| Kotra "Reset" | ||||
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kvitnu 6
Cyclic Defrost The masochist’s taste for pain generally springs from a desire for a strong sensation. There’s a tincture of this running through the veins of Reset. Dmytro Fedorenko wishes to topple a system of fullness and enervation by deepening the conditions that make it possible, until at last it flips and one again reaches point zero. To this end, a mewling squall of melted-out electronic noise at first fuses into one big liquid, in which any sort of flatness is torched in a shambled slew of dazzling fragments. For a while pieces continue to ease out of this strange cohesion - rollercoaster sprawls swirl and sluice over their own churning debris, shifting weight, slowing back before surging anew, all while maintaining a certain balance and steadiness. In no short time at all, this form reaches a blistering peak and is rendered complete, achieved, and then gaps and variations begin to open up in pace, weight, and space. The small battery of effects, tape loops and electronics never do begin to rankle - the music remains uncompromisingly persistent, even as it becomes less and less self-contained. At the same time certain elements thin down to pulsing embers; a series of messy life-affirming rhythms ticking away within a towering, alchemical flood. Reset is therefore concerned with nullifying sound and state of mind. To its credit, though, it doesn’t get lost in annihilation; it’s disappearances are forceful, expressive, and often gives rise to dark, full-bodied beats. (Max Schaefer) Connexion Bizarre Upon picking up "Reset" one cannot fail to notice the exquisite packaging - a simple, yet intricate, combination of embossed engraving and varnish printing on white cardboard. This care with packaging has been a constant with Kvitnu since its inception and confirms it as a label that aims at releasing works of art and not 'just' music. Dmytro Fedorenko (the artist and also label owner) is anything but a newcomer to the field of experimental electronic music. In addition to an extensive discography, he was also involved in Andrei Kiritchenko's label, Nexsound, and its Live Reports sub-label, as well as being responsible for the Kvitnu Fest/Detali Zvuku experimental music festival. Concept albums can be something difficult to digest and "Reset," a compilation of Kotra live recordings, is no exception. After being treated to a nice piece of eye-candy, the listener of "Reset" is plunged into a laidback whirlwind of experimental electronica. Though seemingly random and potentially very disconcerting, there seems to be method to Kotra's mechanical compositions in which samples and electro-acoustic elements are consistently and repeatedly distorted into feedback patterns and other high-frequency sounds overlaying barely recognizable rhythmic patterns and the occasional bass-line. As per the album's concept and title, each ending track signals a reset and the beginning of a new chapter of aural experimentation. Taken individually, each track presents interesting twists on the way that the original sound sources are cyclically taken, manipulated and, at times, brought back to their initial state. Taken together, however, the listener will notice a certain repetitiveness as, save for a few subtle variations, the construction of most tracks follows the same modus operandi. This, coupled with the aforementioned 'reset' effect, can make for a somewhat frustrating listening experience, which should not be wholly unexpected considering this is a purely experimental release. One thing comes to mind concerning this album as a whole: despite the aural aggressiveness and shrillness of several tracks, it is quite laidback. In fact, if there was such a thing as 'avant-garde/experimental lounge music' this could easily fit the description and purpose. Perhaps a concept for Kotra to consider, explore and develop in the future. In the meantime, "Reset" feels like a work in progress, the aural version of the artist's notebook: it may be interesting but its appeal is limited to a small audience, and definitely an acquired taste. (Miguel de Sousa) Umka Once closer to the morning, after a long night full of various sounds, I was listening to a performance by Kotra. A whole squall of noise with veins of rhythm, reckless onslaught of liberation energy that wiped off trash of carelessness, shreds of impressions on its way – it captured, immersed in experiencing of speed without limitations, without questions, without fluctuations. That was real catharsis, unforgettable experience... Thus, in their new work Kotra looks – different. First it even seems that – radically different. Almost – radically moderate. However... When one already immerses deeper into the album, another angle of view appears, and let me explain why. The tracks, predominantly, have such a dense, clear structure – and transformations, actions take place, it would seem, only within its scopes – that up to a certain instant this structure seems to be a cage for creativity. And all that seems to interfere with actions, attribute them with some formal aftertaste. But suddenly you understand clearly that exactly this external formality can become an alternative way to liberation. That is, the monotonous repetition of the structure of formal motions results in that you stop taking this structure into account, noticing it – from