Wozzeck
Act III: Comics
1. Act III: Comics (in 47 parts) (23:00)
2. Act III: Remix (by Kurek & Bumšteinas) (10:33)
18 March 2011
SOLD OUT at Intonema
Первый релиз лейбла - альбом Wozzeck “Act III: Comics”. Он представляет из себя 47 композиций-импровизаций, объединённых общей тематикой. Короткие треки, нестандартное звукоизвлечение и игра музыкантов в звуки. Помимо двух основных участников Wozzeck, Ильи Белорукова и Михаила Ершова, в записи приняли участие музыканты Дмитрий Ведяшкин (Penny Flame), Дмитрий Кротевич (Wooden Plants), Мария Григорьева (Mini-orchestra), Михаил Цыпин (Бензольные мертвецы). Для создания ремикса были приглашены Пётр Курек и Артурас Бумштейнас, которые сделали композицию в другом настроении. Теперь у нас 2 различные истории на одном диске. 250 копий CD в упаковке digisleeve с отдельным буклетом-комиксом 34х34 см, оформление Виктора Меламеда.
Wozzeck’s album “Act III: Comics” is the first release of our label. The 47 improvised compositions with one main idea. Short tracks with unusual using of instruments and sound games by the musicians. This is the record of two Wozzeck's prime members: Ilia Belorukov and Mikhail Ershov with additional perfomance by guest musicians Dmitriy Vediashkin (Penny Flame), Dmitriy Krotevich (Wooden Plants), Mikhail Tsypin (Benzolnye Mertvecy) and Maria Grigoryeva (Mini-Orchestra). Piotr Kurek and Arturas Bumšteinas together as a duo made a remix for this record with another mood. This how we got 2 different stories in 1 release. 250 CD copies released as digisleeve with booklet 34x34 cm, done in comics style, designed by Victor Melamed.
Ilia Belorukov: alto & baritone saxophones
Dmitriy Vediashkin: electric-guitar
Dmitriy Krotevich: trombone
Maria Grigoryeva: violin
Mikhail Tsypin: voice
remix by
Arturas Bumšteinas: violin, synths, looper, laptop
Reviews:
"The first album from the Intinema catalogue is the record by the group Wozzeck, inspired probably by the famous Alban Berg's opera "Woyzeck", based on Georg Büchner drama. Indeed there is something of Berg's Romantic lyricism combined with twelve-tone technique, and Berg's mastery in using pauses and silence breaks in his compositions, such as "Vier Stücke for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 5" from 1913. 23 minutes long "Comics" in 47 parts is another example of minimalist free improvised/composed music, this time with many elements of avntgarde rock. "Comics" were recorded in Saint-Petersburg between 2008 and 2010. "Remix", as one can guess, is the remix, inspired by "Comics", performed by Arturas Bumšteinas and Piotr Kurek in Warsaw in 2011. It is also an ingenious example fo this kind of improvised minimalism, very touching and melkancholic. The Polish accent her eis the fantastic Piotr Kurek, Warsaw based musician and cmulti-instrumentalist."
(Maciej Lewenstein, Facebook)
"Saxophonist Ilia Belorukov and bass guitarist Mikhail Ershov made a good move when they invited four other musicians to collaborate on 47 semi-improvised parts of what they call "sound games." The use of instruments had to be unusual, and the whole venture lasted 23 minutes.
Improvisation can be fun and imaginative if the musicians key into each other as they do here on Act III: Comics, breathing life into each short vignette. Everyone has individual space to set up the moment and another to complement it. The dialogue between bass and electric guitar is a bow to electronica, but the canvas is wide enough to harbor careening rock guitar motifs, breathy invocations from the saxophone as well as a welter of squiggles and the forlorn cry of taut violin strings. Space is also ushered in, and despite the framework, time is not a luxury. They use it well to strike up conversations and soliloquies with equal eloquence.
All of this music is mixed down to 10-plus minutes by violinist Arturas Bumšteinas and clarinetist Piotr Kurek, who also add a looper, synth and laptop for their ministrations. The linearity is seamless underscored by a melodic vein from the sweet tones of the clarinet. The simulation breaks out of the body of the original fragments not only to shape a whole but a different tangent as well.
