Genre: Dark Ambient / Experimental
01 Kshatriy - Origamis
02 Exit In Grey - Kosmorders
03 Closing The Eternity - Autumn Dream
04 Hum - Halo Magnetic
05 Necropolis - At the End of the Universe
06 Cisfintum - Moon Room
07 Anthesteria ft. Kaj? - Ingedanken An Russisches Drone
08 Lunar^Abyss^Deus^Organum - :Crystaline:Earth:
09 Instant Movie Combinations - Boiler Pipe
10 Bardoseneticcube - The Castle in the Fog
11 Polaris - Prickle of the Emerald Moon
12 Remoteband - Untitled
Muzyka Voln is the first release by the new sub-label which carries th same name, a recent division of Zhelezobeton Records. Right off the bat I will declare that this is one impressive compilation. I only reserve such a word for music that truly deserves it and this is a real ehtereal record. Muzyka Voln is a collection of some of Russia's finest Dark Ambient, Experimental, and Drone artists. Even though Drone is listed in the flyer I received from Zhelezobeton Records, there is little drone to be found here because most of the tracks are so alive with fluidity. What I enjoyed most about Muzyka Voln is the emotional quality of the songs that tell their tales with sometimes little, but more often, no words at all. All contributions are exclusive to this collection. Within the matte digipack adorned by photographs of the Baltic Sea one can find a tracklist that makes an honest attempt to properly introduce most of the compositions. Included are elapsed time tables of the years and seasons the songs came into existence, a couple of dedications, and some small mentions that give insight into why and/or what inspired the work. Each listing has contact information for the artist. As It would be impractical to write about each of the twelve tracks, I have chosen to give special mention to the four that stand out the most.
"Kosmorders" by Exit In Grey was the first to really grab my attention. At first and for an instant I had confused the artists for their song names, and afterward I thought how Exit In Grey would have been an adequate name for this soothing piece. It sounds surprisingly optimistic, setting aside the fact that it's the darkest featured. The very next called "Autumn Dream" by Closing The Eternity is especially worth mentioning because of its sheer density, despite its minimal structure. Sounds include Japanese singing bowls, bells, a flute, rain sticks, and various steel tools. If you can consider such an oxymoron, there is serious atonal harmony in this one. The seventh, "Ingedanken An Russisches Drone" by Anthesteria featuring seemingly Neo Classical guitar passages by Kaj? quickly became my personal favorite. The sorrowful, cold atmospheres are balanced out by the tender, and tenderly processed, acoustic guitar. The track right after, ":Crystaline:Earth:" by Lunar^Abyss^Deus^Organum contains more pronounced electronic elements, including samples of both young and older female voices, all of which are reduced after half the song introducing then a more solitary breath of sound with minimal use of what sounds like vocoded male voice... There is somewhat of a decline after ":Crystaline:Earth:", and here I was met with my sole disappointment, called "Boiler Pipe" by Instant Movie Combinations. This number is dedicated to boiler-house pipes and happy childhood memories of climbing up and sitting atop them. Although this introduction made it seem like it would be one of the more emotive works on Muzyka Voln, it only contained a deep howl, almost motionless, and it is only two-thirds of the way through that an almost inaudible electrical hum can be detected. Perhaps it is a literal representation of what the author remembers hearing.
This is an awesome offering sets a high standard for this new sub-label. I will quickly mention that the closing untitled track by Remoteband was an excellent choice on behalf of whoever was responsible for the track sequence for this compilation. It makes a great closer that doesn't quite say goodbye, but left me looking forward to MV-2.
