Something along the lines of :Wumpscut:, yet the focus on blackness is stripped down to a bare minimum. Olegh K. has proven to be one of the Ukraine’s best electronic exports, whether it be in the form of his early work under the guise of Ostarbeiter, to his astounding work as First Human Ferro, to this. Originally released under the Strum label back in 2004, this disc is now out in decent force at 500 pro-copies. My comparison to Rudy Ratzinger’s stuff comes from the obvious heavy percussion that is the backbone of the work, the unique sounds [which immediately gains my respect], and also the open and well-placed ambient moments.
Similarities withstanding, Rudy has a style so distinctive, that he manages to be a world unto himself in a scene of irritatingly accurate carbon copies. This is where the divergence between Olegh (UA) and Mr. Ratzinger begins, because even though Mr. Kolyada is awash in ability and drive, he is something else in the way that he has no particular style, yet his work HAS style. Not very common, that. The tracks here are generously composed, meaning that for the most part, we are granted fair representations of a sonic spectrum, lows in the form of the kick drums that are not rigid enough to be forgettable “dance” tracks, mids and highs coming from synthesis giving unexampled results. Interestingly, some of the percussive sounds come from the older approach of metal on metal, true to Industrial itself.
Standout tracks include “Novirze” which makes great use of what sounds to me like a sample of some traditional Armenian music, which automatically incited thoughts of Einsturzende Neubauten and their classic “Armenia”, but this one is nowhere near as deathly serious. There are Power Electronics moments, some might say better than Ostarbeiter, as with “Vārda Teritorija [mech.]“. “Kontrole” is great, building up from a synth kick beat sequence that gets added to gradually. “TV-Alhalla” though, is the one that stayed with me the most, as this one has a terrific piano loop to it over noises, no percussion focus, just something beautiful. Though this is a collection of respectable, yet still unconventional dance material, there is something ritualistic about it. I don’t get the feeling these tracks were made to be some packed German fetish club’s anthemic soundtrack, but they will wake you up, get you going, even though most tracks have a melancholic tone. Very much worth rediscovering, and a good deed on Old Captain’s part for re-releasing the work.
Track List:
1 Melnzeme [hxg]
2 …azarts…
3 Rotaļlaukums
4 sLaVe [strādā, perc, mirsti.]
5 Novirze
6 …deport…
7 Vārda Teritorija [mech.]
8 Vārda Teritorija [verb.]
9 Kā Rūdījās Bernība
10 Tetan [8]
11 Slepenie Rotaļlaukumi
12 ..Ar Pirmajām Asinīm
13 Kontrole
14 Nekusties!
15 TV-Alhalla
16 Korpusi (Feat. Barodarho)
Rating: 4/5
Written by: Rexington Steel
Label: Old Captain (Ukraine) / OCCD02 / CD
Dark Ambient / Rhythmic Industrial