The package is done up in comic book-style from the cover to the insert, which is a great idea. With the music casing a spell of its own, this turns out to be an entertaining CD."
(Jerry D'Souza, All About Jazz)
"Evadés du jazzcore, le saxophoniste Ilia Belorukov et le bassiste électrique Mikhail Ershov invitent quelques-uns de leurs amis musiciens (Dmitriy Vediaskhin, Dmitriy Krotevich, Mikhail Tsypin, Maria Grigpryeva) à venir partager leur tendu capharnaüm.
Avec pour référant le Zorn des Cobra et autre Archery, voici donc que s’incrustent quelques échos familiers : grouillements et gargouillis, chocs et chaos, irruptions et mitraille sonique. Rien de neuf sous le soleil, on en conviendra. Le remix à la charge d’Arturas Bumsteinov et Piotr Kurek bénéficie, lui, d’une horizontalité perturbée par la clarinette lancinante du second. Le résultat, ici, est plus convaincant.
Un disque de courte durée : 33 minutes. En aurions-nous supporté plus ?"
(Luc Bouquet, Le Son Du Grisli)
"A Wozzeck Ilia Belorukov szaxofonos és Mikhail Ershov basszusgitáros kísérleti szabadcsapata. A fiatalos lendülettel játszó szentpétervári zenekar felállása meglehetősen képlékeny, az elmúlt két-három évben a dobosok és a gitárosok jöttek-mentek, a két biztos pont csak Belorukov és Ershov volt. A Wozzeck harmadik kiadványán kettejük mellett összesen négy vendégzenész, és két remixer szerepel.
"De muziek van Wozzeck is een heel ander verhaal. De titel ‘Comics’ zegt veel. Als in een stripverhaal zetten Belorukov en basgitarist Mikhail Ershov met een viertal gasten steeds miniatuurtjes op, gescheiden door stiltes. Binnen die kaders gebeurt er erg veel, dat varieert van rauw en ongemakkelijk tot noise- en rockachtig, tegendraads swingend en humoristisch. De oorspronkelijke lange improvisatie van 23 minuten is vervolgens door Arturas Bumšteinas en Piotr Kurek geremixt tot een stuk van ruim tien minuten, hetgeen leuk vergelijkingsmateriaal oplevert. Wat hebben ze nou precies gedaan? Het valt moeilijk precies te achterhalen, maar dat doet in feite weinig ter zake. De muziek boeit in beide versies, en dat is wat echt telt."
(Herman te Loo, Jazzflits #168)
"The first album from the Intinema catalogue is the record by the group Wozzeck, inspired probably by the famous Alban Berg's opera "Woyzeck", based on Georg Büchner drama. Indeed there is something of Berg's Romantic lyricism combined with twelve-tone technique, and Berg's mastery in using pauses and silence breaks in his compositions, such as "Vier Stücke for Clarinet and Piano, Op. 5" from 1913. 23 minutes long "Comics" in 47 parts is another example of minimalist free improvised/composed music, this time with many elements of avntgarde rock. "Comics" were recorded in Saint-Petersburg between 2008 and 2010. "Remix", as one can guess, is the remix, inspired by "Comics", performed by Arturas Bumšteinas and Piotr Kurek in Warsaw in 2011. It is also an ingenious example fo this kind of improvised minimalism, very touching and melkancholic. The Polish accent her eis the fantastic Piotr Kurek, Warsaw based musician and cmulti-instrumentalist."
(Maciej Lewenstein, Facebook)
"Saxophonist Ilia Belorukov and bass guitarist Mikhail Ershov made a good move when they invited four other musicians to collaborate on 47 semi-improvised parts of what they call "sound games." The use of instruments had to be unusual, and the whole venture lasted 23 minutes.
Improvisation can be fun and imaginative if the musicians key into each other as they do here on Act III: Comics, breathing life into each short vignette. Everyone has individual space to set up the moment and another to complement it. The dialogue between bass and electric guitar is a bow to electronica, but the canvas is wide enough to harbor careening rock guitar motifs, breathy invocations from the saxophone as well as a welter of squiggles and the forlorn cry of taut violin strings. Space is also ushered in, and despite the framework, time is not a luxury. They use it well to strike up conversations and soliloquies with equal eloquence.
