Reviews of Russian Contemporary, Acid, Underground Folk page 3

1. Abaton Book Comp Julia Vorontsova : 5-track CDR (RU,2003)****

airplayed tracks : Tr.2, "Love", Tr.5, "Grandfather"

This young voice from St.Petersburg immediately brought me in mind one of my favourite voices, Ewa Demarczyck from Poland (from which I highly appreciate her "live" album from 1979). I'm one of those people who like a lot deeply melancholic songs, sung with deep feelings and with a poetic approach. Inspired by earlier Russian bards, Julia writes beautiful love & friendship-songs simply accompanied by acoustic guitar, but with a beauty it becomes a must for acid/wyrd folk lovers. Highly recommended !

Info : http://www.smoe.org/lists/ecto/v09.n365 & http://www.abatonbookcompany.us/JuliaVorontsova.html

Soundfile of first track "Rome" : http://www.abatonbookcompany.us/Rome.mp3

Review of performance and live pictures : http://www.jenyk.com/bandphotography/juliavorontsova.htm

2. Abaton Book CompanyJulia Vorontsova : from St.Petersburg with love (RU,2004)***°

I was pleased to hear that Julia Vorontsova has now released a full CD. Her debut EP was more than just promising. On the back-cover we see here a very beautiful young girl. Her songs are very minimal but emotionally expressive. Sometimes the guitar has some echo but nothing more. There’s included a text-book of her songs translated into English, with some additional comments. For me her songs don’t necessarily need textual comprehension, for Julia is one of those few voices that speak immediately to the heart, but the notes are welcome to bring us even closer to the songs. With a certain melancholy Julia Vorontsova succeeds with all songs to achieve a direct effect on the listener with her singing. “Love” from the demo still is one of those highlights for me. I also like very much “One kitten”, where Julia imitates kitten sounds in the song. Most songs are between 1 and three minutes long, very short, all with a sensitivity as ‘a poet from the heart’. “Grandfather” received a slower, even more melancholic version with second vocals. At first listen I was slightly disappointed by a couple of tracks where she had the tendency to go out of tune with her singing ; although the emotionality compensates, I wondered a first how a little bit of training could have overcome this, but then I also thought that any such accompaniment, when not understanding Julia's essence of being, could destroy as well the purity of her voice and of her approach to music. Although Julia is a very young bard, she still expresses as “an old soul” and seems to have lots of depth in her expressions, which are definitely infused with love, from St. Petersburg. Beautiful !

Info : http://www.abatonbookcompany.us/JuliaVorontsova.html & http://www.ycrop.com/pro/file151.html

DemoVladimir Semashkov (2004)**°

I received this nice and professional demo. It’s difficult for me to describe what I think of the music, so I’ll only describe the styles.

Included are two songs with fingerpicking acoustic guitar. The first one -"Falcon (Sokol)"- is with doubletracked fingerpicking guitar & voice. The last one -"In the other country (A vo chuzhoi storonke)"- receives well conceived string arrangements. In between this is a good up tempo mainstream bluesjazz track --"Proverbs (Chastushki)"- with wild female voices, drums & sax. Good, but a bit short to get a clear idea of the inspirational range/interest/ individual talent of Semashkov.

Later I received a full CD which is a more mainstream compromise which I prefered not to review.

Info : seman@newmsk.tula.net

Exotica

Ole Lukkoye : Zapara (RU,2003)***’

While “Dream of the wind” only had some textural descriptive vocals, Zapara has the song melody completely included, always carried by driving ethno-rhythmic trancerock rhythms. These melodic song influences might still have varied ethnical inspirations, including eastern & Middle Eastern, while the sound of the band has, beside a slowly moving trancerock effect, a post-wave flavour as well. The group kept its varied use of instruments, and also the singing has often still some kind of shamanistic story-telling touch. At first listen I couldn’t get much of a grip on this album, but after having heard the earlier album I appreciated this sound even more. A couple of tracks make much more moves towards an independent trancerock / ethno-indie-psychedelica with a semi-ritual-dance effect ; some of these use such rhythmic patterns in a bit more repetitive way, become even more wave/poprock (,like “Raven”) ; even there the ethnic elements remain part of the melodic inspiration. Last track, “Quran” definitely is an inspiration on the Brian Eno/David Byrn track with the same name. The rhythms and interpretation here are very varied, but still definitely with a typical Ole Lukkoye sound.

