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Ulyanovsk shunting yard, 2011
Ulyanovsk is a Russian city located five hundred miles from Moscow. Since it sits on the banks of the River Volga, Ulyanovsk also has a long and rich history. One might think - because of that location - that the region's heritage developed thanks to early river trade, but reality is slightly more dramatic. Settlement began here in the seventeenth century according to a military rationale: originally known as Simbirsk, the town was designed as a fort, defending the edge of Russian lands from all manner of nomadic foes - many of whom would use the Volga to sail in from the middle of nowhere. And break things.
This epic scale of adventure ended, thankfully, when Russia focused upon expansion elsewhere - into Siberia. That same shift, though, also turned Simbirsk into a quieter - if not sleepy - regional center. Adding insult to injury, destiny then conspired in the mid-nineteenth century to cause a major fire... and much of Simbirsk burned down. It was Soviet development that would finally save local industry from complete decline almost a century later, when hydroelectric projects and car factories both transformed Ulyanovsk into a national manufacturing powerhouse.
Working somewhat against these stereotypes of lumpen, loud industry is the music of local artist Konstantin Isaev, who performs under the name of Volta Cab and is originally from Odessa. He has just released a slow, considered instrumental single, entitled "Yuri."
Volta Cab (Konstantin Isaev, Ulyanovsk)
As that name might suggest, these two compositions are dedicated to the memory of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. The achievements of Soviet industry are therefore remembered, lauded, and even romanticized, but not as the earthbound slog of Ulyanovsk's heritage. Gagarin's tale, as we know, involves a rapid, deafening flight away from terrestrial experience and towards outer space. Sure enough, Isaev invites listeners in that same "cosmic" vein to enjoy the "deep-space vibeness" of his new music. The primary theme in "Yuri" is that of an escape to somewhere better - and the use of massive machinery to get there.
A 'deep-space vibeness' in honor of Gagarin
Against that historical or culturally specific background, a few new phrases pepper a Volta Cab website of late, hinting at a philosophy for further action. What, in other words, can be done to extend these spacey, relaxing metaphors? Whilst Isaev's Facebook page currently celebrates "Peace, Love, and Unity," we also find a declaration that "guilty feet have got no rhythm."
That familiar turn of phrase operates on two fronts: firstly, it suggests a connection between leisurely narratives and some better, ethically superior realm: innocent feet do have rhythm(!). Secondly - and in more literal or serious terms - it comes from George Michael's "Careless Whispers" (1984), a milestone of that decade's MOR pop. Downtempo, easy-going, unhurried music is, therefore, the right form of expression. The problem is that it's associated with a distant, endlessly desired address.
Haste has no place in outer space.
Roman Skarednov, ABC Galaxy (Izhevsk)
Working along related lines, a recent admirer's comment on Vkontakte reads as follows: "You've really changed since I last listened to Volta Cab. You used to play a kind of neo-disco, but now it's chillout. Nonetheless, you guys are cool - and your sound is really top-notch!" Deceleration gets high marks and is synonymous with a calming escape to "deep-space vibeness." Those superior soundwaves - and a better ambience - are located far from the here and now, if only in one's (vivid) imagination. Chillout evokes that same feeling of precious, maybe illusionary flight, since it guarantees an alternative to breakneck, bruising actuality. At least for a while.
A 2011 interview with Mr. Isaev included the question of what else might make him happy amid modernity's hustle and bustle. The answer? "Friends, girls, and grass." Should hard work prove ineffective in conjuring some blissful feelings, a back-up plan is in place.
You used to play a kind of neo-disco, but now it's chillout
Similarly fond of otherworldly references is the downtempo electro-pop of Roman Skarednov, who is otherwise known as ABC Galaxy. He is from the city of Izhevsk, which - on the level of national stereotype - is even more associated with heavy industry than Ulyanovsk: Izhevsk is specifically connected to major arms manufacturing. Skarednov has been making music in this factory-filled location since his early teens, beginning - as any proud local - with lo-fi and analog experiments using late Soviet hardware. Eventually he would be associated with a number of musical projects in town, unified by their overarching desire to produce "romantic music of a good vintage, 'cynical' IDM, and experimental downtempo." Future dreams were gradually fashioned with some antique tools.
ABC Galaxy: "Monstrously Acclaimed" (2011)
ABC Galaxy have a new album to announce: "Monstrously Acclaimed." The title - and its kitschy, equally antique cover - speak to an awareness that "huge" fame or fortune are both unlikely. Stargazing dreams of material success from a factory floor are, quite frankly, "monstrous." Music should, according to that semi-serious logic, be used to effect other kinds of victory: those far from tangible or fiscal gain.
