NOVEL23

Architectural effects

CD, Bip Hop

Friedrich Schellings old saying of “Architecture is frozen music” stands as a pinnacle underneath the plastic tray for the CD on this Digipak. And Roman Belousov aka Novel 23, a Russian electronic musician from Moscow, is out to proof that the reverse holds true also: music is liquid architecture. His compositions, produced on a combination of old Soviet synthesizers and modern computers, are structurally complex but also concrete, his melodies straight and worked into energetic lines as are the lines on the façade of a building. An interesting record on more than one level and an overall beautiful piece of music to listen to.

For this release on Bip Hop the same theoretical thoughts hold true as for the  CD by Si-Cut.db and Full Swing that has just come out on Bip Hop or any other release on that label. But Novel23 gives it away in the title his newest CD – it is all about structural elements and building complex forms out of more or less complex bricks and stones. He even uses architectural terminology to give names to his tracks. In how much he has used real buildings or architectural theories to compose and produce these ten tracks is beyond me. And even if I knew, it wouldn’t matter, because you can’t here it in the music. The parallels between electronic music and architecture are deeper, more structural and morphological than such obvious parallels.

In electronic music the differences between records are usually only in minor changes and movements, but to those who are interested and invocated, these evolutions are important steps and of great importance. Such a listener would find a lot of associations and connotations in the music of Novel23, especially in the way “older” electronic and synthie-sounds are being incorporated into the slightly off-beat electro-rhythms and blissful harmonies (it would be too much to speak about melodies). And really, Roman Belousov – for that is the real name of Novel 23, uses old soviet synthesizers in combination with modern computer audio technologies, to produce his tracks. The Eighties shine through each and every track like the sun through the cracks of an old wooden hut at a sunny day. Or maybe it is the nostalgic aspect evoked by the synthie-sounds. At some points I always expect an Eighties-dance-rhythm to start, some guitars to strum and Nick Kershaw or maybe even Limahl starting to sing. You remember these pop-singers? You are an old dude, dude.

Starting with track 4, “Viaduc”, he starts to bring in heavily vocoded voices as one more instrumental element. And yes, it reminds me of Kraftwerk in their more melodious or warmer songs, but then, I haven’t listened to Kraftwerk a lot lately, because there is so much other great music around. At some point listening to “architectural effects” you will get washed away by the cascades of keyboard sounds that come rolling on an never-ending board of synthie-drums. Some electronic music is able to bridge gaps between certain opposites, in this case decades. Whenever something harsher sets in, like the drumbeat on track 6, porticus of grotta, which come directly out of an Eighties disco-noise-track, it is almost instantly guarded and cloaked in more synthiesounds to take away the edges. Thereby the record as a whole gets a more unified feeling.

Roman Belousov has obviously been making music for years, and he has taken two years (2000-2002) to complete these tracks. Now, what do you know about the Russian electronica-scene? Nothing – well, here is a good place to start. In punkrock there is a certain interest to get to know punkrock from really far away places, even if the music is mediocre to say something nice. I think I never heard Russion punkrock as well, though I own a 7” with four Lithuanian punkbands. I haven’t yet sensed the same interest in obscure or far away music in electronic music, though there are of course enough examples to be found (e.g. Chinese Avantgarde and Noise Music). Is it because the listeners are younger? Or is there just too much music to get interested in anything that is hard to reach? Or is electronic music as a whole a genre too young to spark diverse interests? Anyway, this is a good record to listen to, regardless where the music comes from.

www.bip-hop.com

http://novel23.mu.ru 

10/2003