now on you see quite different things here. This, if you wish, can be compared with Buddhists' reading of mantras: first you set a structure, and then you go beyond its scopes. So, Kotra has not abandoned the quest – and again tries to fit the listener into a situation of liberation. So, the name of the album, "Reset", can be interpreted ambiguously, and this is good. So, it is not by chance – and not in vain – that the envelope of this album is white. In the end, everything dissolves in white except for freedom... (Anton Jozhik Lejba) Textura Reset serves up seventy minutes of scalpel-sharp electronic music from Ukraine-based Dmytro Fedorenko under the Kotra name. The Kvitnu head and one-time Nexsound co-producer (2003-07) likens his music to “ear needles” and the album's sixteen tracks are certainly invasive and uncompromising (though he's issued a dozen full-length albums and collaborations since establishing the Kotra name in 1998, Reset is his first solo release since 2004's Dissilient). Reset, which breaks up its longer pieces with five fragments, brutalizes the listener from the outset with “Rational Attack” and “Absent Response,” tracks whose machine-like precision and relentlessness exemplify the material's merciless tone. If there's a comparative point of reference for Kotra , it's Carsten Nicolai's Alva Noto whose material is also inhumanly cold yet rhythmically funky too. Kotra's “Vilna Struktura,” for example, merges high-pitched tonal cross-currents with pulsating throb in a way that suggests Alva Noto operating his gear in a particularly aggressive frame of mind. There's inarguably a sadomasochistic dimension to Kotra's music— the violent onslaught of grinding noise in “Solid Dissection” and “Fire Fractions” is so eardrum-piercing it's almost painful—but there's music to be heard in these eviscerations too, for those at least with dispositions strong enough to handle it. EtherREAL Si nous avons déjà parlé de Kotra au travers de quelques collaborations (avec Zavoloka ou Andrey Kiritchenko), nous n'avons jamais vraiment parlé de son travail en solo malgré quelques albums parus chez Nexsound. Nous le citons par contre régulièrement en tant que boss du label Kvitnu chez qui sort logiquement ce nouvel album, cinquième référence du label si l'on omet une compilation sampler. Manque de temps, ou véritablement trop extrême pour nous motiver à en parler, nous avions fait l'impasse sur Dissilient, paru en 2004 et qui était jusque là le dernier véritable album de Kotra (hors CD-R). Il s'agissait alors d'une musique noise assez radicale. Avec Reset, l'Ukrainien Dmytro Fedorenko ajoute à sa musique un certain jeu de construction/déconstruction lui conférant presque un aspect ludique (on s'amuse comme on peut!). Par ailleurs, la présence régulière d'une guitare basse tend à réorienter la musique de Kotra vers un style plus rock et lourd, même si la reste de l'instrumentation est purement électronique. Une électronique pure, radicale, sans concession, assez typique d'une certaine école russo-scandinave, avec ses sinusoïdes joliment dessinées et ces vrombissements industriels. Ici, pas de textures bruitistes et d'enchevêtrement sonores. Chaque source sonore est isolée et bien distincte, avec très régulièrement un fort contraste entre des basses profondes et sourdes et des sifflements stridents. Les boucles sont légion, hypnotiques, variant lentement au grès de filtres venant souvent salir le son. Passé le chaos des premiers morceaux avec fractures ou martèlements rythmiques, mélodies abstraites, répétitions mécaniques et sifflements agressifs, Kotra trouve un subtile équilibre en milieu d'album avec deux titres qui forment un parfait équilibre entre composition electronica et sonorités bruitistes. Ca commence en fait avec Burshtyn qui nous rappelle un peu le travail de Pan Sonic, puis c'est un subtile mélange de fractures et saturation qui opère sur Vilna Struktura et Strip Puncture, construisant des grooves improbables, étonnants. Dans cet univers ou tout est à réinventer, à 'Reseter', les interludes qui sont habituellement des moments de pause sont ici des agressions de sifflements stridents (In Strict Sense, Zriz, Zeroth), et il faudra attendre les dernières pistes pour retrouver un semblant d'accalmie. On se rapproche du drone, certes nerveux, et les contrastes sonores sont moins violent sur le très sombre et sourd Ideal Theories. On n'ira pas jusqu'à conseiller cet album à tout le monde, mais les amateurs de Pan Sonic qui n'ont rien contre un petit supplément d'abstraction ou de bruitisme devraient y trouver leur compte. On ajoutera un petit mot sur le packaging encore une fois somptueux, entièrement blanc mais imprimé en brillant sur mat, et titre de l'album légèrement bosselé. (Fabrice Allard) Luna Kafé Kotra is Dmytro Fedorenko, who's also founder and runner of the Kvitnu label. Earlier we've checked out Kotra & Zavoloka's Wag The Swing! here at Luna Kafé, as well as Critikal's (with Fedorenko as one of the participants) Graphorrhea. Reset is some heavy shit. Not shit as in shitty, but as 'stuff'. Fedorenko is a radical artist, performing improv-experimental electronic noise-sound-modulation. He's a Mensch-machine pushing limits to an extreme. The Kotra concept is (according to the press sheet): "...to clear errors, events, people, experience and concepts. To bring intention energy to a condition of initial state. To refine the transformation