Vresnit : Vjuga.Ljet.Duj.
Vetvei, V05
That’s the kind of music I was calling for and I needed and which I finally discovered. It is completely soaked with the spirit of near-to primordial tribes, when nature was the god and all the emanations of natural power were worshipped, when people were more free in their expression and less bound by conventions and moral principles dictated by contemporary society. It is the time of spirituality and the abilities not only to watch, but to see. And it is wonderful that there are people who made an attempt to create the atmosphere and let us dive into this artificial world of natural past.
Vresnit is a band coming from Russia, formed in 2008, and as bands of the kind coming from the land of snow and wood are most of the time pretty deep and definitely have many distinctive features, mystery being one of them, it didn't get far away from all those particular features that form this unique sound. CD was issued by Vetvei, Russian label aiming at the search of archetypes manifestations within the near-musical realm, close to ambient, drone, ritual and folk.
Although generally the releases are different, I had quite similar feelings and even sensations when I listened to certain ambient tracks of The Blood of the Black Owl – A Feral Spirit, reviewed some issues ago. The great idea is 41 minute long track which is not interrupted by pauses that usually ruin all the atmosphere of ambient album. Ambient music has to flow and develop throughout the album, change directions maybe, but never be interrupted in such a violent way as switching from track to track. The composition starts with silent, almost unheard sounds which gradually, step by step become more solid, accompanied with various elements. If compared to something, it may remind entering a dark cold northern forest in the fog, having a feeling that it watches you and the spirits that inhabit the woods surround you and observe with interest. You slowly get deeper and deeper to a sacred place, some altar for a ritual, accompanied by the soundscapes constructed from improvisation on wind instrument and straight beat performed on a ritual drum. Meanwhile the background becomes more and more intense and eventually exchanges the secondary role on the one of primary kind. And then it reveals many elements as if they were hidden in the fog and now come out of the dark – crackles, ravens cries, whistles, steps. And the culmination may be considered the part when we eventually hear the lyrics narrated by two voices that appear and then disappear, travel from one part of your mind to another one and then back, hypnotizing and putting you in a state when you get out of the world of your reality and are transferred to the world of your irreality. In fact it creates quite terrific atmosphere of something special and frightening approaching, but you cannot move and have nothing else but stand and face the gloom that comes into your face, as in a nightmare. Or maybe there is nothing out there in the dark. And it is just your imagination plays the tricks.
Probably and according to the package, red, made of hard paper with symbols looking like the ones sketched in cave, the album contains four “stages” represented by 4 animals: an eagle - immortality, liberation of the soul, a dear - a symbol of cyclic rebirth and at the same time a guide to underworld, and other two seem to look like wolves, enemies and evil, a smaller and a larger ones, which, when the paper is unfolded, seem to be confronting each other.
This release makes me think much to Northern nations of far east of Eurasia, which live connected to their ancestors and in the world filled with spirits and their own gods, legends, stories and traditions, celebrations and rituals, the world which may be much more rich than ours in fact.
Author: Heathen Harvest
In my opinion Vjuga.Ljet.Duj may be considered as one of the best achievements of moulding the subconscious into a sound shape. Before listening to this one piece CD (duration: 41.55 minutes), you'd better not prepare yourself for a smooth and easy ambient piece. Contrary,you'd better expect a slightly unnerving, dark ambient, ritual drone piece that mainly consists of earthly sounds that drag you straight into an unearthly world of dark dreams with an archetypical quality. If Carl Gustav Jung and Sigmund Freud were musicians, this might be their sound at some stage of their carreer. Now, would you please lie down on that couch, close your eyes and press the button that says 'Play'? The track starts off relatively innocent with a five minutes' lenght muffled and strict (like a heartbeat) percussion beat , accompanied by the sound of a now and then distorted flute. After some five minutes some other elements shift into the over all sound picture, while the beat is slowly drifting away. The flute is now accompanied by the sounds of a metallic background noise (as if metallic percussion is extremely delayed in time, and, consequenlty, has gotten another role: ambient sound) and some vaguely screeching bird like sounds, while the metallic sound is gaining volume. Meanwhile something is being scratched. Very slowly the sound structure is shifting, while the atmosphere is getting more dense and nightmarish. As if there's no escape from this subconscious trip. The metallic ambient sound is gaining volume and the flute is shifting to the background. After about 16 minutes human voices enter the sound picture. Unfortunately you're not able to understand the words. Real time metal sounds enter the sound picture accompanied by some distant deep rumbling, while the flute and slow metallic ambient sounds are still present. After some 37 minutes a very simple stringlike hint of a melody announces the nearing end of the track, again accompanied by some muffled percussion sounds. The track is fading out. You may open your eyes again. Just for a while the world seems so empty and trivial. Perhaps you'll consider to lie back on that couch and push the 'Play' button again, instead of pushing 'Eject'. You may open your eyes again. Just for a while the world seems so empty and trivial. Perhaps you'll consider to lie back on that couch and push the 'Play' button again, instead of pushing 'Eject'.Author: Gothronic
