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Music

Evgeny Masloboev – Clay. Thirteen Contemplations on Matter

Clay is the topic of the latest Fancy Records release by composer Evgeny Masloboev.  The topic, as described by the artist, is a fascinating one, tied in with some incredible contemporary classical music.  From the Fancy Records Bandcamp site:

“Clay is a living mystic. This is the ever-dancing childhood of humanity. In the mythology of many peoples of the planet Earth, clay is presented as a medium for the emergence of life and as a material for the creation of the first homo. The Old Testament Adam of the Semitic tribes, Enkidu of the Sumerian peoples, Gayomart in the Zoroastrian service to fire, or the version of the origin of life of the Dogon people, reflected in the secret knowledge of how the goddess of the Earth was created when the omnipotent Amma (Amma) threw clay into the primordial void – these and many other images live in our original feeling of ourselves in the nature of matter and in the endless dialogue of people with the planet.

The idea of creating a musical album «Clay. Thirteen Contemplations on Matter» ripened in me as clays ripen in a drop of rainwater and the muscular contraction of plant roots that trigger the magic of chemical processes. The causes and consequences of a number of cultural events and the artifacts associated with these processes led me to discover the melodies and metrorhythmic formulas contained in ceramic objects and in the structure of the clay itself. Now, entering a room finished with ceramic tiles, I think: «how much music is contained in these walls and in the floor!..». The bedroom of the Mozart spouses in Figaro House (Vienna) – the poet Velemir Khlebnikov and his «Star Alphabet» – the artist Pyotr Miturich and his three-sided cubes – my «Star Alphabet» and the first part of it, the film «Adam» – the music album «Clay. Thirteen Contemplations on Matter». Such is the chain, my letter to mankind. And this is my explanation of love to the planet.”

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Music

Ivan Grebenschikov – The Endless Winter

I’ll be in-flight over South Korea by the time you’re reading this post, and I thought I’d leave you with an incredibly rich and diverse album by Russian pianist Ivan Grebenschikov and his group.  The Endless Winter is his latest work, and it is a seamless combination of art-rock, contemporary classical music and prog, though more discerning ears might even find correlations to artists on the ECM and Enja Records stable.  Stunningly good.

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Music

Egari, Paata Chakaberia – In Qvevri Veritas. Original Soundtrack

Egari and Paata Chakaberia provide a stunningly good instrumental music from the Republic of Georgia serving originally as a soundtrack to a film about Georgian winemaking.  From the release’s Bandcamp site:

“This music was composed as the soundtrack for Leonid Parfyonov’s documentary In Qvevri Veritas. The film is dedicated to the traditional Georgian winemaking, surely, we couldn’t do without Georgian music. We recorded 13 tracks, including folk tunes from various regions and corners of Georgia, as well as my own compositions.”

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Music

Yury Markin – On a Large Scale

I have to give full credit to legendary multi-instrumentalist Arkady Shilkloper for making mention of Yury Markin’s album on his Facebook feed on which he appears.  I’m familiar with how solid the Russian jazz/experimental record label Fancy Music is, and this latest release does not disappoint.

From the label’s Bandcamp site:

“Yury Markin is one of the leading Russian composers and jazz pianists, a student of the famous composer Rodion Shchedrin. The double album, coming out in the year of the 75th anniversary of the master, is truly historic. It presents large pieces, displaying the work of Yury Markin in a style built at the intersection of classical music and jazz. Yury Markin is among the domestic giants of jazz composers such as Yury Chugunov and Herman Lukyanov. All of the above operate in line with their own systems, but in spite of the polarity of their creative views, these three outstanding personalities of Russian jazz give a new artistic value, in which Markin’s symphonic principles take an overriding place, since there are no other examples of unique large-form jazz compositions in our country.”

 
The balance between jazz and classical music make this release such a joy to listen to.