Ecstatic Lullaby [full colour sleeve, 180 grams]

Mikhail Chekalin

Record label
Gost Zvuk
Catalog Number
GAR001
Release Date
August 24th 2018
Genres

Tracks

playpostitleartistsduration
A1A Vocalise in Rapid4:21
A2The Destructive Dream Dance4:10
A3Sympho-Break '846:26
A4As If It Was Not From Here3:50
B1Ecstatic Lullaby5:28
B2Theme in 40sec0:40
B3Jazz Rock Vocalise4:18
B4A Passing Melody4:18
B5Sentimental Intermezzo1:02
B6Music 3 With Continuation5:15
C1A Piece in Jazz-Rock Mode4:16
C2Song Without Words4:37
C3Torn Page5:12
C4Dream Dance4:18
D1Naive Song3:02
D2Slavdom Psychedelic March2:37
D3Vocalise in Blues3:55
D4Farewell to the Music in the Style of Rock5:10

BARCODE: 8790001234000 For Russian electronic music, Mikhail Chekalin is not only a major character, who has affected the scene's establishment and development, but also a kind of symbolic figure. His music has been praised by many in the West - from journalists and critics of all kinds to Frank Zappa and Karlheinz Stockhausen, while in Moscow Chekalin's name was excluded from the official cultural agenda for a long time: he was accused of propaganda of foreign 'pro-Western' aesthetics and up until the end of the 80's wasn't allowed to release his works or travel abroad. This, however, didn't interfere with him recording dozens of innovative electronic compositions and contributing greatly to the development of unofficial Soviet art in general - for example, providing sound design for the famous exhibitions of 'Twenty Moscow Artists' on Malaya Gruzinskaya or arranging the first audiovisual performances on a specially constructed 'light organ'. However, just like all great artists, Mikhail himself prefers to focus not on personal achievements, but on creativity. 'I don't have a biography - only a discography' - this quote of the author may become an entry point of sorts into the compilation presented. This archival collection of works recorded within the period from 1978 to 1987 are Chekalin's multigenre experiments ranging from spatial music (in essence, ambient's precursor) to more contemporary synthesizer and post-symphonic compositions.