Reviews:

From Judas Kiss: (by Lee Powell)

  l‘I Knew Her’ is the debut release from Russian composer and electronic musician Alex Tiuniaev, who has previously only has appeared on a select few compilations and collaborative releases.

  Comprising one track with a running time of a little over 40 minutes, ‘I Knew Her’ is a bittersweet musical exploration into the very soul of its composer. Gently evolving from heartwarming washes of symphonic splendour, swimming with emotion, depth and passion, you’re instantly held spellbound by the enchanting characteristics of Alex’s composition, and you also realise that you’re exploring territories into which the UK’s legendary post-industrial label Cold Spring very rarely ventures.

  Completely devoid of the noise, harsh electronics and pitch-black ambience which are generally associated with Cold Spring releases, ‘I Knew Her’ instead delivers a breathtakingly enchanting ambient composition which plucks at your heartstrings as its lush warmth, stirring strings and captivating spectre-like choirs create a truly bewitching and almost spiritual atmosphere that is impossible to ignore.

  Like accidentally walking into the passionate performance of a cathedral choir in full voice, the intensity, beauty and emotive power of the vocals are incredibly moving. Yet once they resonate through the acoustics of their proud spiritual home, they take on a deeper, more pronounced and overpowering nature, which can in some senses be compared to the atmosphere produced by this phenomenally well-executed and delivered piece of music. You can just imagine its haunting prowess filling the hallowed chambers of an ancient cathedral, and instantly overwhelming anyone with its sheer monumental stance and allure.

  Slowly over the evolution of the track, the layers of neo-classical orchestration, strings and choirs build and overlay one another, fusing together a delicate cacophony of splendours, sounds and emotions which carry the listener along with an overwhelming intensity. The track’s volume and depth build into a dense structure of sounds which take on immensely religious and spiritual qualities, whilst producing a hauntingly beautiful aura that really needs to be heard to fully understand its power, warmth and bittersweet melancholy. Then as the track peaks, it slowly and with an immense care peels away layer upon layer of sounds until you’re left with nothing more than a low rumbling that draws an end to a wonderfully spectacular release.

  Of course music of this nature appeals to a certain time or frame of mind. It needs you to be responsive to its alluringly majestic qualities, to open yourself up and be engulfed by its emotive depth and power. And once you have, you will quite simply find it impossible to find fault with.

  Whilst not being as dark or malevolent as the majority of the ambient-style releases to have come from the Cold Spring stable, ‘I Knew Her’ is a beautiful release in its own right, which perhaps owes more to the powerfully moving world of post-rock as opposed to post-industrial, as it isn’t exactly a million miles away from the haunting splendour of ‘Palmless Prayer / Mass Murder Refrain’ , the collaborative release by Mono and World’s End Girlfriend, but no matter which way you look at it, ‘I Knew Her’ is a truly remarkable album, and one which both composer and label should be immensely proud of.

From Filth Forge: (by Simon V.)

  From Moscow comes Alex Tiuniaev, a young and eclectic musician moving amongst the most different genres and who is also active with the Garden Hose Universe duo. Cold Spring released this debut CD containing a single track of about 40 minutes, a magniloquent ambient composition with epic and orchestral tones. After a short and distant gloomy intro, the core of "I Knew Her" is displayed in its whole might, through a crescendo of powerful keyboard melodies eventually looped into a mass of sound of Biblical impact.

   Angelic choirs, solemn and celestial melodies, a strings section and much more pile one above the other, until they give the impression that the Red Sea is about to open once again in front of our own eyes. Every minute passing, the intensity seems to rise unstoppable, and it becomes hard to describe the sensations evoked by Alex's music in a few lines. Around the 30th minute, when the pathos has become almost unbearable, the music starts to untie the grip, shifting slowly towards silence and farewell.

   "I Knew Her" is a fantastic listening experience, an evocative soundtrack which makes you think of films like "The Gladiator" or "The Lord Of The Rings", as well as the endless celestial fields of Heaven. In the near future, better keep an eye on Alex Tiuniaev and his musical creations!

