Krebs, 833-45, russian netlabels

A new release by Kreb's alter-ego 833-45 gives me a chance to mention him again and also to repoint people to some labels I mentioned in an old notes.

At the base link, Net Audio provides access to three netlabels which are based in Russia. Electrosound (up to 41 releases) is a varied electronic label, featuring mainly local acts. Broad in range it is an interesting one to keep an eye on. Share my wings seems mainly electronica and rock, and to be honest I haven't explored this one yet. Musica Excentrica is the final element and presents less mainstream music (self-described as 'avantegarde post-music in non-entertainment genres') it has also featured more non-Russian names - Philip Samartzis, Joe Colley/Jessica Rylan/Kevin Drumm, Kenneth Kirschner, Kim Cascone, plus more on a couple of compilations - and some better known Russian ones (CD-R, Species of Fishes and Alexei Borisov) and the 12 releases to date are a diverse and exciting collection.

The latest of which is 833-45's Tunguska, a 16 track album that is now available. I know Krebs is very excited by this release which he sees as a culmination of the 833-45 sound. This is a combination of harsher, edgy glitch ambient electronica often with samples in the background - voices speaking, the wonderful Conet recordings - over which a delicious electronica plays created from crackles, tones, small sounds and some beats. It opens with Outremer, a harsh buzzing, arctic winds: the buzz breaks into a sort of beat, fast hihat joins in, some clicks, a crackling voicelike shimmering: short tonal highlights are a sampled melody, a voice in the mix as it builds intensity: it bubbles along, with a sampling almost buried before fading into an electric wind and crowd noises. These continue into Laldaboath where a choir of strained scraping notes ebbs and flows in an industrial soundscape, voices sliding into a gentler ambience that again continues into Outermost sphere that becomes pulsating unsteady radio buzzes with more distant galactic radio shows hidden within (we can see two working themes here - tracks that meld together and the undercurrent of voicesounds). Amethyst is a harsh buzzing colony of tones rising and falling against each other. A bit further in, and Alamut is a recording of a lost orchestra broadcasting into the ether, while a Beacon pulses under gentle developing electronica while drills build a pulsating force that builds and then fades away leaving chattering bleeps and layered people. The Conet is strong in Surrounded by halos, accompanied by drifting sheet metal ambience. And so on through this strong and varied album that shifts between harsh edged and drifting ambience, some beated techno and lyricism, and totally listenable. Beautifully balanced, Kreb's is justifiably proud of this one. Drop over to Russia and pick it up.

(And this is NOT a Russian rip-off MP3 site, but a portal to some great music)