Given the challenges facing young Russian musicians today, the theme of risk often arises. The unknown - be it financial or geographic - both unnerves and intrigues.
Various electronic recordings this week from Kiev, Ulan-Ude, Ekaterinburg, and Gomel speak less of free creation than of the search for verity. Local experience, however, does not always help.
A new garage and idm compilation from Moscow reemploys some motifs from classic science fiction. Both the music and its literary inspiration juxtapose private dreams and public reality.
A range of new industrial drone and harsh noise recordings from Riga, Moscow, Orel, and Togliatti are used in order to voice some ineffable aspects of modernity. Most of those truths are very disconcerting.
A recording from Leonid Fedorov and Vladimir Volkov examines how St. Petersburg's cityscape changes over time. The baroque trajectories of music outdo the linear passage of urban "progress."
A number of Russian electronic producers announce fresh material that finds surprising inspiration in dowdy locations. A shabby address is, it seems, no real obstacle for zealous dreamers.
Energun Records is a label from the Belarusian capital of Minsk, specializing in techno. Little by little, the dramatic stereotypes surrounding that style are cast aside in favor of a surprising optimism.
Four electronic recordings from Slavic towns this week express growing appreciation for the philosophical benefits of peace and quiet. Some worries about noisy, avaricious passion also transpire.
The Belarusian techno collective "Force Carriers" has published a new compilation album. Many of the performers involved look back with fondness to the stargazing romance of socialist industry.
The promise and scale of Soviet science fiction continue to inspire a wide range of young musicians. On occasion, the daunting distances of local geography foster similar imagery.
