinged shades lurking at the very edges, something that's particularly evident on the delicate, 
 Pedro-esque "Hearings.” Also particularly striking is the richness of McNicholas' sonic pallette, with Oval-style 
 clicks, cuts, and digital detritus merging beautifully with treated pianos, guitars, and strings, the entire fusion 
 giving off a strangely aged and time-eroded feel. The incorporation of McNicholas' self-built instruments as yet 
 another discernibly present element lends much of the music here an intangibly individual timbre that easily lifts 
 it above the hegemony of the latest plug-in. Replete with eerily intense stuff that suddenly rears up from 
 comparatively placid piano atmospheres into a whirlwind of treated orchestration, All the Darkness represents 
 something of a challenging listen at points, though persistence is rewarded amply. 

 SONIC CURIOSITY

 This CD from 2006 offers 53 minutes of melodic illbience. Ultre is Finn McNicholas. 

 Delicate piano streaming like a transparent foundation upon which violins burst with passionate flurry, 
 generating a harmonic buzz that seems to unify with the understated keyboards. This tune sets the stage for a 
 curious sonic experience.

 Add in quirky guitar and cybernetic weirdness, and the music commences a determined journey deep into 
 uncommon territory. Notes are stretched and scraped, transforming sounds into alien vibrations. Agitated 
 percussives of an artificial nature seep through the mix, lending a strange cohesion that defies description. 
 The guitar presence alternates from fanciful strumming to outright abuse, the latter producing a bevy of 
 teeth-rattling punctuations that fit nicely in the overall weirdness.

 McNicholas' eccentric manner of combining traditional piano with synthetic rhythms is engaging. His application 
 of acoustic guitar to the mutant structure creates a strangely old school flair to the highly modern tuneage. 
 The beats cavort with often erratic patterns, while the guitar and piano provide an earthy grounding for the 
 wildly unconventional pieces.

 One almost gets the feeling that McNicholas is channeling an arcane fusion of folk music with Autechre. 
 The result is a unique peek into an alternate dimension of sound. 

 VITAL WEEKLY
 Just when we thought Audiobulb were only releasing MP3s, they arrive with a new CD release by Ultre, 
 also known as Finn mcNicholas, who despite his young age of twnety-four has been active in music since 
 ten years. Before he played in 'loud bands', but spends his days now behind the computer, creating his music, 
 for this release, but also for TV, short films, PSP when not on the road to play live. If I understood right, all the 
 music on this CD was made by sounds of piano, strings, guitar as well as some metal bow he built himself. It 
 took me some time to understand what this was all about, as upon initial listening I put this CD away as another 
 attempt to connect to the melancholic intelligent dance music, from the likes of Expanding Records or Highpoint 
 Lowlife. 

 After repeated listening I must say that I enjoyed it more and more, but still can't escape the fact that it sounds 
 like those labels. Maybe at times, Ultre sounds even more ambient, or perhaps even a bit more experimental, 
 such as in 'Orchestre Neutron', but throughout the beats rolls over eachother. The interesting moments of 
 Ultre is where piano is heard and some processed guitar or strings and things are less beat oriented. There he 
 breaks away from the somewhat rigid idiom that this kind of music has, and shows the original sound (although 
 it might move towards ambient music). It's a fairly good album, which certainly holds possibilities for the future. 

 THE VIBES
 
 Nuovo lavoro su cd della Audiobulb , che da tempo propone interessanti leve dell'elettronica contemporanea 
 nel formato mp3 che meglio si presta alla diffusione a macchia d'olio nella rete. Questa volta gli sforzi produttivi si 
 concentrano su Ultre , alter-ego artistico di Finn McNicholas , giovanissimo manipolatore sonoro (ha appena 24 
 anni e smanetta con macchine e strumenti da circa dieci, passando parecchio tempo appresso il suo pc e il suo 
 equipaggiamento "sonorifero" da cui ha tirato fuori anche vari lavori per la tv, il psp e per dei cortometraggi). Ad 
 un primo distratto ascolto di All The Darkness Has Come To Details , verrebbe da cestinarlo classificandolo come 
 l'ennesimo maldestro tentativo di combinare beat astratti a melodie disgregate; prestando maggiore attenzione alla 
 parte compositiva si notano molte più sfaccettature che lo rendono un disco piuttosto interessante.

