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Zmitser von Holzman, perhaps not surprisingly, is not the real name of the bearded young man shown on this page. Were we to rummage through his pockets, somewhere would be official proof of his parallel existence in dull reality - as Dmitrii Gol'tsman, a resident of St Petersburg. This evidently false or "stagy" identity is underscored in other ways, since Gol'tsman's activity is not easily defined by the activities of any one musical outfit. His full discography or creative output needs to be chased in various directions if one hopes to speak with confidence of his work. He has, in short, multiple identities and responsibilities.
In and around St Petersburg he takes part in several bands, most famously the Do-Re-Mi Orchestra (below), "Ned Hoper (above)," and the SBPCh Orchestra. The first of those three ensembles claims to play "minimalism for the youngest of children"; Ned Hoper claims to be an Australian composer, "working simultaneously with musical collectives in various countries around the world. The Russian project is named in honor of its founder"; the SBPCh Orchestra is an offshoot of Samoe bol'shoe prostoe chislo ("The Biggest Prime Number"), the excellent St Petersburg rap project. The rambling style of that third band has recently found suitable formal expression in the addition of more (and more) members to its line-up.
All of those activities can be synthesized in order to make some general observation about this northern scene as a whole, and why Gol'tsman might find its members to be attractive colleagues.
It's an arrangement that everybody seems happy with, recorded on crumpled, cherished photos kept in back pockets.
There is a general leaning in these groups towards a wanton amateurism, small, self-deprecating forms of expression, and fluid membership(s) between various ensembles, none of which cohere long enough to made proud claims upon professionalism and/or progress. And, to be honest, we could add even more names to the musical collectives with which Gol'tsman has played in recent times, such as industrial outfit Pypyl@z, morose ethno-rockers Theodor Bastard, the wonderful (Galia) Chikiss, the well-established, self-proclaimed "academic" quartet of Klever, "atmospheric noise" specialists Raduga-701, and many others.
Brought together, they help us understand why Golts'man "since his childhood dreamed of being an orchestra conductor. He organized a chamber orchestra[!] in order to perform miniature plays of his own making. The three rules by which the orchestra had to play were minimalism, asceticism, and autism." These, in fact, later became the ground rules for the Do-Re-Mi Orchestra. Within small, quiet, and child-like forms there resided clever ideas; this man's music, poems, and paintings even now are little outlooks onto grander vistas, with no arrogant pretension towards universality. They happily admit their limits of narrow framework.
Golts'man was born in St Petersburg early in 1979 and began to show these artistic or philosophical tendencies in other ways at the same tender age. He claims that whilst in kindergarten, he would always use the "Quiet Hour" - designed for children to rest or nap - in order to investigate the school's music room. It was not long before he was taking lessons on the piano, even if the mysteries of sheet music eluded him. Subsequently this amateurish enthusiasm would transfer to the guitar and the recorder. Not only would he play them, he also began to collect them; he now has 70 different musical instruments in his personal archive, all of which find place in his DIY, one-man recordings.
When the time or need comes for some of these instrumentals to see the light of day, most modern publishing venues require that Gol'tsman tag his audio files, such that the public might sense some degree of order and purpose in these good-natured ramblings. On many occasions, Golts'man and his other side-projects use the terms "electroacoustic" or "folktronica," even though he rarely uses anything powered from a socket. The representative recordings in this post, by way of example, are almost wholly made of acoustic sounds and ambient/field recordings.
Look: no wires.
Indeed he even draws up some (more) rules in one of his web-venues, according to which he now writes music either within or outside of the Do-Re-Mi Orchestra. "1. All recordings should be made in a domestic setting - and, as a result, lo-fi in nature; 2. There should be a certain 'crookedness' in the composition(s); 3. Sounds and noises are themselves musical; 4. No computer programming whatsoever. Everything must be recorded live."
[audio:zmitser4.MP3]
There is much here that overlaps with the work of Russian ambient and drone exponents, namely the desire to evoke a general state or membership in the world that draws upon - yet outdoes - anything offered by ostensible existence. Gol'tsman's use of minimalism, childish motifs, and white/ambient noise all place him as a (small) entity in a big, wide world. Only through the prism of trusting, childlike naivety can one be this open to the (risky) outside world; adult cynicism knows better than to walk trustingly out the front door.