Info on Zapata : http://www.2012.spb.ru/Oley/discs/ZaparaCD.htm

Review of some albums : http://gnosis2000.net/reviews/olelukkoye.htm

http://www.psychedelic-music.net/pmdb/db3/db_band.php4?id=44

Lollipop ShopOle Lukkoye : Dream of the wind 1989-1991 (RU, re.2003)***°

This is the second release I have heard from this group. These are earlier recordings which are not easy to describe, because they don’t fall under any genre. There’s use of some fusion trumpet, synthesizers, there’s an underlying semi-ritual shamanistic feel in the way the music has been played. Some of it reminded me of what the Belgian band The Hybrids released. When I asked Hybryds group leader how he produced the music he said other bands played for him in the studio and he remixed it to his own sound, but I never saw any clarified credits on the albums. I always remembered this. This band sound as if it could be such a source, with an “undarkened”, so still clear sound, very filmic, full of ethnical trance-like rhythms and ideas. The complete variety of instruments and textured sounds are equally interwoven to lead the general sound. This makes the music a perfect astral-dream-like soundscape showing many visionary aspects. “Slow Fire” has a kind of Tuxedomoon like mood. All tracks some inspiration of ethnical sources, without ever showing its elements in a direct ethno-folk form. “China” adapted clearly a Chinese theme, which I think was repeated or had some variations throughout the album. Other inspirations I cannot clarify with specifications. A very enjoyable, recommended album with some mystic incense aspect.

Info : http://www.olelukkoye.de/deutsch/home/index.htm (from http://www.olelukkoye.ru/)& http://www.2012.spb.ru/Oley/ & http://www.multikultura.org/ole_lukkoye.htm & http://terra.pl/festiwalwkrajobrazie/lukkoye.html (with 2 sound fragments)

Info on “Dream of the Wind” : http://www.2012.spb.ru/Oley/discs/DotW.htm

with review : http://www.klangbad.de/oledream.htm

& http://aural-innovations.com/2003/september/lukkoye6.html

& (Russian CD) http://www.aural-innovations.com/issues/issue15/lukkoye2.html

& German review : http://www.westzeit.de/rezensionen/?id=2301

& short soundfiles at http://www.alphamusik.com/6838838.html

or http://www.olelukkoye.ru/rus/discography/discography.htm

Info from German label : http://www.lollipopshop.de/artists/olelukkoye01.html

Contact label : henning kuepper

Discography with some soundfiles : http://www.olelukkoye.de/deutsch/home/discography/discography.htm

More complete discography : http://www.2012.spb.ru/Oley/discs/index.html

MDC Rec.Sergei Kalougin : Nigredo (RU,1994)***°'

Wow, I thought after the first couple of tracks, this Sergei Kalougin seems like a very talented guitarist and arranger. We hear two small poems and almost every track arranged with different ideas. “Rasskaz Korolia Ondatrie/The speech of the King” is arranged with 3 layers of acoustic guitar, and some acoustic rhythm and violin., “Tanets Kazanovi/ Dance of Casanova” is similarly recorded with 3 layers of piano, also with Bach-like kind of arrangements, and a small “Miserere” choir theme. Besides classical guitar, 2 more tracks "Moon on the Carmel" & "Sonnet n°3" have very good flamenco guitar and some flamenco singing. "Voschojdenie Tchornoi Luni"/"The Rise of the Black moon" has again different ideas. All tracks are acoustic, except for the last track, "Radost Moia"/"My Joy", my least favourite, which is arranged with a rock-like atmosphere.

