Flaming Diamonds: Auctioneer searches for treasures, keiyaA teaches physics

In the last month of autumn, strange sounds are making their way through the cold and sleet — not pop chords familiar to the mass listener, but avant-garde and sometimes even shocking compositions ranging from techno to jazz and experimental electronics. The most amazing thing is that some of the albums in this review were recorded decades ago, but they are also amazing in the second quarter of the 21st century. "Izvestia is about the most interesting musical novelties in November that you might have missed for some reason.

Auctioneer

"The Treasure"

Each new album by Leonid Fedorov's team becomes an event — fortunately, they don't come out very often (the previous one, we recall, was already five years ago, in the half-forgotten "covid era"), and there are always plenty of reasons for disputes and discussions. At the same time, neither the music nor the lyrics in any way tend to be shocking in the spirit of the early history of the St. Petersburg band — everything seems to be decorous and noble, an... It is known who is found in the quiet pool. So it is with the "Treasure" — after the melancholy and blissful "Dreams" Fedorov suddenly returned with a real rock'n'roll drive. The very first track, "Beard", released on video as a single, sets the tempo and size — with the pressure of the old-fashioned "Road", although without its sound transparency. The other seven tracks are more eclectic, which, however, only adds strength to the album.

The work with sound here, however, as always, is impeccable, but this, again, is not the former transparency and clarity, but, forgive the clumsy comparison, the "foam of days" that dominates us all. Perhaps the strongest compositions here are topical, each in its own way. This is a soulful "Psalm 37" based on the biblical text translated by Henri Volokhonsky and an absolutely incredible nine-minute jazz ballad "Yurochka", dedicated to the memory of the outstanding Russian trumpeter Yuri Parfenov, who gave the "Auction" the last 15 years of his life and left us last summer.

The earth held him by the feet: Auctioneer released his first album in five years

"Treasure" consists of 8 tracks imitating a spiritual journey

Charlotte de Witte

Charlotte de Witte

Belgian DJ and producer Charlotte de Witte has been performing all over the world for 15 years, has released more than two dozen eps and has grown to the status of an icon of the genre. And finally, her debut full-length album, named after her first and last name, was released on her own label KNTXT. DJ albums are often listened to as lengthy compilations of old singles, slightly "diluted" with optional passing numbers, but in the case of de Witte we are dealing with a pleasant exception.

Of course, there are tracks already familiar to fans of The Realm, No Division (feat. XSALT) and The Heads That Know (feat. Comma Dee), but new works that combine the full range of her musical preferences, from minimal techno to old-fashioned acid house, are by no means made "to get rid of." Moreover, these dance compositions are certainly composed quite in song form, often even with vocals. And in the energetic trance After the Fall, the voice of the great Lisa Gerrard from Dead Can Dance suddenly sounds, reminding the younger generation who is really in charge here. De Witte describes this album as "her most personal project" — not just because of the vocal inserts, but because every sound is born from her life experience and "endless passion for the dance floor."

keiyaA

hooke’s law

Chicago native Chakeya Camilla Richmond, as befits a modern creator, calls herself a tricky pseudonym with a lowercase letter at the beginning and an uppercase letter at the end — tricky not so much in the sense of pronunciation, but in terms of violating all known spelling rules. However, in terms of music, this corpulent, bright American is no less tricky — she gives herself a decent jazz education and already has considerable experience writing and producing music (she released her first EP Work ten years ago, this is her second full-length album).

"Hooke's Law," taken from the title of the Chicago craftswoman's second album, is a metaphorical way to "explore emotional tension and resilience under pressure" (at least that's how she explains it herself). To put it less pretentiously, this is a rather radical mix of R&B, IDM and experimental electronics: the tempo accelerates, the rhythms become unstable, fragments of poetry and collages of samples sound. It is not usual and easy for everyone to perceive this, but those who are not deprived of a musical ear will surely notice that Miss Richmond is clearly not devoid of compositional talent, and not "pop" — perhaps a little more and modern jazz will find a new bright star in her face.

Peter Gordon / David Cunningham

The Yellow Box

Briton David Cunningham has long been known to fans of modern "serious" music. As a producer, he worked with such masters as, on the one hand, minimalists Michael Nyman and John Cage and, on the other, electronic artists PanSonic and Scanner. However, experts will probably recall his own avant-pop group, The Flying Lizards, which released the international hit Money in 1979. Shortly after this success, Cunningham created, together with New York avant-garde artist Peter Gordon, this strange collaboration at the junction of jazz, musique concrete and ambient electronica in the spirit of early Eno.

The Yellow Box album, recorded in 1981-1983, was first officially released only in 1996, but now it is available on streaming platforms. It was born as an experimental exercise: Cunningham and Gordon turned musical fragments into "untied puzzles" devoid of a predetermined shape, exchanging loops on looped cassettes. Drummer Anton Fire and bassist John Greaves participated in the recording, which adds organicity and depth to this abstract mosaic. The co—authors sent each other tapes with recordings by airmail — it was still a long way before the invention of the Internet - and the awareness of this cute "analog" detail only adds to the charm of the artifact.

"We got scared and became laureates — that's how it all started"

The leader of the "Crematorium" Armen Grigoryan — about the anniversary concert of the band, questions from the police and "sexy cats"

The Sato Jazz Ensemble

"Efsane is a legend"

In the mid-1980s, Soviet jazz was in a state of quiet prosperity. After decades of government suspicion of the genre, it had become more institutionalized by this time: jazz clubs were operating, recordings were being made for Melodies, and festivals were appearing. However, the main thing is that jazz began to acquire local schools and hybrid forms. During this period, interest in national musical traditions increased in the USSR: artists began to look for ways to combine folklore with modern musical systems, including improvisation.

The Sato Ensemble, led by flautist and bassist Leonid Atabekov, became one of the first ensembles that truly synthesized ethnicity not as a decorative element, but as the structural foundation of music. Recorded and released in 1986, Efsane Legend is a kind of expedition into the depths of Crimean Tatar and Uzbek folklore, interpreted through the prism of modern jazz. In this album, Sato takes traditional themes such as "Kyzylchyklar" or "Gulmira's Dance" and reworks them, creating paraphrases, new harmony and rhythm. Alas, jazz was already difficult to find its listener during the "perestroika" period — the record was released in a meager circulation and has long become a philophonic rarity. Now, thanks to the efforts of Melody's archivists, it has become available on streaming platforms, much to the delight of a new generation of jazz fans.