From Obliveon: (by MK)

  Alex Tiuniaev aus Moskau war mir bislang vollkommen unbekannt, doch was er den Zuhörern mit “I Knew Her” hier bietet, ist schlichtweg genial. Basierend auf der immer gleichen Klangfolge baut er hier in über vierzig Minuten mit zumeist leichten Variationen in den Arrangements und ihrer Intensität sowie einer sich ständig steigenden Dynamik der einzelnen Passagen ein absolut monumentales Orchesterwerk auf, das absolut einzigartig und schlichtweg atemberaubend ist. Neoklassische Streicher und vor allem bombastische und sakrale Chöre steigern sich zu einem wahren Crescendo und einem beinahe orgiastischem Höhepunkt, bevor der Hörer langsam wieder zurück zu den ruhigen Ursprüngen dieses Werkes geführt wird. Atmosphärisch wie kompositorisch ist „I Knew Her“ ein Meisterwerk, wobei man sich wirklich Zeit nehmen muss, sich in diese stetig wachsende Dynamik einzufügen und einzutauchen. Ist das gelungen, offenbart sich nicht nur die ganze Pracht dieses Werkes, sondern auch die ganze Genialität, die Alex Tiuniaev hier an den Tag legt. „I Knew Her“ zeigt deutlich auf, dass eine Reduzierung von nur wenigen Tönen ein mehr an überwältigenden und mitreissenden Emotionen zur Folge haben kann. Absolut geniales Werk. (10/10)

From Darkroom: (by Michele Viali)

  Alex Tiuniaev è un compositore russo forse estraneo a chi frequenta le sonorità oscure: ha alle spalle alcuni progetti, tra i quali il duo Garden Hose Universe, ma soprattutto una vena creativa invidiabile riassunta in toto in questa lunga, inaspettata traccia intitolata "I Knew Her". Il brano, costruito - presumo - tramite l'uso di apparecchiature elettroniche, ha una struttura a parabola con un avvio calmo e tenue che cresce lentamente nei suoni e nell'intensità, minuto dopo minuto, sprigionando una miriade di emozioni e sensazioni che toccano l'infinito. La melodia compatta e piana si mescola a cori lievi e angelici i quali, a loro volta, si intrecciano al vertice del componimento con un tema di archi, sfiorando trionfalmente il paradiso. L'intensità raggiunta, difficilmente descrivibile con le parole, viene mantenuta e reiterata per molto, fino a saturare e straziare l'anima riempiendo e annullando spazio e tempo. Così come sono nati, i toni scemano poi pian piano, fino a far rimarginare brividi che pesano come ferite. Dedicato, in modo forse furbo, a coloro che "là fuori stanno cercando l'amore", l'album è stato masterizzato da Martin Bowes degli Attrition e gode di un artwork realizzato da Abby Helasdottir di Clear Stream Temple. Alex appare perfettamente in linea con altri compositori neoclassici, a partire dal progetto australiano Shinjuku Thief, non a caso prodotto in tempi recenti proprio dalla Cold Spring. Ma la lista è lunga e va dagli In The Nursery (che potrebbero anche invidiare alcuni passaggi di quest'album) a Heimar Hilmarsson (ricordate "Island" dei Current 93?), dai Sigur Rós all'immenso maestro Philip Glass, forse il vero punto di partenza dello stesso Alex. La linea compositiva è quella, le sensazioni anche. No so dove arriverà questo precoce compositore russo, ma è evidente che la sua strada inizia da una posizione assai avanzata, laddove alcuni impiegano 20 anni di carriera per arrivarci: in pochi riescono infatti a racchiudere così tante emozioni nell'arco di soli 40 minuti. Probabilmente tra i migliori dischi pubblicati dalla Cold Spring negli ultimi anni. (8.5/10)

From Mentenebre: (by Roberto G)

  Desde Moscú nos llega un nuevo trabajo del compositor y productor Alex Tiuniaev. Con este mismo nombre se crea su propio proyecto musical basado en diferentes mezclas de música neo-clásica, ambient, y electrónica.

