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Andriesh Gandrabur with Push'n'Pull
Two new compilations of deep- and tech house have just appeared from a couple of disparate locations: Moscow and South Holland. Both include Russian or Ukrainian performers, yet showcase them in different ways. The Dutch release appears courtesy of Sound Source, a project that first evolved from club work around Rotterdam into a range of net releases, and now - in a broader gesture of inclusion - as digital compilations. If there remains a sense of aesthetic cohesion across these various stages, locations, and media platforms, Sound Source say that the tracks might be cataloged as "deep, dubby, and mostly undiscovered."
Not surprisingly, metaphors of "profundity" will be drawn upon from time to time.
Deep, dubby, and mostly undiscovered
Within the realm of deep house, the Russian tracks appear from SLP and Koalips, in other words from the southern and northern ends of the nation. SLP (aka Alexey Slepuha) was discussed recently on FFM in the context of his influences; where, in other words, are his reference points outside of local space, styles, or language? How far afield does Slepuha look in order to fashion an aesthetic at home?
Recent recordings have been framed by talk of the Triola project or, more specifically, the figure of Jorg Burger. This nod in the direction of Cologne minimalism has then been extended to Pass into Silence, i.e., the Japanese producer Tetsuo Sakae and video artist Mayuchi. Here the self-proclaimed goal, following that Asian impulse, becomes "sound-spheres of unfathomed purity." Lest those aquatic symbols of increasing verity pass us by, Mr. Slepuha emphasizes them visually - and, at the same time, shows the benefits of Krasnodar over Moscow in springtime.
The final reference point used by SLP of late has again been from Germany, namely the renowned composer Klaus Schulze, born in 1947. Very much a product of the 1960s and psychedelic experimentation, Schulze has never been averse to combining electronic forms of expression with jazz, rock, and other incongruous styles (or human noises, even), to the point where he is sometimes referred to as the "godfather of [layered, lavish] trance."
As these references spiral outwards, from minimalism to rich psytrance, Dutch colleagues at Sound Source also talk (in semi-serious tones) of our musician's centrifugal efforts: "SLP is a space traveller from Krasnodar who's involved in making dubby tech-electronica... Using those same dub vibes and broken grooves, he then adds some profound ambient material."
Dub vibes and broken grooves
Those dub textures become a metaphor for escape from the here and now - if only on the level of wordplay. It all feeds into a trajectory (outwards or downwards) that we find in the work of another contributor to this Dutch project, Aleksandr Saikov, aka Koalips. As we've noted before, Mr. Saikov spent his youth in the company of Moscow post-rock recordings before heading off to make electronic sounds - primarily under the influence of Autechre. Having then moved through D&B, psytrance, and dark ambient experiments, he is currently working with what he calls a more "melodic, calmer sound."
It all leads to a suitable posture.
And that brings us to the other compilation, more specifically from Russia's DJ MAG. A new CD, released with the magazine itself, is designed to reflect "one of the nation's best dance labels": Human Resources. We've written on a prior occasion about that endeavor, too, which is headed by Artem Arshanitsa. The Russian guests here are BarBQ, Mujuice, Andriesh Gandrabur, Dop'Q, Push'n'Pull, and - last but not least - Mr. Arshanitsa himself. Now, as before, the label declares "a preference for smart and interesting dance music." The CD exists in order to prove that point yet again...
The connection of Human Resources to Arshanitsa comes from the fact that H.R. grew out of his "Electrochic" functions, which were designed to assist and promote a wide range of domestic DJs, specifically in the capital. As Arshanitsa says himself, "many of today's popular artists on the Russian dance scene made their debut at Electrochic parties." This desire to both find and then advertise the work of newcomers would logically take the form of promo-CDs from time to time.
Hence another reason for these tunes as Moscow's dance scene, say Human Resources, continues to evolve both "aesthetically and technically." The label's discography, although relatively modest in size, can certainly be recommended as a decent place through which to enter the city's soundscape.
