For all of those people who have closely been involving in Russian underground music, the name of Alexei Borisov is probably not the unknown one. The legendary musician, who started already at the beginning of 80s and whom with Peterburg legend late Sergey Kuryokhin are being considered as the pioneers of the Russian electronic music scene. He has played in the lineups of groups such as The Center, Notchnoi Prospect, F.R.U.I.T.S, and more recently Gosplan Trio and Volga. The list of his collaboration projects and performing at famous and influential electronic music festivals could go much longer and longer. Travelling through many styles (new wave, big-beat, industrial rock), and as a solo artist on the other hand his music has been more focused on the intense sound area – delving into minimal electronica, noise music, electroacoustic music, and industrial music in nowhere man land in a far corner somewhere.
The last album "Знамение Пресвятой Богородицы" was issued in collaboration with Russian underground poet and performance artist Alexei Rafiev, and released on the peripheral electronic music promoting netlabel Clinical Archives. Conceptually, the work is founded on the religious-historic grounds passing through the history of Russia - the story will begin with coming of Immanuel (St. Patrick), and the subordination of paganism to Christianity. In turn, it is closely interlaced with an emphasization of the messianic role of Russia stood up in fight against Anti-Christ. Waiting for the apocalypse in a wish to create a new world hereupon, and furthermore, there aren´t left any doubts to be supposed which country should be enlightening it (Ольга). The vices being viewable in the second track Стон города – the narcotics, pornography, bureaucracy amongst other – will have washed away. In comparison with the repertoire of Volga which consists mainly of a blend of the Russian epic songs (bylinas) and softly sounding electronic the ЗПБ is directed more toward very inside viewing topics – abstract electronic music which gets affected by religious and mystical word is demonstrating prodigious aptitude to go into human soul, evoking a sense of eternity in the listeners. Indeed, the voice of Alexei Rafiev is very persuasive, coercing me to draw parallels with Blixa Bargeld (moreover, at the times it seems to me as if the teuton man is chanting in Russian, though, without the bursts of screams).
It is an very specific and tough album deluged with obscure religious mysticism, thereby allowing the listeners to distance from “habitual” music and ferial problems. The masterpiece by any means of electronic music.
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9.2