  Después de su álbum "Artificial Symphony", publicado en 2006 por OtterSong Records, Cold Spring apuesta por Alex con un disco llamado "I knew Her", que llama más la atención por lo arriesgado de la propuesta que por otra cosa. Todos conocemos, por un lado, la fama de Cold Spring Records así como la selección de buenas bandas que edita, y por otro lado conocemos que lo que más suele gustar a los oyentes o, mejor dicho, a los compradores de CDs, es poder adquirir un álbum y que dentro de él existan distintos matices musicales donde siempre habrá algún tema que sobresalga del resto o, por lo que sea, pase a ser tu preferido, etc. Pues bien, la parte arriesgada de Cold Spring es apostar por un álbum de 40 minutos de duración de tan sólo una pista. Existen álbumes similares donde se puede decir que son tan sólo una pista, pero el concepto musical que persigue el álbum varía con el transcurso de los minutos, y lo que en el fondo termina resultando puede ser tan sólo una pista pero con distintos cortes diferenciados o, lo que es lo mismo, varios temas sin segundos de silencio entre ellos. Sin embargo, en esta ocasión, "I Knew Her" es todo lo contrario. Se nos presenta una única pista con un único tema de principio a fin, con la misma tonalidad musical prácticamente de principio a fin. En primera instancia podría parecer que el resultado puede rozar el aburrimiento, la monotonía y la simpleza compositiva, pero a veces las apariencias engañan, y nunca mejor que este caso para dejarse llevar por la intuición de uno mismo y comprobarlo.

  Realmente, la primera vez que escuches el track, aun sin saber que por mucho que esperes tan sólo vas a encontrar una pista en el CD, los primeros minutos se hacen algo largos y tediosos. Pero cuando van pasando los minutos y te vuelves a centrar en la música, notas que aquello que en un principio rozaba la simpleza comienza a adquirir nuevos matices y, sobre todo, nuevas capas de instrumentos que poco a poco se van solapando los unos con los otros para terminar construyendo una estructura que dista mucho de la inicial. Obviamente, para que todo este experimento funcionase, la base armónica debe ser pegadiza y llamativa para el oyente, y Alex esta idea la tuvo bien presente, con lo cual, aunque se puede decir que prácticamente todos los 40 minutos están rodeados de unas melodías musicalmente similares, éstas están cuidadas hasta el más mínimo detalle, buscando en todo momento la mezcla de melancolía, esperanza y epicismo.

  Todo comienza con unos sonidos muy tenues, ambientales, que poco a poco comienzan a dar paso, de una manera muy lenta y pausada, a la melodía principal del tema que, como he dicho, comenzará a alimentarse de más y más sonidos a cada minuto que pase. Ésta no es una técnica nueva y, por ejemplo, me viene a la cabeza el mismísimo Mike Oldfield. Todo tipo de instrumentos comenzarán a hacer acto de presencia, desde pads, cuerdas e instrumentos de viento hasta, finalmente, poderosos coros, tanto masculinos como femeninos, terminarán por ensamblar un tema perfecto, que bien podría valer como colofón final de una estupenda película de un mundo de fantasía.
Como he dicho, no hay que menospreciar la idea de que "I Knew Her" sea un disco de un sólo tema, ni mucho menos pensar que un tema que dure 40 minutos y persiga constantemente la misma entonación musical, pueda llevar al aburrimiento. De verdad que es asombroso escuchar toda la evolución del tema y prestar atención a cada nuevo instrumento que entra y, sobre todo, disfrutar con el resultado final y escuchar el impresionante despliegue de instrumentos, todos sonando a la par con esas melodías tan bien propuestas. He escuchado muchos discos que, sin llegar a tener una duración tan larga, sí pueden rozar los 10 minutos, o 15, y siempre son iguales, sin apenas modificaciones, y de evoluciones lentísimas. Este álbum no tiene nada que ver con eso.

