Chushi // Alabama

I’m always up for some new Chushi, my anonymous Russian pal. Although there are some serious language barriers between the two of us, I always love getting emails from him and letting his music do the speaking for him. I’m finding that he has quite a lot to say on Alabama, his latest and longest album to date.

Continuing to experiment with any sonic textures that he can get his hands on, Chushi has begun to push his boundaries outward a bit on Alabama. In the past his music was mainly composed of a sort of stream-of-consciousness sonic experimentation that refused to follow any sort of convention. Centering around what could loosely be called “beat music”, the tracks on Alabama show that Chushi might be starting to embrace traditional song structure (albeit in his own way). Lyricism even plays a part on this album in the form of carefully selected dialogue samples and what I assume to be Chushi’s own vocals. And yet for all of the growth evidenced on this album, there still remain a lot of the angular, formless audio noodling that has identified the project up til now. It’s a mix of the old and the new and it’s easily Chushi’s most convincing work to date.

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BANDCAMP | SOUNDCLOUD | TUMBLR

 

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ĸŋüłł // Ruka

I love getting emails with little more than a link. I know that some people hate it but I much prefer it to an endless string of lifeless PR emails spouting off all the reasons why I should love their band. I’m not saying that that sort of thing doesn’t have its place, but I just prefer to let the music speak for itself. And regarding ĸŋüłł that is literally all I was able to do.

You see all of the vocals here are sung/spoken in Russian with the overall fidelity feeling like it’s been tied to the back of a truck and dragged for five miles. The style wavers between crushing drone and some of the slimiest experimental psych this side of the trash can. It’s very dark and potentially alienating music, but for all of its grit and grime there is something undeniably hypnotic about it all. So yeah, no apologies for this one.

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BANDCAMP | SOUNDCLOUD | FACEBOOK

 

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Classic Mooove // Jooo

Yeah man, I don’t really even know how to introduce this kind of stuff, but I’ve been digging this a lot lately. If you were keen on those Chushi jams I posted awhile back, then you should find this pretty familiar. Chases after the same sort of abstraction. Very simple, repetitive, sample-based music that comes from another world. It’s almost like the deconstruction of music. And while it is very angular and choppy, there is something about it that goes down so smooth. And also like Chushi, this stuff managed to crawl all the way from Russia right into my ears. And there it shall stay. For some time at least.

In other news: it’s getting cold. Make sure you grab a sweatshirt before you go out!

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BANDCAMP | SOUNDCLOUD

 

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Chushi // Basf

Gah! Thank you, Chushi whoever or whatever you are. You saved my sanity, at least for today. Now I don’t want to seem ungrateful or a snob, but lately my email submissions have been bringin’ me down. I’m not going to say that the music has been bad, but it really truly does not fit on this blog at all. I don’t dig on dubstep, singer/songwriters aren’t my thang, and all dark electronic music should kindly make its way to Unholy Rhythms. So I abandoned the inbox and stepped out on my own once again to do some digging. What I found was Chushi, the savior of my musical mind. All hail Chushi!

Now I don’t know if they are really from Russia as their sites say, but its irrelevant. What we have here is a release that lovingly reminds me of Run DMT’s Bong Voyage. And good Lord, if we all don’t know how much I love the Run DMT. The songs on Basf are sonic sample-based explorations of random thoughts and memories. Processed, chewed, and spit back out in short bursts of delicious sound. About 90% of the tracks here don’t even surpass the one-minute mark. Perfectly bite-sized if you’re feeling a bit ADHD inclined today. I’m thankful for Chushi because it has cleansed my mental palate. It’s wiped everything else away and left me feeling slightly foggy with a smile on my face.

Oh and did I mention that the dentist totally ruined my day prior to this?

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BANDCAMP | SOUNDCLOUD

 

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Wavepool Abortion // ЖЕРТВА АБОРТА

Awhile back Bret from DAYVAN ZOMBEAR/DZ Tapes sent me an email letting me know that DZ Tapes first proper release was now up for grabs. A spastic slew of noisy pop songs straight outta Moscow by a rowdy duo called Wavepool Abortion. Drawing inspiration on everything from The Ramones to The Beatles, these Russian youths have an obvious ear for what makes a jam and they do it with an energetic flair.

On their self-titled debut ЖЕРТВА АБОРТА, these punks pack alot of noise into 14 short and sweet tracks. The production value varies between intentionally bad to terrible (while mostly sticking to the scuzzy end of the pool). So yeah there is plenty of muck and tapes hiss to wade through here but there is also alot of energy and fun to be had if you’re willing to get your sneakers a little dirty.

The tape was released late last month on DZ Tapes and there are only a handful of tapes left so if you want one make sure you grab it before it’s too late. If you just want the jams you can snag them from their bandcamp site. Pick one because these bros know how to boogie.

 

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Let me take a minute to share with you the beauty that is Motorama. Apart from Regina Spektor, I haven’t heard much indie music come out of the country of Russia. Enter Motorama. This music is really something special. They write beautifully crafted indie-pop that is really just a joy to listen to. The first thing you will notice (apart from the songs’ lovely production quality) is the singer’s baritone croon (think Editors or even The National). From there you will start picking out different influences that the band draws on: new wave, folk, post-punk, and maybe even some twee. Visit the band’s website to download their debut album, Alps, for free. Also, when you are on their site, take notice of the beautiful layout and photography. If you like the visuals that Memoryhouse brings to the table, then you find alot to love about Motorama.

 

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