As they say in Russia, "Cynics are romantics with experience." Mr. Von Holzman, however, manages to maintain the romantic outlook, thanks to a little help from some furry friends.
Cynics are romantics with experience.
And so Gol'tsman throws himself open to all manner of (modestly) "expansive" gestures, either amidst nature - as we see in some of these photographs - or the company of other people. Here, for example, is how he goes about establishing yet another ramshackle musical collective. "Ladies and Gents, I'm starting to put together an ensemble for concert work. I need young, talented, promising, and good-looking musicians :-) A musical education would be nice. Guitarists, bass players, and drummers, sadly, aren't what we need right now. But that means we're actively looking for everything else: a string and wind section, percussion and keyboards especially! If you've got friends who might be interested in this kind of offer, please let them know. Our first gig is coming up pretty soon :-) " Little time, not much experience, but lots of enthusiasm amidst the kind of unbounded spaces that Golts'man evokes with his rare recourse to electronic, ambient washes or a Theremin.
[audio:zmitser5.MP3]
The electronic aspect of his "electroacoustic" discography, therefore, conjures the scale of things "outside." The acoustic elements, often involving the sounds of furniture, kitchen implements, and so on, come from the closeted, safer confines of home. The image below evokes that duality nicely: a small, semi-transparent text is positioned against a much broader, natural backdrop. Each allows for a partial view of the other; they both inform one another.
One of the other categories he (again) draws up in a series of rules for today's orchestra(s) is a "good mood." As we can see from the advertisement just quoted, being the friend of a friend is sufficient social proximity to make trusting cooperation possible with Gol'tsman. A good mood and faith in the world will do the rest - if one can maintain a pre-adult belief in overall kindness and charity. His more personal webpages, for example at Live Journal, offer constant, additional proof of this outlook, in more music, paintings and verse.
One poem written this month, reads as follows (in rough translation): "It's cozy in Noah's ark/ But just a tad dreary./ The morning ocean rocks us/ And the powdery snow falls./ Bundled in old rigging/ We're safe from disaster./ Each person whispers: 'Please forgive us,/ Just don't go off course'./ We read fairy tales to each other/ And our only fun is dancing./ On the tenth time around/ We'll watch '2012.'/ We've forgotten life's troubles/ And only curse the weather./ Each drink in the bar/ Is poured out in twos."
Love stories and fairy tales are the best defense against the storms of the outside world. This month he posted another announcement at Live Journal, with a picture of himself and his partner. "Decent couple seeks accommodation. We'll consider anything: a room, a one-bedroom apartment, a shared two-bedroom place..." We have no doubt they'd be decent lodgers. All they need is some music, a few fairy tales, paper, pens, and crayons.
Decent couple seeks accommodation. We'll consider anything: a room, a one-bedroom apartment, a shared two-bedroom place...
Plus the occasional 50 grams.
To give an idea of how keenly-sought this electroacoustic peace and quiet continues to be, Gol'tsman recently uploaded the following text. "Today I dreamed that I had died. My heart had stopped. I was standing next to the bed and watching how they wheeled me out of the apartment. The doctors had done CPR, but it hadn't helped. I walked towards a river. There I ran into Olia. We stood together on the river bank; in the water fish and crocodiles were swimming. Then a black grand piano floated in our direction and we headed out onto the water. Olia sat atop the piano and I played for her as we sailed off. We got as far as a bridge; that's when I rowed to the shore and said I must go back: 'It looks like they saved me...'"
The open, unbounded world belongs to children, lovers, dreamers, and dead people. Everybody in between (i.e., living, breathing adults) is denied that happy fortune, which - no doubt - is why the Russian government just raised the price of vodka. To stop people escaping into the world of fish, floating pianos, and successful relationships.
Consequently, Gol'tsman will continue to willfully accept the kind of limitations we see below and produce the minimalist, peaceful canvases shown above, whilst he dreams of better things. Or the occasional dose of well-priced spirits. Due to the price-hike of late, it's evident that many Russian families will start to make more booze at home. Given Gol'tsman's horizontal and sleepy position in the painting above, we wonder about the contents of the watering can. Whatever it may be, Russian sunflowers thrive on it. All is well.
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