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8 Tracks: Of The Russian Avant-Garde With Kate Nv

 
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Moscow native Kate NV is not an easy musician to pigeonhole, and her association with New York's revered RVNG INTL label indicates a stern disapproval of the notion. Over the course of two albums, she's established a reputation as a composer and vocalist as much as an arranger, an experimentalist and an explorer. 

To give an example, on her 2016 debut LP Binasu, the playful, intrepid pop of KATA is followed directly by the psychedelia of KKU, which resembles some heaven-made combination of Steve Reich and Oneohtrix Point Never. Throughout her work, she deftly balances hooks with the kind of ambience that invites curious imaginations, as opposed to blending into the background.

Off the back of для FOR , her second full-length released June 25th, she guides us through the fertile musical avant-garde of her homeland.

LISTEN
Alexander Mosolov: Iron Foundry, Op 19 (1926/1927)

Probably the most famous work by the composer and definitely a prime example of soviet futurist music. This piece indeed sounds like an iron foundry and imitates the manufacturing process with its repetitive sounds and noises.
Originally it was composed as the first movement of the ballet suite “Stal” (“steel”), but the remaining movements have been lost unfortunately. There is a rumour that Moscow State library has a huge archive of Mosolov’s works, but to get access to it one must go through some incredible bureaucratic hell by signing of lots of papers. I really hope someone will succeed.

  • Alexander Mosolov: Iron Foundry, Op 19 (1926/1927)

    Probably the most famous work by the composer and definitely a prime example of soviet futurist music. This piece indeed sounds like an iron foundry and imitates the manufacturing process with its repetitive sounds and noises.
    Originally it was composed as the first movement of the ballet suite “Stal” (“steel”), but the remaining movements have been lost unfortunately. There is a rumour that Moscow State library has a huge archive of Mosolov’s works, but to get access to it one must go through some incredible bureaucratic hell by signing of lots of papers. I really hope someone will succeed.

  • Arseny Avraamov - The Workers Funeral March

    This is an excerpt from a renown first ever industrial piece “Symphony of Factory Sirens” (1922) that included the use of ship horns, sirens, airplanes, artillery guns, steam whistle machines etc.

    The idea of replacing music with noisy sounds was born in the depths of Proletkult (an experimental Soviet artistic institution founded in 1917) and has become a kind of symbol of the denial of the musical culture of the past and the emergence of a new sound space corresponding to the needs and requirements of the proletariat.

  • Wyschnegradsky - Twenty-Four Preludes In Quarter-Tones; No. 5

    van Wyschnegradsky (1893-1979) has experimented with micro-chromatics (and referred to Skryabin as his musical mentor; both saw music as a way of manifesting mystical experience.). prelude # 5 from twenty-four preludes in quarter-tones (1934).

  • Shostakovich: Symphony No.1 In F Minor - Gergiev / Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra

    Dmitri Shostakovich’ Symphony #1 (1925) – written as a diploma piece at age of 19 (nineteen!), it is a spectacular avalanche of sound from one of Russia’s greats.

  • Alexander Mosolov: Tractor's Arrival At The Kolkhoz (1926/1927)

    Alexander Mosolov: Tractor’s arrival at the Kolkhoz (1926/1927) –
    As a Mosolov fan I couldn’t resist and included another piece in this list.
    Beautiful symbolic sketch portraits the main force (peasantry) acquiring it’s ultimate weapon.

  • Leon Theremin Playing His Own Instrument

    Lev Termen (1896-1993) – invented the termenvox (theremin) – the first analog synth that worked with electromagnetic waves. I have one at my home studio but it’s really hard to play it because you have to be very accurate with all of your movements. I still haven’t figured out how to use it at my concerts, so for now I’m just using it as a stand for my power adaptors and pedals 😀

  • Grigory Lobachev - The March Of The Metalworkers (1928)

    “The March of the Metalworkers” (1928) by Grigory Lobachev was also written as part of the Proletkult movement and included domras and percussion. Recently it has been rearranged for all metal objects.
    As you might have noticed—there are no domras in this video, rather, performers are using pieces of metal and instruments they have created by themselves. I know that they spent a lot of time just searching for these objects with specific sounds and notes.
    To get the lowest note, they had to ask some factory workers to cut a giant piece of metal for them.