  Pese a todo, como parte negativa recalcaría que, aun siendo un buen álbum y el desarrollo sea llevadero y el desenlace impresione, creo que Alex podría haber compuesto un álbum más distendido, componiendo un tema, por ejemplo de unos 20 minutos, similar a éste, y el resto haber creado otros temas para dotar al disco de más diversidad. Y, como parte positiva, un poco lo que ya he comentado, que, aun siendo un track tan largo, guarda en todo momento una melodía muy atractiva y, sobre todo, una evolución que, aun siendo lenta, es igualmente adictiva. También hay que reconocer que no es, para nada, fácil componer un tema así, sobre todo a nivel de estudio, donde hay que tener mucho cuidado con los instrumentos para que cada uno se oiga perfectamente en el lugar que le corresponde.

  No es fácil realizar un álbum así, y Alex lo ha conseguido.

From Gothtronic: (by Erik)

  Alex Tiuniaev is an electronic musician and producer from Moscow, Russia. I Knew Her is my first encounter with this talented musician from Russia. And when listening I Knew Her from Alex Tiuniaev I have a mixed feeling. I Knew Her is at one hand a very nice composed and produced one track neo-symphonic track. On the other hand, although there’s a constant subtle change during the song, it consists of 40 minutes merely the same tune. For me it is not a problem, although 40 minutes can be a bit lengthy, but maybe some of the readers of this review might have some problems with it. Despite some repetitiveness I Knew Her has become a melodramatic, melancholic symphonic track where electronics, choirs, strings a neoclassical orchestration collide. It sounds as an epic/melancholic soundtrack and could also be enjoyed and loved by ambient fans. And love seems to be the topic of I Knew Her because it is dedicated to everyone who seeks love. Especially the first 30 minutes are interesting. After these 30 minutes I start to loose interest in this album. And that’s a pity because the first 30 minutes I was dwelling in the world of I Knew Her……and it was quite a nice journey.

From Chain D.L.K.: (by Maurizio Pustianaz)

  Electronic musician and producer from Moscow, Russia, Alex Tiuniaev with I KNEW HER delivers a really good atmospheric album full of melancholy and with a great cinematic sense of time progression. The album contains only one track that besides having a similar feeling of loss (the melodies and the images of the artwork make me think about a girl who died) for the whole forty minutes of its length, with the hypnotic cyclic repetition of a central musical theme it is able to involve the listener thanks to Alexander's ability of mixing the orchestral elements and the choirs. The suite starts slowly and calmly and little by little the choirs rise from a blanket of strings/synth pads crying out loud the pain and the despair painting everything of the person you won't be able to see again. Every instrument is like a hit of the brush on the painting that represent everything you missed. After a while also the strings duet with the choirs giving to the winds every word kept unspoken. At five minutes from the end the calmness of the music is showing that the energy, that shot of rage, has ended and everything remaining is a feeble sound... (4/5)

From Dagheisha: (by Roberto Michieletto)

  Lo splendore di certa musica non può e non potrà mai essere tradotto in parole, in definizioni o in tentativi vacui di descrizioni emotive, che possono solo cercare di far intuire ciò che si vive nel profondo del proprio essere (cosciente) nel momento in cui si ascoltano suoni immortali. Il mio entusiasmo per quanto creato dal musicista elettronico russo Alex Tiuniaev è tanto, però vi assicuro che ciò che si sente nei quaranta minuti e diciassette secondi di cui si compone l’unica e omonima traccia di ‘I Knew Her’ è quanto di più epico, maestoso e grandioso si possa sperimentare nel momento in cui ci si addentra in un sentiero di suoni neoclassici e neosinfonici. Il fatto che l’opera sia “dedicated to those out there seeking love…”, ci fa comprendere come l’autore abbia espressamente voluto mettere in atto un processo di immedesimazione con un sentimento unico e infinito quale quello dell’amore e come solo per mezzo di qualcosa di altrettanto indimenticabile fosse possibile esprimerne appieno tale grandezza. Per questo Alex Tiuniaev ha partorito un crescendo di cori, strumentazioni e orchestrazioni che è spettacolare, anche nel suo protrarsi (nella parte di massima e altissima espressività filmica, accostabile al tema portante della colonna sonora del magnifico ‘The Hours’) secondo canoni iterativi da loop sfiancante, che, pur se trasposto in un contesto decisamente romantico e di una malinconia rinascimentale, riesce a sortire un effetto di eternità che raramente avrete avuto modo di sperimentare al cospetto di un disco. Un diamante è per sempre.