If we look at Mr. Skarednov's networking profiles, we also find a new mission statement. It only takes us further from earthbound pragmatism, in flights of increasing fancy: "We believe in reason - and take pleasure in it. Sometimes, though, we (reeeealy!) give in to our instincts." And then a related list of "Likes" brings mere confusion and wild imagination: "Paradoxes, Senselessness, Fantasies, Contradictions, Mathematical Laws, Common Sense, The Absence of Common Sense, Brunettes (most often...), Surrealism, Dadaism..."
Mathematical laws, common sense, the absence of common sense, surrealism, dadaism...
When however, a profile requires Mr. Skarednov to name his "Favorite Music," he says: "I Love It When You Stop Talking about Your Favorite Music." And so a single noun comes to the fore: "Silence." The toytown, sci-fi melodies of ABC Galaxy are designed to evoke somewhere that cannot be spoken of. Or somewhere that once was. Yet again the theme of flight and appealing absence is foregrounded - in downtempo patterns. The best escapes take place slowly.
Stepan Bitus and Tania Goroshko: Monsoon Sexy Season (Vilnius)
These issues of deceleration - as freedom from modernity's endless rush - are just as evident in the work of Monsoon Sexy Season. Although based in Vilnius, that outfit's origins are in Belarus. Musically, we're told to expect "dreamy harmonies, thick basslines, smooth sensual vocals, and glittering percussive hooks that are to die for!"
Dreamy harmonies, thick basslines, smooth sensual vocals
The two core members are Stepan Bitus and Tania Goroshko, supported by lyricist Sveta Piatakova. Bitus himself completed a classical education in Belarus, specializing in percussion; this took him in the early direction of jazz and - after a while - to the Minsk ensemble Drum Ecstasy. This was - and remains - an outfit that puts the world to good and noisy use. The musicians employ the following tools in their shows: electric saws, drills, CO2 fire extinguishers, barrels, car brake-discs, "and other industrial junk."
If we were looking for some documented preferences to match those of ABC Galaxy, we might turn to lyricist Piatakova, who catalogs her thematic constants as "pop culture, dating, motherhood, sex, post-apocalyptic dystopia, public toilets, zombies, eating disorders, socializing, female chauvinism... and everything in between." Somewhere in the process, good taste may find itself under pressure.
Monsoon Sexy Season, winning the battle against gravity
As we mentioned before, that wayward list, together with the music of Monsoon Sexy Season, speaks to the heritage of lounge performance. The style arose after WWII - amid international desires for peace - and was grounded in easygoing attempts to evoke the (stereotypical) air of a distant location. Hawaii, for example, could be summoned in hushed, peaceful tones with a few steel guitars. With a little help from the stage, listeners or customers at the bar could imagine themselves somewhere warmer - and safer.
And that brings us to a small, yet charming maxi-single from That Should Help, whose very name implies calm and consolation - away from a field of conflict. The project can be traced to the workshop of Mr. Georgiy Stefanov, who is responsible for the intricate sounds of Moroza_Knozova and has been discussed on FFM several times.
We previously noted that Stefanov claims to be inspired by music not only from home - especially Rachmaninoff - but also by multiple foreign and stylistically diverse sources like the rural chillout of Boards of Canada and Radiohead. Consequently, Moroza Knozova can be seen at both electronic and classical events; that project often shifts from traditional club-based shows to cinematic soundtracks - even forming ambient backdrops for art installations.
That Should Help (Moscow): "Mariner EP" (2011)
Stefanov's raison d'etre is therefore very much grounded in an increasing series of broad, "centrifugal" gestures; the more he writes, the more space his work embraces, thematically speaking. All the way to the night sky.
Now joined by colleagues Maxim Shevchenko and Alexander Kozlovskiy, Stefanov publishes these new sounds from That Should Help, known together as "Mariner." The ensemble is named in honor of security and solace; the recording, however, is titled with a spirit of adventure. Travel is conducted in search of peace and quiet - whilst orchestrated to downtempo electro-pop.
The four recordings under consideration here all employ the imagery of intrepid travel: that movement occurs through outer space, to other galaxies (of one's fantasy-fueled childhood), or to the "sexy" ambience of a cocktail lounge, built around imagined, exotic locales. Likewise, all of these recordings also counter the heady, even nightmarish pace of daily experience with something better - and slower. They all dream of a place where "guilty," rhythmically challenged feet are free of their shackles.
And able to shuffle aimlessly.
One of Volta Cab's slow, yet mobile mascots
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