Lunar Abyss Deus Organum : Bereg Teploj Vesny
Vetvei, V03
Since 2004, shamanic Russian composer, Evgeniy Savenko, has been creating fever-dream soundtracks under the guise of Lunar Abyss Deus Organum(also known as L.A.D.O.). This project's stated intent is to "glorify the deep forces of nature and natural life in all of it's manifestations", with a further interest in early pagan customs, Indo-European Vedic cosmogony and "ritualistic traditions of northern heathens". In live performance, most often with a partner, Savenko creates compositions that ebb and flow with the sound of voices, bells, percussives, traditional flutes and acoustic instruments, but through brilliant manipulation of the improvised source material, he is able to forge these churning, fluxing abysses of sound. Using all manner of sonic debris, he drones his way through a single nearly hour-long composition on this album, "Bereg Teploj Vesny", a limited edition cdr release on the Vetvei label in Russia. Vetvei specializes in experimental music releases of "nature inspired art as seen through the Russian mentality". This correlation to romanticism, embodying the picturesque qualities of nature through sound, also extends to their graphics and packaging.They have a nice organic style(the "Vetvei style"?) of hand-painting their covers and the cdr's. This one comes in cardboard packaging with three photo inserts and the cover is decorated with stenciled paintings. The album consists of fragments from a live performance at the open-air festival called the Systo Togethering. This is the first of a two-piece opus, titled "Spring Shores", which incorporates the best from both Savenko's performances at Systo in 2006 and '07. Savenko, who hails from St. Petersburg, is expert at weaving disparate sounds together into an abstract expressionistic musical statement. He uses loops, vinyl records, field recordings, acoustic instruments and voices to create a dynamic soundscape that never loses interest for the listener. One thing I've noticed about the Russian experimental scene is how many of the artists seem to be influenced by film music. Savenko is no different, by instinct if not design, this composition contains dramatic qualities characteristic of cinematic tradition. But there is also an element here of psych-folk sound, similar to what I've heard coming out of Finland, particularly during the passages that use vocals. "Bereg Teploj Vesny" presents a visionary sonic statement that seems both ancient and new. At times the soundtrack is alien, other times it seems very pastoral, you are on Jupiter at one moment and the next you're in a lush field with birds flying past, and it all folds into and out of itself, revealing new layers and a deeper resonance on each listen. Thus, a recording like this doesn't disclose it's secrets at first but always becomes something new when listened to again... and again.
Author: Heathen Harvest
Lunar Abyss Deus Organum is the project of Evgeny Savenko and is also known under the monikers Lunar Abyss and Lunar Abyss Quartet, among other variations. This album is released on the new Russian label Vetvei. The first thing that is noticeable is the beautiful handmade cardboard packaging, together with three inserts. I did however hard to try real hard to find and then try to read which band made the music and the name of the album, since from my copy it was extremely hard to read. Also, "Bereg Teploj Vesny" is the first in a two part series; the second will be titled "Spring shores". The music is one long track of around 52 minutes of music. We move from a dark underworld to a more dark fantasy setting. The music feels very organic and has a lot of different sounds and moods. 52 minutes is quite long, but the album manages to be interesting all the way through, since "Bereg Teploj Vesny" is also a very visceral experience. A good release and one with a lot of texture. The beautiful packaging makes this release complete and a must-have for ambient connoisseurs. Iam really looking forward to "Spring shores"!Author: Gothronic
Vresnit: Kalen Ven
Vetvei, V01
Vresnit intrigues me in more ways then I first thought possible. Firstly the very album is extremely rich in both character and style with its handmade cover and a minimalistic rune etched like a seal on a dreamlike portal. Inside the cardboard cover are some really nice pictures of branches, simple but extremely effective in creating the right feeling. All put together make a great introduction to the music lurking inside this work of art. Kalen Ven is a piece of ether distilled into pure music. The song brings something primeval to life, a sensation that lingers on in the back of ones mind a long time after the song fades away. The drums in this ambient serenity is what gives this creation a certain pulse, like a lifeblood that pumps on through the night. After listening to this song in a variety of settings such as the subway, the nebular landscapes of northern Scandinavia and my darkened room bathing in candlelight I get the feeling that this is more then just atmosphere. It is hard to describe what this song really projects inside ones hollow mind but the best expression I have for it is a chthonic feeling of dank smelly caves. The songs natural evolution drags on and takes the listener on a long journey through misty landscapes, the mood constantly building up towards a final tangible echo of the past.
