Varvara Myagkova - piano.
From Sketches XIII-XVI. Fancymusic. 2021
Listen or purchase full album:
https://album.link/wx74b2b964kvj

Sergey Akhunov. Sketch XIV. Piano: Bluthner 1908

Ten directions is a Eastern cosmogony’s term that means "in all directions throughout the space." These directions are the eight of the compass: east, south-east, south, southwest, west, north-west, north, north-east, plus the Nadir – to the down - and Zenit - at the top.  These "Ten directions" are often matched to past, present and future to describe the set of all places – Ten Directions - and times - Three Times.
 At any time and in any place existed a sound that awakens and resonates at a specific emotional state. A call that is heard and collected by those who were looking for it for a long time and in any direction.
 
While playing or composing, I take refuge into myself, directing the sound through the ten directions of space. Then, I let my thoughts meander both in the internal direction, the innerself, and in the outer, the discovery and the meeting. The union of these two states arouses emotion, subtle matter that can be felt by those who are listening and are on the same frequency and in tune.

 The launch of the thought starts from the silence, and then, one key after another, starts moving and traveling through the air like an arrow into space. The sound is without obstacles, in the ten directions, and resonates through the invisible world of vibrations. Announces itself and enters the inner space. It comes to ears, the hearing organ, and shakes all the other senses. It kidnaps, touch the nerve centre and pervades us. It meets and joins up with something that is already there, and is welcomed as it was expected all along.

 The sound is clear, it radiates and spreads everywhere, and comes back, in a two-way process, creating contact points and unexplained bridges. Is a dimension that affects and charms because we recognize it, surprised and excited at the same time. As a light, it illuminates hidden areas through the mind and the heart, and reaches the deepest part of our inner. The listener and the player finds themselves alive in a sensitive state, and this sharing creates the communion, the union of sound and spirit, music and noise away from fiction, which dwells always and everywhere in the ten directions.

Wind Song

We Didn’t Know We Were Ready

We Didn’t Know We Were Ready (feat. Niamh Regan & Ye Vagabonds)

FRESH NEWS

Fresh News

Dani Grigu - Tribal is a deep and immersive journey into organic house, blending hypnotic percussion, atmospheric echoes, and oriental influences. With a spiritual depth that resonates through every beat, this track captures the essence of tribal rhythms and profound soundscapes. Perfect for deep house, organic house, and electronic music lovers looking for a unique sonic experience. Press play and dive into the vibe.

Dani Grigu - Tribal

Horizon

(New track out today! ✨)

there’s a wild grace in running through the rain
just you and the sky in full conversation
no masks, no mirrors,
only the rhythm of surrender
not escape,
but the beauty of letting it all fall

your clothes cling like second skin,
your hair forgets its place,
but for once, none of it matters

here, you feel without defense
break open without apology
and surrender completely
to the rhythm
of a fleeting,
fevered now

not all wounds close,
but something opens,
a gentleness
a grace not given,
but discovered

and in that unguarded place,
something shifts
you find a truer rhythm

Running Through Rain

Randa

Taken from his forthcoming album 'Spells' out June 10 on Erased Tapes.

Pre-order the LP/CD/DL here: www.erasedtapes.com/store/index/ERATP085
iTunes: http://snip.ftpromo.net/spells
Spotify: http://snip.ftpromo.net/goldentimes
Bandcamp: http://snip.ftpromo.net/spellsbc
or any other good record store worldwide

"It's just incredible" – Mary Anne Hobbs, BBC 6 Music
“Strangely upbeat nocturnes" – The Wire

‘Spells’ merges programmed piano pieces with live instruments, combining the controllable technical world and the often unpredictable aspects of live improvisation. In some ways it continues where his underground debut ‘Gravity’ left off, though a lot of weight is lifted, making room for a lighter and more energetic listen. Friend and fellow Erased Tapes artist Nils Frahm mixed and mastered both albums. Ben is not a master pianist like his dear friend, but his sound collages are so meticulously designed that after hearing the result an impressed Nils declared: “from now on, if anyone asks – this is a real piano”. 

His intricate, humanised programming – enhanced by drummer Achim Färber, cellist Anton Peisakhov and harpist Lara Somogyi, and a considerate selection of echoes, delays and compressors – has been used to create a hybrid sound that intends to deceive, question and challenge existing listening habits. Utilising the contrast between reduction and decoration, ‘Spells’ can be seen as a quest to find out how much or how little composition is required to constitute a song. Why the ear can and should be deceived about the authenticity of instruments. What significance these instruments have within this process, and why the personal perception of balance and sound exclude ultimate truths. 

Linking the two albums are the four movements of ‘Nocturne’, an ever-developing conversation that on occasion flirts with the grandeur of compressed rock drums. The first single, ‘Golden Times 1’, received a world premiere by BBC 6 Music’s Mary Anne Hobbs, proclaiming it as "incredible." An alternative version of ‘Sleepers Beat Theme’ – composed for the soundtrack to a short film about the Trans-Siberian Express – opened Jon Hopkins’ Late Night Tales album from 2015, who noted “I thought it was such a calming and sensitive piece that sounded to me like the beginning of something...the warmth and depth of the sound entrances me every time”. 

Though ‘Spells’ and ‘Gravity’ are his first albums recorded under his own name, as acclaimed electronic producer HECQ he’s released nine albums since 2003, exploring everything from ambient to breakcore. He has simultaneously established himself as a trusted composer and sound designer, working for a wide array of clients including Amnesty International and Marvel Comics; composing for feature films, games, art installations and convention opening titles.

