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Kryptogen Rundfunk + Hladna
3"CD-R (ltd. 250) |
Hladna and Kryptogen Rundfunk - behind these names stand two St. Petersburg-based musicians playing experimental noise music. They both nourish a tender passion for old electronic instruments and often use them at their concerts and on recordings. One warm sunny day they gathered and decided to play on two analogue rhythm synthesizers "Rokton" and "Formanta". These are actually two identical instruments which were produced in the Soviet Union by two different factories. Each of them is the "brain" for electronic drum-kit, but can also be used separately - as a multi-channel tone-noise-generator or rhytm-machine.
Kryptogen Rundfunk used his device smoothly, evenly and calmly while Hladna expelled from his more sharp and unpredictable sounds. Worth mentioning are Hladna's non-standard ways of making sound - on the last two tracks he opened the back plate of his synth and played not only using knobs but also getting inside and abridging contacts with his own hands (for which he was incidentally struck by the current a couple of times).
Live recording without any processing, with all it's natural crackles and tasty overloads. Abstract electronics, minimalism and a little noise.
Reviews
[...] The music presented by Kryptogen Rundfunk, [...] was recorded in collaboration with Hladna, also known as M.M. and Nikolay Kalmykov. They play two identical synthesizers with different names, as under Soviet guidance they were produced by two different companies. The names are Rokton and Formanta which both feed into a drum machine. Minimalist beat music, head nod music if you want to. It sounds like very early Pan(a)sonic to me, but it lacks structure in the pieces, I'm afraid. It'd be nice to sample the hell out of it, and create some more continuos beat music.
A deep penetrating bass drone is opening this little silver disc from Russian industrial label Zhelezobeton. Fluxing sounds are interfering and get alienated all the way. The drone is turned into a subliminal pulsing sound while the fluxes get more fragmented. Kryptogen Rundfunk is using a Rokton analogue rhythm synthesizer on the first track while Hladna is using a Formanta in the two remaining tracks. Both instruments are identical and were both produced in the Soviet Union by two different factories. The artists were using these instruments as tone generator and constructed three experimental noise compositions like architects making a metal skeleton for their new bizarre creation in Metropolis.
This 3” split CD is packed in a beautiful small envelope with a painting of the Formanta Drum machine including a sticker of the tele tubs by Nikolay Kalmikov which makes this into an attractive release. Musically I am less impressed for I find the music too fragmentary and shallow. However there are nice deep bass pulses to be heard there are much senseless sounds distracting the attention from the lower ends of this recording; bleeps and crackles relentlessly disturbing the nerves. The track by Kryptogen Rundfunk is particularly calm while Hladna is bouncing unpredictable on the sharp edge of fluxing noise. This split release is an uneasy listening and therefore only suitable for those who like a bit of “avant” in their electronic noise pulses or just like to tease their nerves with nervous bleeps.
An interesting and creative release by Zhelezobeton recs.including 3 compositions which were records through two analogue rhythmic synthetizers. Rokton /Formata which are instruments built in Soviet Union. KRYPTOGEN RUNDFUNK brings us Rokton through a very intense and repetitive sonic defragmentations and rhythmic patterns which have some drone traces, from time to time. At moments music seems to be such limited between the base line sounds and the structure in general, but still has a very in deep parts. as was told before, this is a collaboration release, and the other artist is HLADNA,playing the Formata analogue synth,which has a very experimental sound, due almost the whole rhythmic patterns and minimalistic beats have a different structure. Also the deep penetrating bass drone elements are important points to be mentioned here. 3 compositions through almost 24 minutes coming in a packed small envelope and with a painting of Formata drum machine as cover. And limited to 250 copies.
Both Russian musicians have done an interesting job here. Focusing all their knowledge through the well execution of such analogue rhythmic synthetizers as Rokton / Formata. [...]
[...] The first track begins with low synths sounds, with a repettive pattern consisting of parasites and rawer sounds, the whole being lowly evolving. We note some sounds stay on one side while others stay on another side. There are few variations of patterns, sporadic steady rhythmed smooth beats. The second tracks follows on with small noises, distortions, parasites, while a lower bass is still used. Then the track goes on focused on the pusling synth bass while other weird 'as random' noises are developped on the other side. Sound is often torn apart, deformed, sinking in ultra-low frequencies, before going high again. The third track is closer to the first with a more hermetic structure. Again we find this total separation of several noises between left and right canals. We notice changes between both, while other noisy digressions are developped...
Tracks' length goes from 5 min to 9. Although some patterns and some repetitive sounds, it's often difficult to find some coherence, some clear strucutre within tracks. They remain minimalists, deal rather with atmospheres, thus deserves the qualificative of ambient. The atmosphere sounds really electric, indus, but not brutal at all, with few or no aggressive sounds. It's ambient, really experimental, but not that original.
Sounds manipulations are rather subtle. Sounds seems to be fine for such a non demanding music style. The striking and maybe disputable element is the strong lateralization of some sounds: while you have a pulsing bass in one side/ear/earphone, you've distorted noises on the other side. The whole can be qualified as highly experimental and hermetic. For connoisseurs and afficionados only.
The picture given by the press release - “abstract electronics, minimalism and a little noise” - perfectly recapitulates the 23 minutes of this 3-inch that sees a pair of St. Petersburg-based artists under fictitious names having fun (and letting us have it, too) with two basic models of Russian rhythm synthesizers, which give the name to the record and can also be exploited as tone and noise generators. Devotees to old analogue sonorities will stumble on something to cheer for, as the legitimate candour of this music, fed by characteristically prosperous pulses and stout frequencies, make for dynamic combinations of humble tests with a modicum of danger for one of the protagonists: Hladna is in fact used to manipulating the inside contacts of the instruments with his bare hands, a practice that has caused him to be struck by current twice. Honest stuff, highly likable sounds. I wouldn’t mind listening to a full album of these niceties.
[...] Kryptogen Rundfunk tends to create ethereal pads and drones, and Hladna mostly concentrates on percussive, harsher noisy sounds. The whole thing seems to have been recorded rawly, without any processing. This work's final result are three long untitled tracks, meditative and disturbing at the same time, which will please all the lovers of the ambient-noise and drone genres - all those who enjoy good sound design more than any kind of enchanting melodies or pounding beats. For the other listeners, I have to admit this is not a very accessible record, not the kind you would listen to as a first insight into the noise genre.
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