A handful of recordings this week from northern towns ponder the role of dancefloor melancholy. Various sonic and textual kinds of dolor merge to create an original view of sadness - within entertainment.
Three instrumental ensembles from Moscow and St. Petersburg ponder the benefits of avoiding language. A balancing act ensues between (potentially) wide appeal and the pressing need to advertise one's existence.
Some lyrical publications from Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Penza are full this week of boyish memories. All these performers hope to preserve pre-adult enthusiasm and naivety from subsequent disappointment.
Some fragile releases this week share a common interest in ailing forms of social enterprise. These sounds of breakdown and demise also hope, paradoxically, to prompt thoughts of civic improvement.
Four slow releases from Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Ulan-Ude turn their decelerated tempo into a consideration of weighty issues. Slowness becomes a vehicle for some musings on destiny in particular.
A handful of new EPs and mini-albums this week show the importance of persistence over inspiration. That same validation of endurance then gets romanticized, turning difficulty into a badge of honor.
The St. Petersburg netlabel Subwise has announced four new releases from around Russia. Taken together, they are a snapshot of material difficulty - and suggest how collaborative enterprise might offer solutions.
"Vovne" is a wide-ranging musical collaborative, centered in the Siberian cities of Tomsk and Kemerovo. Across considerable distances, a shared philosophy comes slowly into view, born of late Soviet experimentation.
Music Kollektiv is a Moscow-based organization, often dedicated to minimal and deep/dub techno. We look at some of the St. Petersburg members in MK and their search for grand significance within spartan structures.
Four releases from several Russian and Ukrainian towns this week consider the role of public, "useful" song. At a time when civic anthems might make sense, these artists are too busy coping with daily challenges.