From Vital Weekly / Earlabs: (by NM)

  As I was searching for some information about the composer behind present album, Alex Tiuniav, I crashed into his list of favourite music on the U.S. department of Amazon. Looking at this favourite music list, the first thing that crosses my mind is the span of musical interests. Unquestionably the wide range of musical preferences strengthens the compositional skills. As you listen to Alex Tiuniaev's debut album titled "I knew her" it doesn't come as a surprise that there is quite a few albums of ethereal expressions on his list of favourites, with albums from the ambient world (Brian Eno etc.), classical music (Arvo Pärt etc.) and post-rock (Sigur Ros etc.). The Russian-born composer apparently uses his great repertoire of preferences as he composes, since the music on "I knew her" lies in the territories between classical music and lush ambient. The album contains one lengthy track running approx. 40 minute, a quite minimalist work with elements of choir and classical orchestration weaving into haunting soundscapes that in its repetitive nature develops a nice trance-inducing state of listening. In its grandiosity "I knew her" recalls the legendary masterwork of soothing atmospheres, "Angelic music" (1985) from the Greek composer Ambient/New Age-composer Iasos. Afnd similar to Iasos' work, Alex Tiuaniev's "I knew her" is a hypnotic piece of music that creates the ultimate background for sonic immersion.

From Obskure: (by Emmanuël)

  Alex Tiuniaev, Moscovite adorateur de musique british et faiseur de sons électroniques (mais aussi folk et… new age, oui), assure en prime, avec le Californien John Luttrell, le leadership du groupe rock Garden Hose Universe (un EP en date de 2006, "Falling"). Tiuniaev s’impose par ailleurs en producteur du premier single ("Angels or Demons") et du premier album de l’artiste folk rock Celeste Terrell ("Live Your Dreams").

  Tiuniaev livre via le renommé label ambiant / indus Cold Spring un nouvel essai solo assez atypique, "I Knew Her", succèdant à "Artificial Symphony". "I Knew Her", constitué d’une seule et même longue plage de quarante minutes au style strict, une oscillométrie orchestrale et vaporeuse qui s’avère peu révélatrice des influences multiples dont l’auteur s’estime porteur, en dehors de ces Philip Glass et Sigur Rós cités en premières références de l’album. Au côté de ces derniers, siègent dans la galerie d’influences de Tiuniaev des gens tels que les pionniers electro Vangelis, Jean Michel Jarre, Space, Mike Oldfield, puis Tangerine Dream, Chris Franke, Brian Eno, Beck, Daniel Lanois, Bob Marley, Arvö Pärt, Explosions In The Sky, Björk, Erik Satie, Mum, Hans Zimmer, Radiohead ou U2, cités entre autres sur la page MySpace de l’artiste. C’est die si l’univers de Tiuniaev ne se limite pas, et de loin, aux grands classiques ou à la musique ambiante. Ce type est dans l’ouverture, il le proclame lui-même.

  Le fond est d’ordre mélancolique, clairement. "I Knew Her" donne alors son titre et la nostalgie qu’il porte intrinsèquement, à ce chapitre studio. Ses orchestrations retenues, noires et romantiques, créent un spectre sonore dont les profondeurs se délivrent doucement autour d’un motif harmonique unique.

  C’est donc moins le sens de la composition que les arrangements et le travail sur le son qui font que l’on remarquera "I Knew Her". Sinueux, recherchant dans l’unicité et le long terme (en musique) la création climatique, ce disque fait de retenue imprime un doux graphe émotionnel et garde très clairement une dimension introspective. Son format s’inscrit ainsi, à l’instar de nombre de travaux issus des très pratiques étiquettes "néoclassique" ou "Dark Ambient", à contre-courant de l’exigence de rapidité et d’efficacité qui dicte ses impératifs à bon nombre de formats musicaux.

  "I Knew Her", lui, est un essai qui vous demande réellement de prendre le temps, un disque de patience mais au terme duquel on se demande tout de même si autant de temps, justement, n’aurait pu être employé à davantage de variations autour du thème central.