After embracing this demanding line of work, in 2010 Ben felt the need to explore his roots and early education, which inspired these albums under his own name. Born in 1981 as the third child of opera singer Deirdre Boysen and actor Claus Boysen, his classical music training on piano and guitar began when he was seven years old; the works of Bruckner, Wagner and Bach laid an important foundation. Rediscovering this music shared with his parents – united with the sounds of Autechre, Cristian Vogel and Jiri.Ceiver to Pink Floyd and Godspeed You! Black Emperor – brought back an understanding of why he wanted to write music in the first place.

“Finding my views understood, reflected and welcomed by Erased Tapes was an encouraging experience, crowned by the offer to release ‘Spells’ and re-issue ‘Gravity’ with them. Through many caring conversations with Robert I felt that there’s no better home for the existing ideas and no better cradle for new ones.”  – Ben Lukas Boysen 

TRACK LISTING:  	

01. The Veil  02. Nocturne 3  03. Sleepers Beat Theme  04. Golden Times 1
05. Nocturne 4  06. Keep Watch  07. Golden Times 2  08. Selene

Spells

Keep Watch

Buy LP/CD/DL

Ben Lukas Boysen – Keep Watch

Art has a feature of avoiding straightforward statements. 

More precisely, those thoughts originality of which requires an artistic language are rarely simple or straightforward. In this case, a musical statement becomes a metaphorical one. 

But what features - linguistic and stylistic - are inherent to this kind of statement? And what tasks as a result appear before the performer, the interpreter? 

Sometimes we expect a metaphor to be something complex, deliberately ambiguous, but if by the statement we gain new ways of understanding, a metaphor survives. It becomes obvious and natural like a long-time proven assertion in mathematics, which over time has become a well-known theorem... 

But then a new layer of metaphors appear. It comes naturally as a new coil of what was proven in the previous turn… Maybe there again is a choice appearing in front of the artist? What should the artist do, take part in the pursuit of the evolution of the metaphorical language, or hide, using seemingly familiar tools and forming a completely new context? 

The author, obviously, selects the second. 

Of course, this makes his music defenseless and extremely vulnerable to the performance. The slightest inaccuracy of the interpretation could trigger a completely different association and a metaphorical statement will be destroyed... 

I hope that we were able to uncover the author's intention in his modern sound where archaisms, modern expression and avant-garde ideas give birth to a new dramaturgy. 

Ilya Hoffman
__

Polina Osetinskaya: piano

Composed by: Sergey Akhunov 

Recorded by: Alexei Barashkin 
Recorded at: The D. D. Shostakovich Saint Petersburg Academic Philharmonia, Large Hall, 31 May – 4 June, 2016 
Edited by: Alexei Barashkin 
Mixed, mastered by: Alexander Mikhlin 
Cover photo by: Anna Zyabreva

Sketches

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Sergey Akhunov - Sketch VII (Performed by Polina Osetinskaya)

Julia Igonina: violin

Musica Viva Chamber Orchestra

Alexander Rudin: conductor

Recorded by: Ruslan Zaipold
Recorded live at: Moscow International House of Music, February 6, 2018

Dedicated to: Julia Igonina
__

Contemporary music often likes to flaunt its exclusive appeal. “Look at me!” it seems to say to listeners, “See how dynamic I am, how refined and complex, bearing my universal message for the select and enlightened few.”

Sergey Akhunov, on the other hand, calls on us to stop and listen to the music that lives inside all of us, for there is nothing more vital or more wonderful. The composer allows these natural vibrations to resonate with the notes on the page in simple and seemingly unsophisticated ways. From the opening bars, there’s something familiar about his beautiful pieces; something you can trust immediately and wholeheartedly. You want to listen again and again, to play the music yourself so that you can truly get under its skin, to delve into the score and feast on the interweaving voices as if they were the features of a familiar, much-loved face. Soon, you recognize the truth behind the apparent simplicity of his work, and then you give yourself up wholly and willingly to the beauty of the music.

For all its contemporary relevance, it is from the simple, timeless concepts of love, compassion and a desire to live that Sergey Akhunov’s music draws its inspiration. Discovering his work has been one of the most remarkable experiences of my professional and creative life in recent years, and I have no doubt that it will feature in our repertoire for many years to come.

Ilya Ioff, translated by EclecticTranslations

Victor Hugo’s Blank Page

Sergey Akhunov - Victor Hugo’s Blank Page: Le quattro stagioni (La primavera)

His love for music started with the guitar, before shifting to music production using a digital audio workstation. Jazz and cinematic instrumental music are the two poles feeding his inspiration as a composer. Thus, virtual instruments are used to shape the soundscapes, sometimes still with a few live guitar touches. He acts as self-producer, mixing and mastering his own music. #soundtrack, #jazz, #classical, #neo-classical, #ambient

Son amour de la musique a débuté avec la guitare, pour ensuite se porter sur la production musicale à l’aide d’une station de travail audionumérique. Le jazz autant que la musique instrumentale cinématographique sont les deux pôles qui alimentent son inspiration en tant que compositeur. C’est à l’aide d’instruments virtuels que les environnements sonores prennent forme, avec parfois encore quelques touches de guitare. Il est son propre producteur, et réalise lui-même le mixage et le mastering de ses productions. #bandesonore, #jazz, #classique, #neo-classique, #ambiance

Randa

Christian Roberge

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