Hi
everyone, we’re back again with a review of 3 tracks by our long-time
collaborator Константин Охотный. He’s the guy behind Tatu Mentu and
Man with a Dictaphone projects.
Константин Охотный (Konstantin Okhotniy, Kostantin the
Willing) is a funny pseudonym, as it’s a witty word play because it touches
upon the meaning of to be willing, to do something willingly and the popular and cheap Russian
trademark of high-alcohol beer “Охота Крепкое”
(Okhota Krepkoe, The Heavy Hunt). So the
name both means “Willing” and “Charged by high-alcohol beer”.
These 3
tracks were recorded in 2014—2015. The title
song “Ёжик” (The Hedgehog) tells a
scary story of an acid forest where all the animals are dying. “Such music has
no right to exist”, claimed a bystander whom we played this song.
“A green hedgehog runs away from the sun
He’s scared, the little one
That the sun will burn him down”
The lyrics are full of tongue-in-cheek
expressions about “animals”, being actually a fable, even kind of a parable.
There are 2 versions of this song, original and live. The original one was
recorded in 2014 and it was included in our annual sampler “We Could Have Been
Martians”. The live version as well as the rest of Константин Охотный’s songs was performed
during the First Meeting of Shadowplay City community in Moscow in 2015. It was
actually in Константин’s place. Константин plays acoustic guitar here while on the rest of the
songs I was accompanying him.
The song “Песня про мать” (A Song about Mother) tells a creepy story of a young alcohol addict
who forces his mother to go and buy him a bottle of cheap port wine by wasting
the last few money of her pension. Константин confessed he played this song earlier on the street, and he was
interrupted by a drunk gentleman who was offended by the songs, “because mother
is something sacred”, he said. We can only agree with him.
And the final track is a
pure improvisation, “Красная девица плывет в мою душу” (A Beautiful Girl
Swims into My Soul). There’s a little bit noise on the recorded, we didn’t add
it on purpose, but I believe it only adds some charm to this song.
Enjoy the special re-upload of these songs (mp3)!
Contact Константин Охотный (you may need to sign up)
Stay tuned! Sincerely
yours,
John “Grey Lenses” Grey