Genre: Instrumental/ Experimental Drone/ Avant-Garde/ Psychedelic     


01 44        
02 43        
03 38        
04 46        
05 41        
06 45        
07 42        
08 47        
 


The more I immerse myself in the sound of the Russian underground music scene the more I like what I am hearing and the more I sense a different and uniquely creative and experimental approach to composition that sets it apart from a lot of western experimental music. I don’t know if it’s the result of a devotion to old Soviet era electronics and analogue circuitry a la Cisfinitum  or Starhua Mha  , or, whether there is something imprinted in the collective national psyche that is apt to filter through the subconscious mind conferring upon the musical landscapes a certain indefinable uniqueness. Of course, that’s all conjecture and more than likely a pile of old bobbins for the truth may well be rooted in a more manifestly tangible and mundane explanation. Like the Vodka!  Now, normally I’d steer clear of the ‘Vodka’ stereotype since its an all too easy one to invoke, however, I may just get away with it this time because, my friends, there is definitely an alcohol related concept underpinning this wonderfully experimental and anarchic CD up for review. How do I know?  A give away, really…! It’s more than explained with alacrity and a perceived tongue in cheek humour in the accompanying press release, as well as being more readily alluded to in the title ‘Addicts & Satan’. More of that later…..

The R.A.I.G. label, or Russian Association of Independent Genres, if you prefer, and on which this opus is released is a free union of independent musicians inspired to promote their works and to strengthen direct links between artists and their supporters worldwide. To quote R.A.I.G. directly, their aim is to “strive to advocate challenging music - experimental & instrumental rock, progressive, space & psychedelic, improvised music, ambient, noise and other obscure freakouts - anything which by its nature creatively approaches sound and form. To those connoisseurs who are bored with mainstream and eager to discover something new, it offers a catalog of limited collector's items by Russian music innovators.”  With a catalogue of c.17 releases to their credit you may be familiar with the label for the two Irmologion releases ‘Irmologion’ and ‘Dynatos’ among them.  Should give you an idea, then what ‘Addicts & Satan’ is all about, right? Well, ….no…not really. See, this is a label that doesn’t champion one particular genre but seems to take pride in defying pre-conceived notions, sticking two fingers up to convention and releasing exciting music that crosses a multitude of disparate genres. 

Released in 2008 in a quantity of 500, ‘Addicts & Satan’ is presented in a simple, stamped, craft envelope with the CD itself lovingly wrapped in a green serviette adding considerably to the D.I.Y ethic. The track titles are numbers and even these don’t run in sequence. There is most definitely a subtle, twisted humour at work here that is operating on a number of levels just to keep us guessing!

The two protagonists behind Kruzr Ken, Artem Galkin and Pavel Eremeev, have both been prior stalwarts of the Moscow based avant-core quartet I AM ABOVE ON THE LEFT. Kruzr Ken came into being at the end of 2006, when IAAOTL ceased activity, with both Galkin and Eremeev now handling guitars, hand made devices and drums to build their freeform walls of sound.

As hinted at in the opening paragraphs ‘Addicts & Satan’ has a self-proclaimed link to alcohol and is to do with alcohol consumption and anti-alcohol campaigns. Apparently! To quote blatantly from the press release “What do the official anti-alcohol campaigns have to do with alcohol consumption? They scare normal people away from drinking, make people to think that drinking is not normal, and… make drinking more difficult and expensive. In fact, people don’t stop to consume alcohols: some definitely get ready to pay more for alcohols while others switch to cheap surrogates. What do Kruzr Ken have to do with alcohol consumption? Try their ‘Addicts & Satan’ to learn… Not only they scare normal people (as well as alcohol abusers) to death by inventively reproduced feedback noise-droning waves and spasmodic drum-fitting… they send a special suggestive treatment for addiction to alcohol (note: it works internationally, one doesn’t have to speak Russian to get it). If you searching for in some way “la meme musique” you’d better stay away from this collection of titlelessly numerical pieces. But if you want to hear a new voice of social dissension and dissonance… here it sounds!”. Once again, I sense more than a hint of that twisted Russian humour in such proclamations. So! Now that the scene has been set lets get to the nub of the matter…….. the CD itself. 

Well, we have here just over an hour of blissfully detourned, free-form, avant-weirdness courtesy of the obviously practised and skilled hands of Messrs Galkin and Eremeev. Chopped, mangled and processed vocal snippets skitter across the audio field, often against a backdrop of pulsating and chugging electronics driven by largely free-form percussive outbursts.  Fiery squalls of feedback, caterwauling noises, percussive explosions and shrieking electronics are all seamlessly employed to achieve a unique, disorienting and supremely disconcerting effect. Track 2, for example, the enigmatically named ‘43’, is wonderfully off the beaten track and into the uncharted backwoods. The intro sounds like several kittens and a monkey were employed somewhere in the ensuing proceedings before the drumming burgeons forth in eclectic style at just around the two minute mark and the weirdness kicks off proper. The drumming, here, and on the remainder of ‘Addicts & Satan’ borrows heavily from the free form jazz scene and this provides a welcome relief from the usual machine or sample driven staple of the noise genre. The skill that Galkin and Eremeev demonstrate with aplomb is a subtle appreciation of nuance, timing and understatement and the ability, at all times, to retain a feeling of primality and natural, organic development.  The sounds that Kruzr Ken create don’t feel like they are wrangled or squeezed with force from the equipment at their disposal, more that they are lovingly conjured and moulded from small fiery sparks of sound into a bigger, more majestic entities by caring hands.

‘38’, ‘41’ and ‘42’ are devoid of any percussion and fit into a more typical drone style relying on the careful use of effects and experimentation to provide slowly shifting timbres, hues and textures fleetingly reminiscent of Troum http://www.troum.com/ or even Enfer Boréal http://www.myspace.com/enferboreal . The particular placement of these three tracks on the album act as natural breathing points that allow the listener to sit back, relax and take stock before the psyched out weirdness kicks back in once again.

‘Addicts & Satan’ is one seriously psyched out offering that isn’t afraid to embrace a variety of genres from free-form jazz, avant-garde noise, drone and even elements of 80’s style Texas Acid Rock long the domain of Butthole Surfers  in their early days. Kruzr Ken have crafted all this together into a brilliant sounding, genre crossing release that is direct, primal and downright addictive.  I’m not sure we will see ‘Addicts & Satan’ offered on the Health Service as a cure for alcohol addiction, however, it does get a massive thumbs up from this reviewer!  Vodka anyone? Na zdorovje!