 Gli oscuri grovigli, che Ultre piazza in copertina (avrà preso spunto dai capelli che rimangono attorno allo scarico 
 della doccia?) e che rimodella nel suo sito ricavandone per lo più fantasiose entità entomologiche, sembrano 
 prendere vita sonora nelle sue composizioni in cui vengono annodati frammenti di piano, chitarra, archi e rumori 
 metallici -molti dei quali generati da strumenti che Finn si diletta a costruire- in scrocchianti inviluppi. Le pieces più 
 interessanti sono rinvenibili in quei passaggi in cui il flusso dei predetti suoni in ingresso si sovrappongono in 
 movimenti artrosici slegati dalla ricerca del tempo e della battuta, come avviene in Orcheste Neutron  o In The 
 Nerves , mentre avranno mediato certi ascolti "warpiani" alcune derive -probabilmente inevitabili- verso l'ambient. 
 Per chi conosce i Mum e per chi -senza molto sforzo- prova a trasfigurarli in tanti pinocchietti (i pupazzi non i capi 
 d'abbigliamenti), Ultre potrebbe essere pensato -nonostante la giovane età- come il loro Geppetto sul piano 
 stilistico; difatti tutti i casuali chiamati in causa per tradurre in un sentimento la sua musica hanno risposto tirando 
 in ballo la malinconia o la fragilità. Saranno questi gli aspetti che hanno ammaliato i partecipanti al Sinus festival di 
 Basilea, che l'hanno promosso come uno dei migliori performer in quell'occasione? Ad ogni modo, definire questo 
 un album di elettronica "organica" -come è stato fatto- ci pare un po' una contraddizione in termini. Mettendo da 
 parte le questioni terminologiche, comunque può affermarsi che lo stile Ultre  contiene svariate elementi di 
 originalità, passibili di ulteriori sviluppi e integrazioni, che ci fanno sperare in possibili collaborazioni con altri artisti 
 e musicisti dell'entourage elettronico sperimentale! Un aspetto che probabilmente nessun recensore avrà preso in  
 considerazione: ci piace molto il gioco con i grovigli e il codice a barre che il McNicholas grafico ha ripreso sul 
 retro-copertina! 

 SONOMU

 A label that hitherto seems to have released most of its material in the mp3 format presents its fourth foray into 
 the "physical" form of music distribution and consumption. Ultre´s niftily-titled debut presents structured 
 musical pieces utilizing piano, guitar, home made instruments and electronics. 

 Finn McNicholas is already a respected visual artist, producing work for the likes of Squarepusher and The 
 Aphex Twin. Only twenty-four, he used to play "loud bands" before discovering the joys of spending days alone 
 at home at the computer. However, the music on this CD was made with piano, strings, guitar and some kind of 
 homemade bow alongside more sophisticated technology. As a result, "imprecision" - his own term - is built into 
 the music itself; a refreshing embrace of the rough hewn, unfinished-ness of our own natural lives, alongside 
 smooth-edged computer generated sound.

I hear Ultre´s music as being very broad across the back, bumping into glitchy ambient and experimental dance 
 music with one shoulder, and postmodern composition with the other. It´s overwhelmingly jittery, with most tracks 
 being supported by well-crafted, idiosyncratic beats. In fact, the listener could do with a bit more space to recline 
 and catch his breath now and again.

The most interesting moments on the album are those featuring piano - he seems to command this instrument best, 
and makes the most of his attacks on it, especially those that are quite close-miked. Feels intimate. 

 PHOSPHOR MAGAZINE   

 Ultre: All the darkness has gone to details CD Finn McNicholas operates under the banner Ultre, combining 
 electronics with acoustic instruments such as piano, strings and guitar. This combination is energetic, due to 
 deep beats, crystal clear sounds and a nice drive. But the music presents a filmic and tender side as well. 
 A lovely playful album that fits the Audiobulb Records roaster just fine.

 SMALLFISH 

 I do like Audiobulb. They're a thoughtful and interesting label who put out some really good work. This CD 
 from Ultre definitely falls into that category with its very likeable blend of abstract Electronica and lovely 
 organic sounds that add a whole host of melody to the proceedings. It references numerous acts and styles 
 whilst carving out a very nice little crunchy niche for itself. Have a listen and I reckon you might be rather taken 
 with this. Lovely stuff. 

 DE:BUG 
 Audiobulb ist eins meiner Lieblingslabel. Sie sind technisch so versessen in allem was sie releasen, dabei 
 aber doch immer aussergewöhnlich musikalisch und vor allem bereit einen Sound zu releasen, den man sonst 
 fast nirgendwo findet. Das Album von Ultre passt deshalb auch perfekt. Sehr deepe Tracks aus 
 elektroakustischen Fragmenten und feinen Beats, vertrackten aber nicht Komplexität suchenden Beats und immer 
 wieder Piano und andere Dinge aus der Vergangenheit so gut eingefädelt in den glitzernd knisternd spannenden. 
 Sound, dass man die Tracks wie kleine melancholische Songs hören kann. Eine Platte die einem sehr nah geht. 
Sofort. Ohne Umwege. Und dennoch keinen Funken von Folkdeppen-Neocreatürlichkeit braucht.