Alexander Zaitsev and Sergey Kostyrko started working together in the summer of 2016 and focused mainly on the interactions between rhythmic patterns and atmospheric synthesizer textures. The outcome of this collaboration is entitled 'Spiegel' (German for "mirror") and some of the five experimental pieces on this record seem like they duplicate a certain progression or pattern while simultaneously adding a noticeable twist and recombination to it. The improvisational nature of Zaitsevs and Kostyrkos collaboration adds a feeling of spontaneity and openness to 'Spiegel' while the underlying rhythms – interspersed with random synthesizer sounds and noises – lend this album a noticeable drive, that slowly builds up through the beginning pieces and develops to a noisier variation towards the last piece of this record.
Recorded during September and October 2016 at Spina!Studio.
Mixed and mastered by A. Zaitsev.
A key figure of the Russian electronic music scene since the middle of the 1990s, Alexander Zaitsev is mostly known for his participation in the sound collaborations EU, 2H Company and SBPCh. Together with Ilia Baramiya, EU worked with labels like Delikatessen (Germany), Isonauta (France), N5MD and Merk (USA), Lo Recordings, Pause_2, Earworm, Neo Ouija, Vertical Form and Peacefrog (UK) and took part in festivals like Spring Chill (London), Seats'n'beats (Antwerp), Club Transmediale (Berlin) and Microscopic session (Dresden). Alexander Zaitsev is currently active as a solo musician and collaborates with artists like Jelena Glazova, Ilia Belorukov, Sergey Filatov and Dmitry Dubov.
Sergey Kostyrko is a media artist and musician from St. Petersburg known for his participation in a number of bands performing improvised music (Benzolnye Mertvecy, Mars-96, Coaxil) and for collaborative projects with Ilia Belorukov, Alexei Borisov, Kurt Liedwart, Rutger Zuydervelt, Daichi Yoshikawa, Dariusz Mazurowski. He is the co-organizer of Fulldozer Festival (St. Petersburg, 2013, 2014), Spina!Fest (St. Petersburg, 2016) as well as the co-founder of Spina!Rec cassette label. In addition to musical activities, Sergey also deals with audio-visual installations and performances: one of his last work in collaboration with Evgenii Bugaev "A bird with displaced center of mass" has been nominated for Sergey Kuryokhin Contemporary Art Award (St. Petersburg, 2016).
Alexander Zatisev – elektron monomachine:
a-zaitsev.bandcamp.com
soundcloud.com/a_zaitsev
Sergey Kostyrko – modular synthesizer:
sergeykostyrko.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/kostyrko.sergey
Non-Notebook-Speakers recommended.
mc-33
released May 8, 2017