process. Reset to inner. to free." Reset is a piece of abstract, modern art more than music, and listening to all 16 tracks (1 hour plus) is quite some challenge. But, by having smaller meals of music at a time this is indeed a fascinating world of sound. Music that easily could've been put up as soundtracks for films of the same experimental calibre. Or maybe even old silent films. This is music as art. And it's working. It's violent and brutal, yet friendly in a cold way if that's possible. As always the cover art from Kvitnu is delicate and most elegant. (Håvard Oppøyen) Gothtronic I am listening to the experimental sounds of Kotra. I front of me lies the white cover of the cd which is exceptionally well designed, with nice imprints in an arty way. The only disadvantage is that the text and titles of the tracks are heard to read as they’ve also been printed in white, but it does not really matter since i also received a release sheet with the cd which gives some more information about this release. I now know that Kotra already exists for 10 years. It is the avantgarde electronic project of Dmytro Fedorenko from Ukraine, who also runs the Kvitnu label which has released this Reset album. I also read that Kotra has collaborated with many other producers of experimental music such as Moljebka Pulse, Franz Pomassi and Andreas Berthling and that Kotra has performed at numerous occasions and events where attention was given to noise, industrial and other forms of new music with electronic sounds. Reset presents sounds that flow pretty smoothly but get company from very high-pitched shrill feedback noise that disturbs the soothing character of the sounds in a brutal manner and sometimes even physically is painful to listen to. The further the 16-tracks develop, the easier it gets to get accustomed to the almost academically composed glitch-like idm music and the more the ears get used to the dissonant elements in the sound spectrum. It however has to be said that due to the arty character of the music, it starts to get boring after a while. Also, the music of Kotra is not exactly on par with, let’s say, Autechre. Reset is an almost mathematically designed musical concept but lacks the compassion to get really interesting. Dagheisha Eco-package trasparente per questa avvincente release che svela al mondo intero il talento di Dmytro Fedorenko matematico, compositore e artista visuale ucraino creatore del Detali Zvuku Festival, produttore di Nexsound e mente dietro alla coraggiosa Kvitnu. Dopo numerose collaborazioni e live set internazionali Kotra raccoglie due anni di esibizioni e installazioni sonore cogliendo l'occasione per riproporre il suo debutto solista intitolato 'Dissilient'. Il risultato è un album forse frammentario ma tremendamente efficace che mostra la corretta per strada per raggiungere il felice connubio tra elettronica, rumore e arte contemporanea. I suoi trascorsi jazz-noise aiutano a capire certe scelte sonore e la dislocazione dei pezzi. Per tutto il resto cercate 'Reset' e portate tutto allo stato iniziale. Solo allora sarete avidamente ricompensati. Medienkonverter Mathematik und Noise passen eigentlich gut zusammen, lässt sich doch Musik im Allgemeinen und Noise im Speziellen mathematisch interpretieren, ja, sogar erzeugen. Wenn Algorithmen Musik entstehen lassen, fehlt ein entscheidendes Element, nämlich Leben. Kotra steuert es über die experimentelle Entstehungsweise seiner Songs bei. Was wirklich geplant war oder rein zufällig entstanden ist, lässt sich im Nachhinein freilich nicht mehr feststellen. Kotras Musik hat auf seinem neuen Album "Reset" trotz des experimentellen Charakters etwas Steriles, Maschinelles. Die Gitarren- und Klaviertöne in "Rational Attack" täuschen noch etwas darüber hinweg. Schon das folgende "Absent Response" fällt durch leiernde und extrem hohe Töne auf. Den oberen Frequenzbereich lotet Kotra in manchen Songs derart ausufernd aus, dass es schon fast weh tut. "Absent Response" zählt ohne Zweifel dazu. Die im aufwändig gestalteten Digipack steckende CD lässt sich sehr leicht in zwei Schubladen stecken: Experimentell und Kunst. Scheinbare Strukturen werden mit extremen Geräuschen bombardiert, Ansätze von Melodie durch schneidend hohe Töne zerrissen. Rhythmus ist fast immer vorhanden, was die Rezeption der Songs deutlich erleichtert. Mit einigen Stücken schafft es Kotra, die Aufmerksamkeit des Hörers auf einen Punkt zu bündeln, ihn festzunageln. Andere wirken durch sich wiederholende Konzepte ermüdend. "Reset" muss eben als Experiment angesehen werden, das für einen sehr speziellen Hörerkreis bestimmt ist. Metica Om du är på jakt efter musik som kan användas som tortyrinstrument behöver du inte leta mer. Kotras nya platta 'Reset' är ett Guantánamo i miniformat, musik att plåga folk med. Få dem att prata. Och det snabbt som fan. Bakom projektet står matematikern Dmytro Fedorenko, mannen bakom skivbolaget Kvitnu. Förmodligen är det hans studier i ickelinjära, dynamiska och komplexa system som ligger till grund för 'Reset'. Maken till musikaliskt kaos står knappt att finna. Forskarna vid Taras Shevchenko-universitetet i Kiev jublar samtidigt som de slumpmässiga och högfrekventa ljuden går loss på trumhinnorna likt en vinkelslip mot metall. 'Reset' är ett måste för den stenhårde industrikännaren och en riktigt (o)behaglig upplevelse. (Peter Larsson) |
| Last Updated ( Saturday, 02 May 2009 15:07 ) |