All of this music is mixed down to 10-plus minutes by violinist Arturas Bumšteinas and clarinetist Piotr Kurek, who also add a looper, synth and laptop for their ministrations. The linearity is seamless underscored by a melodic vein from the sweet tones of the clarinet. The simulation breaks out of the body of the original fragments not only to shape a whole but a different tangent as well.
The package is done up in comic book-style from the cover to the insert, which is a great idea. With the music casing a spell of its own, this turns out to be an entertaining CD."
(Jerry D'Souza, All About Jazz)
"Evadés du jazzcore, le saxophoniste Ilia Belorukov et le bassiste électrique Mikhail Ershov invitent quelques-uns de leurs amis musiciens (Dmitriy Vediaskhin, Dmitriy Krotevich, Mikhail Tsypin, Maria Grigpryeva) à venir partager leur tendu capharnaüm.
Avec pour référant le Zorn des Cobra et autre Archery, voici donc que s’incrustent quelques échos familiers : grouillements et gargouillis, chocs et chaos, irruptions et mitraille sonique. Rien de neuf sous le soleil, on en conviendra. Le remix à la charge d’Arturas Bumsteinov et Piotr Kurek bénéficie, lui, d’une horizontalité perturbée par la clarinette lancinante du second. Le résultat, ici, est plus convaincant.
Un disque de courte durée : 33 minutes. En aurions-nous supporté plus ?"
(Luc Bouquet, Le Son Du Grisli)
"A Wozzeck Ilia Belorukov szaxofonos és Mikhail Ershov basszusgitáros kísérleti szabadcsapata. A fiatalos lendülettel játszó szentpétervári zenekar felállása meglehetősen képlékeny, az elmúlt két-három évben a dobosok és a gitárosok jöttek-mentek, a két biztos pont csak Belorukov és Ershov volt. A Wozzeck harmadik kiadványán kettejük mellett összesen négy vendégzenész, és két remixer szerepel.
A Wozzeck lemezét hallgatva szinte hihetetlennek tűnik, hogy ugyanaz a Belorukov közreműködik rajta, aki tegnapelőtt a szegedi Grand Café mozitermében játszotta a szinte csönd közeli, a Wandelweiser kollektívával meglepően közeli rokonságot mutató zenéjét. A Wozzeck projekt duzzad az energiától, a játékosok lubickolnak az kiválóbbnál kiválóbb zenei ötletekben. Hogy érzékeltessem a kontrasztot, a Comics albumot hallgatva a norvég Smalltown Superjazzz kiadó olyan jellegzetes produkciói jutottak eszembe, mint a Diskaholics Anonymous Trio, az Original Silence, vagy az Offonoff. Emellett jól érezhető Zorn PainKillerének, vagy éppen az olasz Zu trió hatása.
Ershovék eddig két, mp3 formátumban ingyenesen letölthető albumot jelentettek meg: a 2007-es első felvonást a moszkvai Clinical Archives, a 2010-es folytatást pedig a washingtoni Zeromoon gondozta. Az Act III: Comics Belorukov saját, Intonema nevű lemezkiadójának első korongja – immár cd (és nem cd-r) formában. A kiadvány csomagolása egy kihajtható óriásképregényt is rejt, de erről majd később…
A lemez két részből áll. A kiindulási pont a 23 perces Comics című darab, ami összesen 47 rövidke, 2008 és 2010 között rögzített részletből áll. A végeredmény egy izgalmas montázs, amiről akár azt is gondolhatnánk, hogy egy egyszeri előadás szerkesztetlen eredménye. Egymás után sorakoznak a csapat egészen hajmeresztő témái, a váltások élesek, a darab fragmentált, mégis koherens, egész. A duó mellett négy vendég játszik: Dmitriy Krotevich harsonás, Maria Grigoryeva hegedűs, Dmitriy Vediashkin gitáros, és Mikhail Tsypin vokalista-hangperformer.
A korong második fele egy remix, ami az eredeti darab részleteiből építkezik, de nem kizárólag azokat használja, sőt. A Comics építőkockáival Arturas Bumšteinas és Piotr Kurek játszadozik, akik a különböző szoftverek mellett olyan hangszereket is használnak, mint a klarinét, a hegedű és a villanyorgona. Kettejük remixe egy teljesen más hangulatot és minőséget eredményezett: a forrás elemei szinte felismerhetetlenek, a végeredmény egy végtelenül nyugodt, csilingelős, Four Tet-szerű kompozíció.
