ARCHON ORCHESTRA - 'Pong' CD (Shadowplay Release / Muzyka Voln / Monopoly Records)
The CD cover of this band's debut album shows a collage with a fragment of a Renaissance painting on which biblical saints look at the "sky" above them and see the game "Pong" being played there (a cult arcade game from 1972, first game by Atari). What could this marvellous picture mean? Let the listener decide. The main instrument on this CD is the organ, in fast mechanical sequences, typical for the Berlin school of electronic music. Simple compositional structure meets vivid expression, liturgical atmosphere and a sublime metaphysical line running through the whole concept of the project. Archon Orchestra deal with clearly structured music lying in the intermediate plane between the so called 'holy minimalism' and 'repetitive music'. Recommended for lovers of Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Terry Riley and Recoil ("Hydrology").
UK 10.50£
Europe 11.50£
World 12.50£
QUANTITY
KSHATRIY - 'Slepok Soznaniya' CD (Muzyka Voln)
The project Kshatriy appeared on the Russian post-industrial scene in 2004 and Muzyka Voln now presents the project's first "professional" CD with the album "Slepok Sonzaniya" ("a mould of consciousness"). This work is based on the concept of consciousness of a warrior, a galactic warrior of light, bringing to world pure knowledge, infinite silence, perfect balance, a moment of power and might, a flight of freedom, love, serenity, joy, light, unified time, eternal life, simplicity and bliss. The music of the project can be described as fractal dark drone ambient with lots of patterns, woven from various sonic fibres: synthesized drones, processed field recordings, acoustic echoes and rhythmic loops. Calm and profound, filled with resilience and hidden power, like an endless ocean of tranquility, energy and beauty. Ltd x 500 copies in a digipak.
The second full-length album from Kshatriy (aka Sergey Bulychyov from Vsevolozhsk, Russia) is an imprint of direct experience of the Universe. The album is dedicated to the end of Kali-Yuga - the age of technocratic lack of spirituality and moral decay - and to the attainment of human awareness of the Unity. Eight hasteless compositions of psychedelic drone ambient combine a light atmosphere with deep layers, crystal clear sound transparency with mild and sometimes uneasy melodies. Soft organic tracks full of plangent drones, noises and natural recordings neighbor with dense and saturated hymns to Hindu goddess Kali. The disk is closed by a beautiful lyrical composition reminding us that the best way to overcome ignorance and realize unity is Love. Ltd x 500 copies in a 6-panel digipak.
SPHERE REX - 'For Electronics And Piano' CD (Shadowplay Release / Monopoly Records / Muzyka Voln)
Sphere Rex is the solo project of MK (Cyclotimia), playing ambient in a traditional vein (uncommon for today), combining minimalism and a background style of electronic music a la Brian Eno and piano improvisations based on proto-ambient ideas of Erik Satie. This music is able to calm down and lull to sleep like alpha-wave rhythms or paint weird images guided by the surreal titles of compositions in one's imagination. For the goals of complete authenticity only analogue devices were used in recordings, as well as tube pre-amps and compressors from 60s-70s. Ltd x 500 copies. Russian import.
Debut release from Zhelezobeton's sublabel Muzyka Voln. This compilation of the same name contains compositions from 12 Russian projects playing ambient / drone music. Each project introduces the listener to its own sound world: mystical stories, isolationism, altered states of consciousness, space landscapes, monotonous technogenic rumble, guitar passages and much more. Exclusive tracks from: Anthesteria feat. Kaj?, Cisfinitum, Bardoseneticcube, Closing The Eternity, Exit In Grey, Hum, Instant Movie Combinations, Kshatriy, Lunar Abyss Deus Organum, Necropolis, Polaris and RemoteBand. A great comp for those interested in the Russian experimental scene and for lovers of beautiful contemplative music. Ltd x 500 copies in a six-panel digipak, decorated with photos of the Baltic Sea.
