Nexsound – experimental, ambient, noise, improv record label

Review

Gaz-eta

Zavoloka-Agf – Nature never produces the same beat twice

Kiedy Antye Greie-Fuchs usłyszała w Internecie nagrania ukraińskiej producentki Kateryny Zavoloki, tak ją one zainteresowały, że skontaktowała się z nią i zaproponowała współpracę. Podczas kilku wspólnych występów obu pań, narodził się pomysł zrealizowania concept-albumu, który dedykowany byłby przyrodzie – wielości występujących w niej form biologicznego życia i ich nieprawdopodobnej wręcz niepowtarzalności. I oto jest: “Nature Never Produces The Same Beat Twice” – wspólny projekt Zavoloki i AGF, opublikowany przez ukraińską wytwórnię Nexsound, prowadzoną przez muzyka i wydawcę Andreya Kiritchenko. Na zawartość muzyczną krążka składa się pięćdziesiąt trwających około minuty nagrań, które podzielone są na pięć segmentów – “Trees”, “Bushes”, Meadow”, “Flowers” i “Spices”. Punktem wyjścia wszystkich kompozycji są laptopowe struktury rytmiczne, poddane radykalnej dekonstrukcji. Część utworów układa się w ekstatyczne erupcje poprzeplatanych ze sobą mikro-dźwięków, które tworzą gęste od cyfrowych brzmień miniatury (“Mak”). W innych kompozycjach pojawia się więcej przestrzeni – wyraźniej słychać wtedy bity, wywiedzione z tanecznych estetyk – techno (“Schafgabe”), 2stepu (“Zhuravlyna”) czy funku (“Ordinary Grass”) – choć i tak mających zdeformowany na laptopową modłę charakter. Sporo utworów sięga swymi korzeniami postindustrialnych eksperymentów z hałasem – ot, choćby chrzęszczący “Kashtan” czy mechaniczny “Dubeiche”. Osobliwy koloryt nadają tym nagraniom wokale – szczególnie te w wykonaniu Zavoloki, czerpiącej pełnymi garściami z bogatej skarbnicy ukraińskiego folkloru (“Air”). Wszystko to układa się w cyfrowy mikrokosmos, oddający w perfekcyjny sposób swoją wielowątkowością złożony świat otaczającej nas przyrody.

PAWEŁ GZYL

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Zavoloka – Plavyna

Finally, we get to a very strangely enchanting record by Ukrainian experimental artist Katja Zavoloka. “Plavyna” [which translates as “Silt”] is an album as much of surprises as it is of utter shocks. Zavoloka takes the listeners on a journey into the land of high-pitched computer generated clicks and snips. Occasional tiny, soft beats are heard underneath the static soundscapes which she creates from scratch. Metallic glitterings and ear-crushing feedback-like fizzing overtake the ears. On “Kolyskova” [or “Lullaby”], her haunting vocals feed your soul, as much as filling your ears. Ultimately, “Plavyna” is a trip worth taking, only if to explore and feel the novelty of Zavoloka’s auditory world. Tom Sekowski

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Critikal – Graphorrhea

Graphorrhea is the writing of long lists of meaningless words, which occurs in some manic disorders. Critikal is a quartet from Ukraine who take this practice to heart. Made up of Dmytro Fedorenko on variety of arrangements, bass and drum programming, Andrey Kiritchenko on computers, field recordings and guitars, Tobias Astrom on effects/feedback and manipulations along with Jeff Surak who plays autoharp, micro cassettes and processing, the band strikes at their target early on in the game. Not just pure glitches or noise for the hell of it. Instead, the four musicians bring forward a variety of influences and techniques to the common table. Bits and pieces of microtonal work, along with field recordings and instruments being processed left and right is what happens on majority of these tracks. It’s scarce, it’s amplified, it’s alien but best of all, it’s filled with an element of surprise. “Graphorrhea” represents a mixed concoction of the weirdest elements imaginable, served up to go down with an element of adventure.

Tom Sekowski

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Andrey Kiritchenko – Stuffed With/Out

Ukrainian guitarist / sound innovator has always struck me as someone whose main goal was to work through textural aspect of the sound, rather than simply the pure analogy of the sound. His previous solo effort “True Delusion” was a wonderful walk into a world of field recordings and guitars. This time around, he’s concentrating more on his first chosen instrument – guitar – while shying a little away from field recordings. Call it contemplative improv or guitar solos with a touch of processed effects, Andrey’s music is clearly aimed to make one think and stop. Stop and think about the guitar effects he’s using and ponder the sources of his field recordings. “For Behemoth Who Was Afraid of Darkness” features a bare guitar track that is augmented with squeaky off-kilter noise. As the piece progresses, the guitar is thrown into the background, while processed sounds make it into the forefront. Exchanging the old for the new and back again. These are the sounds of spectacular concentration. Obviously, this is someone who takes his craft seriously and chooses not to dilute his sounds with anything that may be superfluous. On “Timetravel of a Snail”, Andrey is sampling himself, while at times he even ventures into what could pass for flamenco music [!]. Yes, it’s true, in today’s world, nothing is sacred anymore and cross-genre pollination is clearly the way of the future. Structurally sound and stylistically miles out from the nearest guitarist mining the same field, “Stuffed With/Out” is a haunt picture of beauty of the within.
– Tom Sekowski

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Andrey Kiritchenko – True Delusion

Ukrainian sound-artists Andrey Kiritchenko had a different perception of how new technology could aid in the act of music making. “True Delusion” is in fact equal parts field recording, real instrumentation [guitar and piano] and computer processing. All of these elements are wrapped in a warm, soothing blanket that invites the listener to repeat the listening process again and again. The album starts off with warm guitar plucking that sounds as if surrounded by an aura of humming or buzzing. Minimal plucking is what Kiritchenko had in mind all along. His vision was to bring a meditative glistening to the recording, something that is immediately apparent. With tapes of crickets, dim nightfall and sounds of something that resembles dried leaves, the music [whether processed or not] gives an appearance of something that is embracing and natural. Though much of Kiritchenko’s sounds fall in the serene category, he’s still successful at retaining a factor of underlying tension. From one moment to the next, the listener is unable to guess and predict what’s coming up next. Will the sounds continue to caress the ears or will the change in direction be so drastic that we’ll sit up and take notice of the strangeness factor? His experiments with piano are especially welcome. Half-way through the record, it’s the piano in fact that takes over as the predominant instrument. “Illusion of Safety” [not to be confused with the band of the same name] features wads of light keys clicking. Though pleasant at first, the sound appears to be shrouded over with a mysterious substance, almost like an oily filter that leaves a dirty sound behind. The beauty in all of this is how well the sounds flow from one point to the next, from one idea to the next. Kiritchenko is teasing listeners with an intense game of connect the dots. Everything is logical and nothing sounds false or contrived. Almost like a little kid who’s connecting large dots on a piece of paper; like an artist who’s filling his blank piece of cloth with paint, listening to Andrey Kiritchenko’s “True Delusion” is like watching someone give birth to their newborn.
– Tom Sekowski