Ahogyan az sejthető volt, a 47 rövid rész (vagy inkább „kép”) és a borítóba hajtogatott képregény valamilyen módon kapcsolódik egymáshoz. Victor Melamed moszkvai illusztrátor munkája 47 fekete-fehér képkockából áll, az akciódúsnak tűnő sztori első pillantásra nem egészen egyértelmű, de van benne autó, helikopter, robbanás, fegyver, verekedés… És ekkor döbbenünk rá: valójában a Comics grafikus kottáját tartjuk a kezünkben. A repeat gombot megnyomva végül minden értelmet nyer, a képregény és zene cselekménye tökéletes párhuzamban fut. Tagadhatatlanul ötletes.
Bölcsen átgondolt kompozíciós technika, magabiztos hangszerhasználat, fiatalos lendület. Csillagos ötös."
(Laszlo Juhasz, Improv.hu)
"De muziek van Wozzeck is een heel ander verhaal. De titel ‘Comics’ zegt veel. Als in een stripverhaal zetten Belorukov en basgitarist Mikhail Ershov met een viertal gasten steeds miniatuurtjes op, gescheiden door stiltes. Binnen die kaders gebeurt er erg veel, dat varieert van rauw en ongemakkelijk tot noise- en rockachtig, tegendraads swingend en humoristisch. De oorspronkelijke lange improvisatie van 23 minuten is vervolgens door Arturas Bumšteinas en Piotr Kurek geremixt tot een stuk van ruim tien minuten, hetgeen leuk vergelijkingsmateriaal oplevert. Wat hebben ze nou precies gedaan? Het valt moeilijk precies te achterhalen, maar dat doet in feite weinig ter zake. De muziek boeit in beide versies, en dat is wat echt telt."
(Herman te Loo, Jazzflits #168)
"Ilia Belorukov is the young founder of Saint Petersburg-based Intonema label, organizer of the festival Zeni Geva and collaborator of Ignaz Schick (Ambiances Magnétiques). The first two outputs of the label are Act III: Comics by Wozzek and Bewitched Concert by a quintet composed by Thomas Buckner (voice), Edyta Fil (flute), Ilia Belorukov (alto saxophone, objects), Alexej Lapin (upright piano) and Juho Laitinen (cello, voice).
Wozzek is basically the duo of Belorukov (prepared/processed alto sax, ipad, objects) and bassist Mikhail Ershov, and through his three major releases and many eps since 2007 evolved from the initial jazzcore influenced by Painkiller, Zu and Diskaholic Anonimous Trio up to this first physical publication, accompanied by a beautiful booklet in which Victor Melamed is responsible of hypercinetizing Frank Miller, while the 47 small compositions for an amount of 23 minutes are the soundtrack the duo, with the addiction of Dmitriy Vediashkin on electric guitar, Dmitriy Krotevic on trombone, Maria Grigoryeva on violin, and Mikhail Tsypin on voice, is providing for it. Splinters of sound, of voices, of onomatopoeias. Classic Guide to Strategy and Raymond Scott are the obvious references, while the second, ten minute track - actually a remix of the first - is made of a more wide and stretched landscape, as if Popol Vuh were playing found objects."
(Gian Paolo Galasi, london_resonance (english) & Mescalina.it (italian))
"Петербургский саксофонист Илья Белоруков хоть и вращается преимущественно в джазовых кругах, но один из его многочисленных проектов Wozzeck (с бас-гитаристом Михаилом Ершовым и приглашенными музыкантами) – это импровизационная музыка на грани металла и эмбиента (оказывается, возможно и такое). Конечно, не для джаз-клубов, а, скорее, для московского лейбла Mikroton, о котором мы говорили на прошлой неделе. Но выпущен альбом новым лейблом Intonema, который выпускает уже и ACT IV."
