Pixtar: Cosmic IDM from the Dark Side of Moscow's Dancefloors

A couple of days ago, the St Petersburg netlabel MixGalaxy released a new, five-track EP from Moscow musician PiXtar. This font-fussy artist is a self-declared idm producer who is very much in the early stages of his publishing career. At the time of writing, the number of hits on his MySpace page is a mere 101.

With a total running time of 35 minutes, the five instrumentals of this release are linked by a general lunar or planetary theme, over and above their shared title: "Solar Wind," "Jupiter Rising," "Moon 5," "Twilight Area," and "Back of the Moon." All are included here, in the same running order.

Given PiXtar's recent publication date and fledgling career status, he provides us with no visual context for these works other than the cover/artwork shown above and the rather unfocused image below. It has, in short, fallen to us to flesh out the photographic archive. Having conducted an image search for pictures using precisely the five track-titles of "Moon 5," we came up with the other pictures on show. They seem a fitting framework for the music.

We've taken a chance with this EP, since - as mentioned - it comes courtesy of MixGalaxy Records, whose work we celebrated most recently at the very end of 2009. The project began in interesting circumstances that help to define the modus operandi of our chosen musician. The label, prior to handling any individual artists, came up with some wonderfully eclectic mixtapes. They are still available for free, and operate as a very useful introduction for those solo publications; MixGalaxy themselves used the tapes as something of a manifesto, before embarking on anything narrower in focus.

Last time around, we referred to that same manifesto in both its musical and textual forms: “MixGalaxy Records is a Russian net-label formed in 2009 by the users of a MixGalaxy.ru forum with the aim of delivering diverse music to its listeners. The initial goals were to foster a sense of dialog and mutual aid among musicians. Over time, though, enough interesting – and good! – material was gathered that the idea emerged of distributing it. Now the prime objective of MixGalaxy Records is to develop music written by independent Russian (and foreign) composers; in addition we hope to find a committed audience for those same musicians, too. This is all done according to the key principles of variety and a maximally broad range of genres.”

The sky's the limit.

At the Archive.org download location, PiXtar tags his instrumentals as "idm and experimental." That sense of exploration, much in the spirit of MixGalaxy, seems most evident in the fact that these same tags are not very applicable. PiXtar, in other words, makes a statement in terms of relative unreliability. We're asked to rely upon the kind of generic definitions that, to be honest, are not very reliable. The more information we're offered, perhaps, the further we'll find ourselves from objective fact.

These swirling, atmospheric tracks, equally far from "reliable" generic constraints, sit somewhere between idm and synthpop, between the dancefloor and a chillout room. PiXtar speaks directly to these borderline tunes by referencing other marginal or unclassifiable states: "The compositions on this release come from different moods. They're filled with all manner of details and [sonic] traits that converge in the most beguiling way. You're invited to hear a story that's woven from well conceived rhythm sections and other 'dynamic travels.' All in all, this audio-portrait will capture the attention of its listeners and lead them to investigate a new environment more closely."

Solar winds beckon.

The text continues along related lines: "[A key element of] stylistic diversity is accompanied by an [expressive?] accuracy, derived from the author's sense of creativity." With these rather vague statements, the brief promotional materials come to an end. Had they lasted any longer, we'd be none the wiser. The most useful declarations here hark back, yet again, to the MixGalaxy credo of difference and diversity. PiXtar sees this oscillating back and forth between styles not as a loss of movement or progression, but - quite conversely - a form of inviting "travel." Increasing difference is a desirable goal.

[A key element of] stylistic diversity is accompanied by an [expressive?] accuracy, derived from the author's sense of creativity.

If we take that idea to a logical extreme, then ubiquitous, endless difference becomes nothing (in particular). We loose all sense of style, place, or presence. This, it seems reasonable to suggest, is what underlies PiXtar's cosmic theme, the romance of moving into places unknown - at the expense of terra firma.

There's a general increase in volume and rhythmic insistence across this EP; the longer we listen, the more danceable the tracks become. And yet, in the closing instrumental, "The Back of the Moon" (below), there are so many motifs taken from a well-worn sci-fi canon that PiXtar seems to be employing a little-self irony. Space-synths, laser shoot-outs, robotic voices, and even - in the closing seconds - a Gothic organ in order  to evoke, no doubt, the arching canopy of the heavens.

In a word, then, this brand new EP maps out the aural, "dynamic travel" or distance between two poles. It begins under the admitted influence of three Western outfits; in chronological order of their creation, those three ensembles are Yello (1979), The Orb, and The Future Sound of London (both 1988). These three names do help us to understand PiXtar's goals a little better. Starting with Yello, we might remind ourselves how this Swiss outfit established itself two decades ago in precisely the sphere that MixGalaxy inhabits: a bold, often ironic use of samples in order to chip away at the immobility of primetime pop.

The same idea, in slightly more strident and "northern" terms, would come from The Future Sound of London, whose own happy movement between ambient/psychedelic and dance sounds was transferred into a bold worldview. In one famous quote on the competition between profitable mediocrity and a commitment to the "dynamic [creative] travels" of MixGalaxy, the British ensemble said: "Why is it, everybody, [all the way] from the f***ing fish & chip shop to a magazine ends up selling itself, getting the millions and retiring? Why don't people keep going with it, why can't they change it so that it keeps being important to them?"

Why is it, everybody, [all the way] from the f***ing fish & chip shop to a magazine ends up selling itself, getting the millions and retiring? Why don't people keep going with it, why can't they change it so that it keeps being important to them?

This is precisely the credo that PiXtar would love to embody as his discography "keeps going" all the way to the crossover genres, say, of The Orb's ambient house. As we see, though, PiXtar himself falls on occasion to self-mockery when considering these adventurous options. Hoping for experimentation in truly "cosmic" realms with no firm ground beneath his feet, he simultaneously produces some giggle-worthy sci-fi samples, almost in anticipation of criticism.

Moving on from those 101 hits at MySpace, it remains for PiXtar to find a comfort zone between intrepid trial and error. The line between success and creative implosion can be unclear at time, especially online, where the absence of capital and/or sales makes radical experimentation entirely feasible. The wonderful artwork used by MixGalaxy highlights these worries nicely. Above we see a mascot standing above the label's self-definition as a "Creative Workshop." The sun may be coming up on a new day, full of promise, but our little stick-hero is still anxious.

And then, when he takes to the dancefloor (below), his general demeanor is still unclear. Dreaming of "cosmic" experimentation, he may be giving us a double thumbs-up.

On the other hand, he may be holding a couple of bottles.