  Tel n’a pas été le choix du Moscovite, qui a préféré miser sur la répétition et l’absence de percussions, choix qui n’était pas celui du bien nommé "Artificial Symphony" de 2006. Si l’option en tant que telle n’a rien de contestable, puisqu’elle fait l’essence du travail, son revers est de limiter sensiblement la portée d’un disque dont les splendeurs autant symphoniques qu’artificielles auraient pu gagner de plus vastes dimensions, à l’heure où Tiuniaev ambitionne toujours de conduire de réels orchestres. Son orchestration, à lui, est celle de la boucle. Un crescendo fondé sur la greffe progressive de couches synthétiques sinueuses et de d’effets choraux : une symphonie artificielle post-Glass qui garde pour elle, assurément, un niveau de beauté ; mais dont l’approche visera, on l’espère vivement, à gagner une envergure autre que celle de cette musique touchante, stricte et soignée, mais encore étriquée sur le plan du style.

From Judas Kiss: (by Simon Collins)

  Alex Tiuniaev is an electronic musician and producer based in Moscow, and his name will, I suspect, be new to most people, although I Knew Her is not his first release – OtterSong Records released his Artificial Symphony in 2006. The neo-classical orchestral sound of his music and its repetitive, minimalist structure bear some resemblance to the work of modern composers like Philip Glass, Michael Nyman, Steve Reich and Arvo Pärt, and with the exception of Reich, these influences are all acknowledged on Tiuniaev’s MySpace page. Incidentally, he also lists Radiohead, U2, Travis and Coldplay, but have no fear, gentle reader, his music sounds nothing like any of those bands!

  I Knew Her consists of a single 40-minute composition, which is definitely a challenge to the impatient listener. For many people, this monolithic structure will be an immediate deal-breaker, and releasing a single album length piece by a relatively unknown artist is a bold and risky move on the part of Cold Spring Records. Cold Spring, however, is a label noted for defying expectations and trying new things, which is no bad thing.

  The piece opens quietly, with gentle tones slowly making their presence known on the outskirts of audibility. At this point, I Knew Her seems to be ambient music in the vein of Vangelis or Brian Eno, but gradually, a deep bowed string section introduces the central motif of the piece, a repeated phrase of four notes delivered as swelling chords, with a numinous backdrop of ambient atmospherics and a bright but distant trumpet adding to the steadily building swell of sound. The music takes around 14 minutes to reach its full intensity, with the addition of wordless choral voice samples, which unfurl majestically in crystalline, ethereal veils across the plangent orchestral strings. The bittersweet mood of heartfelt yearning thus evoked is gloriously intoxicating stuff. This is soundtrack music for the world-weary ruminations of the hero of an epic by Lord Byron or the protagonist of a Caspar David Friedrich painting, gazing out across mist-shrouded mountain peaks and forested valleys. This is music for sublime and defining moments, the kind of music which should be the very last thing you hear before dying, and indeed the kind of music which can very easily be imagined accompanying the stately disappearance of a gleaming coffin through the flame-concealing curtains of a crematorium.

  What is notably missing from I Knew Her, however, is any great sense of dynamic development. The piece doesn’t really go through distinct movements or progress through different themes – after the choir comes in, there is no real change in the mood, tempo, pitch or intensity of the piece. I Knew Her doesn’t really take you on a journey. Instead, it delivers you to an ethereal realm where progression through time seems like a temporal irrelevance, and it keeps you there. This may well not suit all temperaments, depending on how well you like the feel of the one place it does take you to.

  But this place is a pleasingly melancholy and elegiac one, with the mood of the piece being aptly reflected in the autumnal ochres and greys of the cover art and the album’s dedication to “those out there seeking love”. I Knew Her is recommended not only for lovers of neo-classical music, but also for admirers of the ‘Naturmystik’ bands associated with the German label Prophecy Productions, such as Tenhi, Subaudition and most particularly Empyrium, since Alex Tiuniaev’s work quite clearly derives from the same 19th-century Romantic tradition that also suffuses the work of these bands, although the music that they produce is quite distinct from his.