(Дмитрий Ухов, CD-Гурман)
"Highly unusual item from Saint Petersburg in Russia by the Wozzeck project, a band whose core members are Ilia Belorukov and Mikhail Ershov. For Act III: Comics (INTONEMA INT001), they are joined by four other local musicians recruited from other bands such as Penny Flame and Wooden Plants, and the plan was to perform 47 short semi-composed improvisations, playing instruments such as saxophones, guitars, trombone and violin in unorthodox fashion, and working to the “game playing” method of group improvisation which has sometimes been used by players like the ROVA Saxophone Quartet, John Zorn’s Cobra, Chris Cutler, and others. These 47 pieces are rolled into one long track, and for 23 minutes, you have no idea what is coming next, as the players let rip with perplexing eruptions of near-industrial guitar noise, sawing and scraping malarkey, turgid slow-burn drone-groan gloom and uncertainty, and several other undefineable modes; the “one main idea” they allude to may simply have been to keep the listener in a perpetual state of surprise. Things end almost as soon as they begin. Musical statements stutter out in incremental steps, drip-feeding us half-formed notions. Players stumble around the arena as though their feet are shackled to a large stone of shame, and the vibe of the album is very exploratory. The second track is a remix of these performances made by Piotr Kurek and Arturas Bumsteinas in Warsaw, who brought their own ideas to the party and contributed “another mood”. The nature of that mood is hard to determine, but early spins suggest it is not a very uplifting one, and they tend to confirm the vague sense of inertia and futility which hangs over Act III: Comics like a small dark cloud. However, their remix (supplemented with electronic organ, synths, laptops, clarinet and violin) is far less fragmented than the original 47 short works, and they find a coherent intellectual thread of sorts which they follow to the end of the tunnel, even contributing a slightly more musical dimension with their thin and weedy organ drones. The package is enhanced with a booklet and cover art “done in comics style” by the visual artist Victor Melamed, whose chunky expressionistic high-contrast drawings seems to be poking gentle fun at the use of sound effects in comic books. He doesn’t attempt to tell a story in his panels, and his otherwise wordless non-linear sequence matches the disjunctiveness of the music. An odd work which I am glad to receive and hope to take some time to digest more thoroughly; many thanks to Ilia for sending this."
(Ed Pinsent, The Sound Projector)
"Någon sade mig för flera år sedan, att det österut det nya kommer hända. Några stormsvalor var där på himlen i slutet av 70- och början av 80-talet med vildsint improviserad musik och krängande konst. Här står vi inför en utgåva av duon Wozzeck bestående av saxofonisten Ilia Belorukov och basgitarristen Mikhail Ershov. De har bjudit in ett gäng kompisar och drar igång en dronande, vildsint konsert, som sätter anarki för dagordning och som ställer satsning av energi före måttfullhet. Det gungar, brölar, svajar och bråkar i två konserter, den ena inspelad i St Petersburg och den andra i Warszawa. De är inga virtuosa instrumentalister, de har inte lyssnat på några omvärderade instrument à la Berlin eller något annat, lika litet som de spelar spräcksax i punkig virtuositet. Istället bjuder de storögd, wailande, litet naiv och bitvis oerhört charmfull musik, som dock kastat alla trivselfaktorer över bord. Något att hålla öronen på i framtiden. Närmare en yster fest i en ockuperad fastighet än så här kommer man inte på skiva."
(Thomas Millroth, Nya Upplagan #60)
"Ännu mer så på den andra ryska plattan med gruppen Wozzeck, där Belorukov också ingår (Act III: Comics/Intonema). Musiken agerar omedelbart med sparkar. Men det känns inte som på skoj. Här fräser det, pyser över och kokar i utlevande allvar, som får mig att tänka på Sergey Kuryokhins Pop Mekhanika på 80-talet. Då och då bubblar det rytmiskt, och jag rycks med. Men varje försök till samtal slits i bitar. Återigen den där rätt ohumoristiska viljan att övertala. En svärta, där musikerna nog satsar sig själva mer än kommunikationen."
(Thomas Millroth, Sound of Music)
Review by Vlad Kudryavtsev (Contemporary Music Magazine, #1.2011)
Click on picture
"Wozzeck is a duo consisting of saxman Ilia Belorukov and bassist Mikhail Ershov, helped by four more musicians. They perform a graphic score (included) taking the shape of a comic strip featuring actions accompanied by onomatopoiea. The group goes through 47 such actions in 23 minutes. One immediately thinks of Fantômas’s debut CD, but the results are quite different - a lot less dense here, less hardcore. Then comes a “remix” by Arturas Bumsteinas and Piotr Kurek, but I’m not sure what’s getting remix, since they both also play instruments, the track is only 10 minutes long, and its mood is a whole different thing (ambient electronica)."