Sergei Kalougin studied classical guitar and soon became one of the more known poem-driven folk bards. He performed these texts which were very anti-communist, and music which between 1983 and 1988 for the “punk, hippies & rock” underground scene. Since Glasnost in 1989 he became widely accepted, began to write as journalist, and became a movie actor and participator in music. Especially as a writer he gained more recognition. This release which has a literature connection to was recorded in Brussels by invitation of this Belgium label. Recommended.

Info : http://www.mdcrecords.net/catalogue/russe/kalougin/kalougin.htm

Side project group : Orgia Pravednikov ! : http://www.orgia.ru/summary_english.html

MDC Rec.Igor Smirnov / Garik Smirnov : A dream of the shadow of smoke (RU,1994)**°

After his first, group Grountovaïa Doroga (=”new wave”) where he already wrote his own songs. Igor participated in underground festivals amongst groups like Aquarium, Alice, Kino, Center, amongst others. His music was used for various films. Since 1989 he participated with other groups in a folkpop & “bardic” style. In the same year he was asked to record his songs for this Belgian company. It was spread around ever since. His texts are published in a book about ‘Soviet poetry rock’.

The songs are recognisable in a typical Russian bardic style, some with here and there a cradle rhythm drive, but mostly with a slightly melancholic reality drive accompanied by very nice acoustic arrangements and accompaniment of acoustic guitar, cello, flute, handpercussion (tabla ?), and some tracks with touches of some backing vocals, and on some other tracks harmonica, clarinet or xylophone.

Audio : "Mir odeial" (the world...), "Sinyaia rosa" (the blue rose), "Tchasovoi" (la sentinelle)

Info : http://www.mdcrecords.net/catalogue/russe/smirnov/smirnov.htm

Label contact : http://www.mdcrecords.net/

From the same label I also heard "Chine", rêves et voyages", un voyage imaginaire, an imaginary voyage through China, composed by Mitya Kuznetsov (RU/CHI,2005)***' mixed with some prerecorded voices and background in China. It's relaxing filmic music which gives the impression it is Chinese classical music & folk music in a beautiful environment.

Abaton Book CompanyVeronika Dolina : Thirteen Diamonds (RU,1984-..,comp.2006)***

This album has compiled 20 ultra-sad songs with feeling and emphasis only a Russian soul is able to perform. Veronika Dolina was one of the pioneers and driving forces by choice of the public to make a movement of new bardic poetry driven song music, a Bardic style. She almost unintentionally became that soul expression, and she is still considered a master of the genre. The songs are rather simple and with simple delicate fingerpicking guitar, but are powerful in its delicate heart-driven melancholy. Never the less the sadness is performed with inner control and peace without taking any real distance from the songs, something which gives also an extra strong balance.

Label description :

"Though she has been recording for almost twenty-five years, Veronika Dolina is still virtually unknown outside of Russia. Born in Moscow in 1956, she began writing songs at the age of fifteen, setting her prose to the accompaniment of folk guitar. By the early '80s she had become the most important female figure of the entire bard movement and was performing to audiences numbering in the thousands. Dolina's songs (all performed in Russian or French) are both personal and political but always lyrical. Her clear soft voice still carries rough edges, a pledge of authenticity. Her subtly innovative guitar playing serves as a quiet dramatic background."

Limited cdr digipack edition pressing of 250 copies. I only hope the label will release cd's in future, instead of inferior cdr format. My copy skipped during little parts several times even when just new.

Audio of different tracks : http://www.russia-in-us.com/Music/Artists/Dolina/

Info : http://www.abatonbookcompany.us/dolina.html

Article on Russian poetic bards festival : http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/06/04/103.html

Intro on Russian underground where the Bards appeared : http://www.litkicks.com/BeatPages/page.jsp?what=SovietUnderground2

Intro on Veronika Dolina and some translations of songs : http://www.arlindo-correia.com/100505.html

& http://www.uky.edu/~gjanecek/bards/sld016.htm

Poems in Russian : http://www.kulichki.com/rusclub/dolina.html