Kalen Ven is something unique, its nigh impossible to put down with words the unspeakable emotion it produced inside this brooding husk. It would be like a bumblebee describing its view on life to a newt; it is on such a vastly different plane that words have little to no meaning. When the flutelike sounds start piping in the background and the otherworldly drumming increases in pace the one thing that enters my mind is Azathoth. When Lovecraft described the piping and drumming of the outer gods that keep the demon sultan pacified this might have been quite what he imagined. Vresnit combines the simplicity of minimal ambient structures with simple yet effective percussion and it just becomes so right. Usually long tracks of minimal ambient tend to have an affinity for getting bland, but in this case the song just lingers in the back of your mind and really enhances the feelings that the song almost instantly set. When the songs gentle whispers fade away I am left stunned for a moment, tranquil yet intrigued.
Kalen Ven is a mighty album and a even more intriguing song. This is something that anyone into chthonic drones should not miss. The otherworldly aspects of this album is extremely strong and the atmosphere thick. For meditation or relaxation this is pure gold but I guess it could relieve you on your way through the machine searching for a deeper meaning to life. There is something deep lurking inside that really answer to Kalen Ven, perhaps not in everyone but then again not everyone is as primal as me..
Author: Heathen Harvest
Drifting into dream state with archaic drones caused by sound bowls or something like that. Drowned reverb stretches slowly to fill the atmosphere. A ritualistic humming surrounds you on the bare Nordic fields. Cold glacial ambient inspired by natural symbolism. An enchanting ritual proceeds. Kalen Ven is the second release by Russian act Vresnit and the first for the new Vetvei label. Vresnit makes pagan inspired ambient in the vein of Halo manash. There is one ritual preformed on this release that takes a bit more than thirty minutes. The atmosphere is very relaxed and the music minimal with just some hand percussion, voice and small flutes. Archaic droning of a pagan ritual. Shimmering acoustic sounds that works on the unconsciousness. Kalen Ven comes in a beautiful brown handmade triple cardboard package with pictures of branches. This really looks very good and fits perfectly to the atmosphere of the music. I absolutely like it when people take care of the artwork, it make a release more complete and precious.Author: Gothronic
Vresnit : Stalist Lik Sveta
Kerpg XVI
Vresnit’s 2008 release through Kerpg is a one-song affair, clocking in at 52 minutes of sound. Vresnit is the product of Sergey Ilchuk (Vagranok, Nrodum, Voy and KERPG label). Although initially released through Kerpg, Vresnit now finds a home with the Vetvei label in Russia. While Mr. Ilchuk is a member of various incarnations, here he combines elements of industrial, drone and noise. Yet somehow through everything, it still seems organic and natural. Showing both sides of electronic and homemade somehow on this disc makes sense. From the first subtle murmur, to the last noisy effect, Stalist Lik Sveta is a netherworld of supernatural sounds. The clever combination of desolate, industrial reverberation with ghostly, rattling ambient touches gives a grand and lofty feel to the piece. Static rumbles and soars, while persistent distant pounding and chilling ambience bring the composition together as one. Sounds twist and divide into each other. Nearing vibrations ebb and flow closer, crescendo to a din, then culminate to quiet. A discord that crawls, levitates and finally clatters, leaving the listener spent. If ever there was a music composition so deserving of headphones this may very well be the poster child. What it very well may be is a metallic, howling soundtrack to our own limitations and imaginations. Encompassing the feeling of industrial and natural extends to the presentation also. Just a handmade cardboard cutout folder with 2 photographs decorates the inner and outer sleeve of the release. Throughout the listener gets the feeling that there are many sides to Vresnit. Certainly many sides yet to come. Whether within this band or any of the other he is involved in. A sense of combining the complexities of what is man made to what is already found in nature and the struggle found between the two is heard throughout. As with a lot of material that is released through small labels there is a feeling that this should be heard on a larger scale. Something we already know, that the masses is waiting for, but not expecting, something to make them think. How long will it be before the mainstream music industry stops trying to sell us what they think is “profitable product” to what the listener truly wants to hear? We can only hope that through releases like this, and many others like it, that this will be apparent sooner than later
Author: Heathen Harvest