Recording artist and soundscape composer Savanh Phaophanit aka PALENCE is releasing his new EP Telophase on the 1st September via THE PLAYGROUND Records.
Annexing musical elements from a plethora of genres including Ambient, Post-Rock, IDM and 90s Hip Hop, Palence is also inspired by post-rock and slowcore melodies, drawing influence from the likes of Explosions In The Sky and Low, as well as artists such as Aphex Twin, Duster, Bluetile Lounge and drip-133.
The first track to be lifted from the upcoming album is 'Scarp.' Rich and deeply textured, the track's energy lies in its moody atmosphere.
His unorthodox methods for creating the album involved using an assortment of found objects for the percussive elements, alongside a vintage Tandberg 4000X reel to reel player, which was a gift from his grandfather. The result is a unique and personalised set of textures and timbres to used as tools for producing. Running his 1981 Gibson ES-335 through his reel to reel and splicing individual notes into short stabs, he recycled the noises and drenched them with reverb to create bespoke atmospheric synth-like sounds. Incorporating Lo-fi ambience, meticulously tweaked drum patterns and an array of customised synths the sound is reminiscent of Boards of Canada’s warm analogue compositions.
Listen to the album teaser below and preorder here.
Russia has been at the forefront of electronic music since the very beginning, and synthesisers were developed and widely used in the former Soviet Union – both officially and underground. Ninety years ago, a young Russian scientist and inventor, Leon Theremin, was summoned to the Kremlin for a meeting with Lenin. This was the start of an incredible journey that laid the foundations for modern electronic music. Robert Moog wrote that Theremin was a ''vital cornerstone of our contemporary music technology''. In 1972, Eduard Artemiev, one of first electronic music composers in the Soviet Union, created a remarkable score for Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris which ultimately proved as influential as the film itself. It was composed using the massive photoelectron ANS synthesiser, created by Russian engineer Yevgeny Murzin in 1952.
Since then things have changed dramatically. When it comes to burgeoning electronic music scenes, Moscow isn't usually one of the first cities that springs to mind, but Synthposium is on a mission to change that. Synthposium is an annual Moscow-based festival exploring a new interdisciplinary culture formed at the junction of electronic music and technology.
For the last three years, Synthposium has united and inspired professional producers and musicians, fans of analogue and modular synthesisers, engineers and experts on musical instruments. Today the festival’s reach goes beyond a narrowly specialised community to become a major urban event set to provide a unique interactive platform for demonstrating new thought in engineering, digital design, business projects and the results of creative inquiry across different areas. The aftermath of previous editions of the project has seen growing audience interest and the potential for the local market to become, in the near future, one of the most creative and fast-paced in the world.
This year the extended four-day format for Synthposium will include an exhibition of achievements in music technology and an educational programme dedicated to lectures, public talks and workshops led by international and local experts and engineers including BBC broadcaster Matthew Sweet and synth enthusiast Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe aka Lichens. Following the tradition of Russian engineering innovations in music, Synthposium will hold an offline premiere of Deckard's Dream, designed by Russian engineer Roman Filippov (Sputnik Modular). The 8-voice polyphonic analogue synthesiser is inspired by a certain sound in late 1970s and early 1980s cinema, most recognisable in Vangelis’s score for Blade Runner.
A parallel awards ceremony will take place for the first time at Synthposium, awarding prizes to the best engineering, the best interface designs and concepts, and artists with the most technologically advanced live shows – all for the first time in Russia. The festival will also host interactive installations and audiovisual performances. An evening programme will include three afterparties at popular clubbing venues in Moscow, with international artists and famous local musicians among the headliners – get ready for shoegaze disciple Ulrich Schnauss and German techno legend Thomas P. Heckmann.
Artists and speakers: Max Cooper, Richard Devine, Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, Baseck, London Modular, Tatsuya Takahashi, Solar X, Jacek Sienkiewicz, Ulrich Shnauss, Matthew Sweet, Denis Kaznacheev, Interchain, PTU, Tripmastaz, Rhizome aka Nikita Zabelin, Lapti, Vtgnike and many more.
Expo participants: Deckard’s Dream, Polivoks, MDR.modular, Playtronica, Erica Synths, Sputnik Modular, VG-Line, L-1 Synthesizer, Pribore Electronics, DNGR:TECH, Svarog Audio, Uoki-Toki, TipTop Audio, SSSR Labs and many more.
The Synthposium team will showcase a collaboration of Russian music industry activists initiated by the Main In Main communications agency.
CHVRN has just released his latest EP Drowned, via The Playground Records.
The Russian electronic producer derived his name from Charn, the city in C. S Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. The sound of CHVRN has roots in 80’s new wave and synth, but is inspired by a variety of genres: modern wave, post rock and witch house.
CHVRN became interested in music when he acquired his first guitar ten years ago. In 2011 he started the 8bit/chiptune project “Reboot Me” and has since garnered over 6 million Youtube views, shared stages with the likes of Dita Redrum, Gnothi Seauton. He has shared the stage with the likes of IC3PEAK and has collaborated with Polish wave producer MYSTXRIVL. His remixes include tracks for a string of USA artists including Aesthetic Perfection and GenCAB.
He is actively involved in Russia’s witch house scene, an occult-themed dark electronic music microgenre and visual aesthetic that emerged in the late 2000s and early 2010s, and has become infamous for underground raves and wave music parties, especially in Russia over the past several years.
The EP has a strong atmospheric sound, combined with spatterings of modern hip-hop and EDM rhythms.
Says CHVRN, “This EP marks a final step in my journey since my first release. It’s the endpoint of a chapter which has seen me research the new edges of my sound. Just dreamy vibes, secret thoughts and embracing the spirit of my city.” EP Tracklist:
01. Secrets
02. Mirror Fields
03. Tell Me
04. Melancholy
05. Lost
06. Still Yours
