Name: moja draga je u japanu (with radek) by mandolin marc
Duration: 3 min 7 s
Description: a cover of the original by Đorđe Balašević, ft. radek on guitar

Program Notes:
to lie down in still waters of erasure, for organ and spatialized electronics, sets
the text of Joyelle McSweeney’s “toxic sonnet” with which it shares its name.
When I first encountered this sonnet in Joyelle McSweeney’s 2020 publication Toxicon and Arachne, I was struck by how aural the text was. Brimming with implied sound, the sonnet courses with sonic imagery of obsolete electronics sounding amidst a landfill of debris, or the hollow tinnitus ringing of an electronic tone piercing a nuclear silence. This sort of hazardous sonic terrain felt both intimate and expansive, sporadic and sustaining, simultaneously engaging issues of space, absence, resonance, noise, sonic debris, and pulsating silence.
Concurrently, the text engages issues of musical drama, following a dramatic narrative arc that is both somber and relentlessly lyrical. It is with these issues in mind that I set this text for organ and spatialized electronics, engaging an instrument that is itself tied to issues of architectural space and grappling with issues of temporality and obsolescence. Singular in its ecclesiastical purpose and construction, the organ is uniquely tied to the religious institutions and places of worship that house its architecture, thereby containing multiple kinds of spatial considerations, both acoustical and theological. Moreover, the organ’s allusions towards religious piety and classical forms further McSweeney’s nod to the two in her biblical quotation in the opening line, and her larger formal allusion to classical forms in that Toxicon takes the form of a “crown of sonnets”.
The electronics pivot between vignettes of noise, glitch and recordings of a eurorack modular synthesizer, to lyrical peaks constructed with recordings of my voice and saxophone excerpts. These lyrical elements echo issues of space and absence, acting as bodiless voices emerging from the speakers and furthering the unsettling apocalyptic tones of McSweeney’s sonnet. The juxtaposition of distorted and acoustic organ sounds, my processed voice, the use of artificial intelligence voices, and the singing tone of the saxophone-turned-voice-turned-organ all play with a kind of sonic uncanny valley, both provoking and unsettling the listener through the blurring of sound source.

This piece was written for Randall Harlow and the Skinner Organ at Rockefeller Chapel as part of a collaboration through the Chicago Center for Contemporary Composition at the University of Chicago. This piece is dedicated to Randall and Joyelle, two collaborators whose craft and expressivity I greatly admire.

*a crown of sonnets is a classical poetic form characterized by a sequence of sonnets all addressed to one person or concerned with a single theme.

to lie down in still waters of erasure (live recording)

Single

Запах

Trince - Запах

We are proud to present the debut Askiepki LP by the Belarusian coldwave band Vapna. Here are their words about the album:

"Ten tracks, five years, six countries. Askiepki LP absorbed a lot and was created very slowly, as life did not encourage music-making during recent years. But persistence prevailed!

We want this album to be a bridge across borders and between places; listened to it in Miensk and Vilnius, in Homiel and Gdańsk, and wherever it may be heard and understood.

We see our work as part of the new wave of Belarusian music,
which is being created right now and carries the future".

Credits:

Andrei Vazyanau – vocal, lyrics, guitar, bass guitar, synths (all songs);
Pavel Astahau - drums, synths (all songs);
Vladimir Selekhov – guitar (7).

Mixing – Andrei Vazyanau
Mastering – Vova Potapenko
Artwork – Olga Luchanok

Vapna - Uciekačy

The 2020s brought not only upheavals to Belarus but also many new songs in the Belarusian language. Belarusian-speaking music increasingly expands beyond folk, metal, and rock, into pop, hip-hop, indie, soul and other popular styles.
 
This explorative mix focuses on softer tunes and introduces lesser-known Belarusian musicians, based both within and outside the country.

Tracklist:
01. Hanna Zhdanava - Mroi
02. Dee Tree - Alina
03. ili-ili - Noč
04. Luty Sakavik - Strach
05. Syndrom Samazvanca - Promni
06. Vapna - Šeryja Zony
07. Aureli - Берагі
08. Naidee - Час
09. Nochy - Праз ціхі акіян
10. лайтовы - Mic. Check
11. Adel Line - Momant
12. Bayski - Піт-стоп
13. Nevika - Пакліч
14. Пётр Клюеў - Падай мне руку
15. Lear - Забяру боль 
16. Nürnberg - Adny
17. Snopsnoŭ - Chałodnaje Serca
18. Прыйдзе Вясна - Будзьма Разам
19. Ferenc - Сонейка

The mixtape was compiled for Radio Plato by Andrei Vazyanau from the band Vapna. Check their debut album Askiepki LP: https://radioplato.bandcamp.com/album/askiepki
The photo for the cover is from the photo book Minsk by Belarusian photographer Palasatka (print version is here: https://www.instagram.com/kolerbooks/)
Lettering by https://www.instagram.com/chernova.ya/

moja draga je u japanu (with radek)

mandolin marc

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