To what degree, though, do these recordings reflect the purportedly carefree atmosphere of the capital's nightlife? It's interesting here to foreground some recent comments made by one contributor to the Human Resources album - Andriesh Gandrabur - on Facebook. He has just turned thirty and, for the first time, feels a little distanced from the happy forgetfulness of the dancefloor. "It's a new milestone in my life. It's as if I'm watching a movie about myself. Everything looks different." He has, simultaneously, taken on serious, regular employment.
Occasionally you need to change or dump your job, that's all
He doesn't want to consider the role of an "aging DJ... and it's clear I'm not destined to be a 30-year old promoter, either. I'm a good musician, but no genius... at least not yet! I need to hide away and do something really special..." Regular work and career goals have taken the place of aimless distraction - or so it seems.
A colleague chips in, Tim Aminov: "Sometimes work gives shape and organization to your life... but it can be incredibly dull, too! Occasionally you need to change or dump your job, that's all. I've been working at various media companies since I was seventeen - and gained much from that experience. Nonetheless, it does take time away from anything creative - in fact, it takes away the desire, too. The main thing, I reckon, is to ask yourself the right question at the right time: 'What next?'"
Dop'Q ponders the issue; his colleagues look more confused.
Here - for all the presumed differences between dance music and drudgery - we start to see an overlap of aesthetic and professional experience. Aminov's theme of metamorphosis is first taken up by Gandrabur. Deviation, alteration, and difference are - he says - key to one's mental wellbeing. "People need to change [whenever possible]. I know that various smart writers would agree with me here - in fact, so would the dumb ones! The more frequently you change, the better. If you find yourself thinking: 'What the hell was I doing five years ago?!' - then those same five years were not lived in vain."
The more frequently you change, the better
Related issues have arisen in a recent interview with another of the DJ MAG participants, Roma Litvinov, aka Mujuice. Speaking of the breach between music and a regular job, he said: "I can't think of music as a career..." And yet he manages to find a conceptual overlap between sonic compositions and his official trade as a graphic designer. He explains that dovetailing as follows:
"Both music and graphic design are project-based activities. Both are grounded in issues of style and composition. They're not literal overlaps, but similarities... Anybody who knows something about the principles involved will agree that music and graphic work are related."
In describing further how those projects come together, he adds:
"There can be many, many tracks involved in [what eventually becomes] a finished project. In fact, the software I used to work with had no internal system for grouping files [or arranging separate drafts]. Any one project could, therefore, look like I was simply flicking back and forth through everything I'd written beforehand! In the recent past, when I used to be more involved with dance music, some of the stuff I wrote could [- due to that wide-ranging process -] be pretty grand and complex!.. Now, though, with the [new] material I wrote for 'Downshifting,' the compositions are more linear - but that shouldn't be audible."
[Some] compositions are more linear - but that shouldn't be audible
Goal-driven, "straightforward" structures are hidden away - at least partially. Composition has the upper hand over progression. What appears as a philosophical break or regrettable fissure between club life and the workplace may not be so. In a environment where work itself promises itself to be either irregular or crushingly dull(!), any prior experience and management of change is a considerable benefit.
A musician's or DJ's need for change, chance, and alteration becomes an ability to deal with such matters when age, experience, and infirmity threaten (at thirty...). Whatever the objective value of that information - from a behavioral stance - the connection between variety and adaptability clearly plays an important conversational role. The very name of Human Resources speaks - tongue in cheek - to the pragmatic benefits of this music.
From a formal viewpoint, one might ascribe this anecdotal, yet important bridge between composition and career to the demise of musical notation. A recent article in the UK claimed that a shift from canonical notation to the more "vertical," disorderly principles of software-driven creativity presaged the "death of musical literacy." And yet, at a time when the entire Humanities have passed through the so-called visual turn, and literary narratives - in many forms - have themselves become multimedia spectacle, the "designer" or building-block logic of artists such as Mujuice makes a great deal of sense.
The syntax of music is gradually informed by that of the visual arts - and by the equally willful, non-linear linkages of networked creativity. Desire and debate follow no one path; the local job market, sadly, echoes such patterns. Champions of refinement, revision, and reversal will fair the best. And so the staff of Human Resources cast a protective canopy across their audiences.
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