A collective performance recording with Vresnit, Kskatriy, Neznamo, Hattifnatter, Lunar Abyss Deus Organum, with the assistance of VJ Yury Elika from November, 4th, 2010 at the ESG-21 club, St.-Petersburg. There were no separate performances of projects that evening, the participants were entirely collaborative. Field recordings, voices, guitars, synthesizers, wind instruments and extensive electronic devices were used to create this awesome ambient soundscape. This work is nearly impossible to describe. I believe I have reviewed about four other Vetvei releases, and so far, this one has been the most daunting. On this recording over half of the Vetvei roster of artists are acting together to bring to fruition something more or less spontaneously improvised and the results are mind-blowing.

The CD consists of six tracks ranging from a little over 4 minutes to a little over 16 minutes for a total of nearly 49 ½ minutes but the music tends to flow seamlessly, so you may not notice a whole lot of difference from track to track. This is a more 'active' kind of ambient than passive, where things and events happen, and believe me, there is a whole lot happening. Considering that there are least 5 (or possibly six or more) people involved, it is amazing that they didn't step all over each other. It certainly doesn't sound like they did. There is a high psychedelic factor to this performance, much of it dense and intense, although it is episodic in a certain sense too, as it ebbs and flows. In general, 'Sonastroika' has a dark feel to it; ominous, foreboding, sometimes cosmic, sometimes jarring, even terrifying. I suppose it depends on your mood. It is not what I would call meditative, although there are some relatively calm passages. These could be construed as alien landscapes from some distant galaxy; sonic constructs that go way beyond the pale of human experience. Yet, some familiarity creeps in, a barking dog and whispered voices beneath the moaning of unearthly voices..the distant strains of some classical music'¦but these are atypical elements. Drones are omnipresent, and washes of noise ranging from small waves to huge slabs make their appearance. Lots of echo, echo, echo, echo'¦the occasional repeated whistling sample, bass rumblings and bell tones'¦combined ity all sounds so'¦vast. If anything, you will get more than you bargained for with 'Sonastroika'. As per usual, the CD comes in a colorful 6-panel folder by Vresnit.

You might be familiar with Mike Fazio under his orchestramaxfieldparrish nom de plume, an arty ambient electronic soundscape project I reviewed a while back. As I recalled with OMP, my impressions were mixed on that double-CD ('To The Last Man / Index Of Dreaming'), liking some of it a whole lot, and the rest of it very much. Fazio's A Guide For Reason project may be similar in overall concept but quite different in execution. The majority of it is extremely subtle; so subtle at time that unless you have the volume up you may not realize (at times) that you are listening to anything. That's not to say that there isn't anything there (there most certainly is) but 'A Guide For Reason' has a propensity to often be so under the radar that when more prominent incidents such as a repeated scratching sound, or a chordal swell, or wispy electronics make there way into the ambience, it's nearly surprising.

One could approach 'A Guide For Reason' in two ways; one is the analytical approach- to listen to it looking for things that gel and enhance the ambiance all the while trying to discern why the artist used this sound or that, and how these sounds were achieved, OR, the intuitive approach- simply feeling what is conveyed sonically in each piece and how it affects you. I favor the latter here as describing the components of the compositions does not really do them justice.

This work is two discs (or actually a disc-and-a-half, the second being a 3" mini disc (or Parts VII and VIII) and is only a little over what a single CD is terms of time, I'm sure the artist had his reasons for doing it this way. The environments on the first disc take you to some unusual places'¦hallucinatory terrains where space and time have been altered, perhaps distorted into other dimensions. The last track on the first disc, #6 ' 'Out From Which Comes The Beginning,' is the anomaly. It is as if the film is rewinding and you get a peek at the inner-workings of the cosmic device. A gentle rhythm emerges like some type of electro-mechanical dance of creation and carries you across the border'¦to the other side.

Disc 2(the 3 inch) ' 'The Indirect Communication' ' here is where the other-worldly entities dwell. You watch in fascination as they interact in their natural habitat. 17 minutes goes by but all concept of time is lost here. 'One of These Is True. This Is True' is a bit more difficult to fathom. In fact, I can't, even after listing to it three times.

The main CD comes in a limited numbered edition of 100 professionally pressed silk-screened discs in a 4 panel digipak. The 3" is a limited numbered hand made micro edition of 50 copies presented within a handmade vellum folio of 4 prints with the disc mounted on artist's black archival board. Sure to become a collector's item.

Formed by Johan Andersson and Per Nordahl, Neurobash are releasing their first album on digital format on Tigon Media. STEREOTYPE contains eleven tracks which are in balance from e.b.m. and synthpop. Mixing harsh sounds with melody and hard beats, the duo could be compared to Covenant. Even if their sound has a strong rhythm relevance, I think that Neurobash, besides the 4/4 beat, have more to offer. Check "Lovekiller", for example, it has a blend of soft atmospheres and melancholic melodies with a background of a fat bass line. We have good synth e.b.m. tunes based on pad sounds and light distortions like "The Future Is Bright They Say", "Inner Conflicts", "Prototype" or "Self-Destruct Mode" and songs which can remember a bit Depeche Mode, like "Out Of Time". The album has a strong sound and the band have also interesting videos directed by their label mate Daniel Brandt. You can check them on their website.

Scanner, I think if you haven't spent the last decade or more on Mars, I'm sure you know his career as an electronic musician, David Rothemberg plays clarinet (here he pays duty also with a computer), he's a jazzist with a plethora of releases out on label like Terranova and ECM that itself says a lot. The result is 'delicious' and is equal to the sum of its parts, infact it's a jazzy-electronic release with a nightly atmosphere and a strong phatos. Robin Rimbaud's touch is quite recognizable and at the same time he's worked in a really quiet way, at the same time an inspired Rothemberg warms the tracks up with a soft and elegant velvet mood for his solos. Since I've mentioned ECM I'd better say this work sounds a lot like some electronic oriented releases by Jan Garbarek or Nil Peter Molver or other jazz musician on the same label, but this collaboration sound much better, both in terms of inspiration and for the soft ambiance it recreates. Its not exactly an experimental cd, or at least is not something barely comparable to Wolf Eyes plus Braxton or John Wiese plus Evan Parker, it exactly sounds like some similar works of the genre you probably have heard before, but as I've said the songs they've put together on this slab of plastic are quite excellent and the melodies are really intense. If you're looking for elegant, relaxing music for a night flight over the city, well you'll probably love this one.

Trophies is a trio, I'm sure those of you who have an interest in experimental music will recognize the name of Alessandro Bosetti among the other players. On this cd Bosetti on voice, electronics and behind the mixing desk, his comrades in Trophies are Kenta Nagai on guitar and Tony Bruck banging the drums. The result is quite singular somehow and that itself should grant a listening and believe me after having listened to a millions releases all sounding the same, it's a beautiful surprise to find something like that. I'm not saying this cd will change your life but sure, after a few seconds of listening, you will agree with me it's not your ordinary release. How does this "become object of daily use" sounds like? Hard question for a firm answer, let's say it's one of the few work that reminded me of Harry Cow for real, a possible 2011 version of Fred Frith and friends? Maybe...Trophies follow the same weird and personal path. This release pays an homage to the Canterbury sounds, but it's mostly avant-jazzy music with a weird electronic edge, quite often the soft light singing of Bosetti follows guitars not while the drum pulse in swinged jazzy way. The music is not odd not even dark, it's simply strange, but as I have said the combination and the use of electronics here and there is strange. Nice work guys!.