(François Couture, Monsieur Délire)
"This Russian ensemble creates music with large selections sounding like early downtown New York (if you dig Zorn's early game pieces such as Pool or Hockey, then you will be happy with this cd as well). With a line up of Ilia Belgrukov on alto and baritone saxophones, Mikhail Ershov on bass with guests; Dmitriy Vedyashkin on electric guitar, Dmitriy Krotevich on trombone, Mikhail Tsypin on voice, Maria Grigoreyeva on violin, Arturus Bumsteinas on violin, synths, looper, laptop, Piotr Kurek on clarinet, synth, electric organ, laptop; there is a possibility to get messy with all those instruments. Yet, Wozzeck balances a fine line between chaos and composition. Perhaps unknowingly expanding upon Skin Graft's early seven-inch releases combining comic books and music (of which my favorite was the UFO Or Die release, but that is another story), Intonema continues this juxtaposition, which has me reading the comics as a graphic score. A very interesting recording from a group I hope to hear more from. Thirty three minutes of sonic pleasure. Recommended!"
(Chuck Bettis, Downtown Music Gallery)
"A l'origine, Wozzeck est un duo composé de deux jeunes musiciens originaires de Saint-Pétersbourg: le bassiste Mikhail Ershov et le saxophoniste Ilia Belorukov, qui gère également le label Intonema. Quatre invités sont également présents sur cette courte pièce de 25 minutes, ainsi que deux autres musiciens qui nous offrent une interprétation singulière de l'Act III: Arturas Bumšteinas et Piotr Kurek.
Victor Melamed a dessiné pour ce disque une courte mais belle BD qui forme l'unique livret et dénote très bien l'ambiance générale d'Act III: Comics. 47 cases éclatées, sombres, violentes et hystériques qui correspondent aux 47 parties d'Act III: Comics. A la manière de Fantomas ou Naked City dans les années 90, Wozzeck se situe dans un univers visuel sombre et parfois glauque, proche de la pub (malsaine) par son côté éclaté, éphémère et évanescent, ou des comics américains par son aspect sombre, violent et électrique. Il y a quelque chose de très figuratif et narratif dans la mesure où chaque partie correspond exactement à chaque case du livret, mais la figuration tend aussi vers l'abstraction grâce à l'utilisation de techniques étendues, l'éclatement des formes et la durée très courte de chaque partie, une musique qui trouve un bon équilibre donc entre l'abstraction et la figuration, notamment grâce à la narration. Ainsi cette musique peut aussi bien être très intense, notamment quand elle vogue entre le free punk et la noise, mais les brusques interruptions qui l'entrainent parfois vers un ambient minimaliste sans envergure peuvent tout aussi bien être très soporifiques, des enchainements qui peuvent donc être aussi entrainants que fatigants.
Quant au "remix", il nous ramène encore 10 ans plus tôt avec ses nappes au synthétiseur qui ne sont pas sans rappeler les musiques de Werner Herzog. Mais il y a vraiment peu de choses en commun avec la musique de Wozzeck à proprement parler; ici nous avons plutôt affaire à une pièce continue et ininterrompue de 10 minutes, entre ambient, post rock, musique minimaliste et EAI. Une pièce singulière qui se déploie dans un univers sensible et original, mais surtout, qui tend à rééquilibrer la tension du zapping précédent. Bumšteinas et Kurek agissent par nappes douces, sensibles et émotives, parfois apaisantes et relaxantes même, mais en étant aussi sombres et inquiétantes parfois.
Wozzeck, en se situant dans la continuité des zappings omniprésents il y a une dizaine d'années, a malheureusement conservé les défauts de ces derniers: comme l'inégalité et la lassitude due au manque de déploiement du matériau sonore. Ceci-dit, il y a tout de même un aspect innovant et rafraichissant dans la volonté de s'écarter de l'univers cinématographique pour plutôt s'approcher de la BD ou des comics. Autre point important je crois: si je disais que les techniques étendues tendent vers l'abstraction, le talent de ces musiciens réside aussi dans l'utilisation figurative de ces techniques car chaque son est intégré à une trame narrative qui lui redonne un aspect concret et réaliste; en ce sens Wozzeck offre une nouvelle vie, plus humaine et musicale, à ces techniques."
(Julien Heraud, Improv Sphere)
"Very much along similar lines is the CD by Wozzeck, a duo of Ilia Belorukov (alto and baritone saxophones) and Mikhail Ershov (bass guitar) with the help of four others on electric guitar, trombone, voice and violin. Apparently it has forty-seven small tracks cut together as one track, and one remix by Piotr Kurek and Arturas Bumsteinas. Most of the time Wozzeck also careful styled improvisations, with a strong focus on instrument use, sometimes sounding as objects. There is more happening here in twenty-three minutes than in the same amount of time of Hubbub, but it all comes from the very same source: AMM. playing rather moody, thoughtful improvisation music. Wozzeck seem younger and less focussed on a long duration. Instead they opt for quicker, small events, without losing their focus on 'mood' and 'texture'. Nice, entirely different package: a comic! The remix is a more concentrated effort of loop based sounds from the original, adding a like drone like character to the original. Bits and pieces from the original seem to leak through, which makes it all the more orchestral. Very nice remix."
(Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly)
“Act III: Comics” by Wozzeck is the first release on Russian Petersburg-based Intonema label, and it turns out to be a certain kind of experimental music specimen. The main participants of this project are Ilya Belorukov and Mikhail Ershov, also some other musicians took part in this recording. The album represents two tracks, where different 47 improvisational compositions, in a kind of developing succession, will disturb the atmosphere with their sudden sonic bursts. Actually different musical instruments are used here – saxophones, bass guitar, electric guitar, trombone, violine, synthesizers, clarinet, as well as samples of voices, which, mixing, give a really intricate sound canvases, or sketches. The sounding is rather variable – from nervous spasms, as in the first part of the album, to smooth and balanced drone, enriched with muffled fuss of the listed above instruments. The creator’s intentions are really unpredictable, you can’t know exactly, where the curve of their mental activity will go. It somehow reminds me of the opposition between those short microexplosions and long and almost relaxing ambience in the second track. Beyond all doubts, the album is strange, and at the first glance it may seem a chaotic crowd of acoustic impulses, but just on the contrary – it is a conscious, purposeful and inspired act of creation, where the author’s skills and artistic abilities are clearly visible."
(Kirill Platonkin, Agniworld)
"Here's the very first release from newly born Intonema label.
Many thanks to Ilia and Misha for sending this.
Many thanks to Ilia and Misha for sending this.
The record consists of two tracks. First one is divided into 47 short pieces and resembles a sound swamp full of clear-cut abstract noises. Curt nods of acoustic hitches and flounces interlace with sound scrimmage inebriated with its own freakness. This track somehow reminded me of another Belorukov's work - D-И + B-C (split with Darius Ciuta) released on ~taqueOT earlier this year.
Second 10-minute track is a remix by Kurek & Bumšteinas and is actually a flimsy and sheer coverlet sewed from crackles and subliminal images. Opaque waves and chiseled noisy tones are low and everlasting.
Utterly exposed record!
Wozzeck is a duo based in Saint-Petersburg.
Comics enclosed with the CD is designed by Victor Melamed."
(Nicholay Syrov, Dumpster Diving Blog)
"новый альбом musicworm с wozzeck, который act III, по-моему, очень даже
дослушиваю сейчас первую половину /47 кусочков, звуковых ритмо-тонально-визжально-нежных паззлов/ таки складываются и складываются хорошо
дослушиваю сейчас первую половину /47 кусочков, звуковых ритмо-тонально-визжально-нежных паззлов/ таки складываются и складываются хорошо
по мне - цельная и мощная работа
конечно, это не прошлый зубодробительный wozzeck, который любят те, кто давно следит за творчеством ильи
но альбом однозначно вызревший и... очень интонационный что ли
а, ну и musicworm тут еще и на баритоне поиграл, окромя традиционного альта :)
сейчас вот вторая часть альбома пошла, которая ремиксовая
мяхко так :)"
(etal, livejournal)