Nervöse Leute — Retrowelle (2022)

 

Hi everyone, we're happy to announce that Nervöse Leute have reunited in an original lineup to release an EP "Retrowelle".

This is indeed a retrowave EP with gentle minimal synth sound. Pure 80's flavor! All music has been written by Vladimir Laznev, and I picked and mixed the samples and also shot a cover picture.

The picture was taken in Petrozavodsk, one of the most depressing cities I ever visited.

But Nervöse Leute has always had a creepy part, and this time all the creepy stuff comes from the samples I used. Guess you know a meme about "I May Not Know My Flowers", that's how the title track's called, and you may know the funny movie "The Gay Deceivers" from which it comes from, but the creepy part is that in Russia you gotta be really careful when joking about gays. Certainly you may hurt their feelings, but there's also notorios "Gay Propaganda Law" oficially banning any coverage of the topic. To be fair, there's nothing in the samples which could be considered as propaganda: a joke's a joke. But if you know the origin of this joke, you sort of know the subtext and context, and you're, like: "Yeah it's something which may be banned in here, alright".

Alright, we're moving on. The second track also features creepy samples. "Why Tragedy in My Life?" is a title of an old YouTube video where an old lad tells and comments on the story from The Bible and discusses the topic of tragedy as part of God's Providnece. "God permits tragedy to get your attention", the old guy says. And here comes the creepy part: this is Edarem himself, a musthave in any "Top Creepy Old School YouTubers" list. Edarem was condemned for a really tough crime, and he was prohibited to use Internet, but he did use it to publish his videos, and it ended in second inprisonment; so he died in a prison hospital quite soon after that. He's creepy and what he says is creepy: someone has to die just to make me "pay attention" to God? No, thank you, sir.

The third track is titled "You Look Depressed", the samples were taken from some tape from the 90's with lessons of English. Nervöse Leute have always been keen on using analogue samples, tapes, etc., and this is the case. The thing is that overall mood of the tape is kind of blaming the listener for being a homebody, for being non-social and depressed as if it's a bad thing. You gotta go out, you gotta watch TV to be "up to date", you gotta meet people you dislike just to remain a normal guy in their eyes. Actually, it's about shaming of depression and other psychiatric issues.

The final track has shortwave (Nervöse Leute's hobby horse) samples of a radio show discussing Covid-19 and Omicron in general. It's just the feature of the time. We're having disastrous numbers of Covid victims here in Russia, kids get sick and die, children's hospitals have no vacant places, etc. It's horrorful when you look at the amount of victims of the pandemic. 

Well, we're proud of our work, I must admit. Nervöse Leute change, but remain truthful to their ideology. Let's see if we go on exploring creepy terrotories.

Check out the EP here: 

Stay tuned!

Sincerely yours,

John "Grey Lenses" Grey

VA — ColdSpot Muzak (2017)

Hi everyone, we've just released our new annual sampler, and here's the information about it!

TL;DR? Then check out the video version!

 

It's called "ColdSpot Muzak", and even the title can already tell you a lot. Cold spot is a place in space which is extremely cold (well, that was obvious). It's a relict of very ancient times, and it may be a sign of presence of another universe or a "great void" — such a perfect term for us.

Moreover, "cold spot" is opposite to "hot spot", which is associated with electronics, so it can give you a sign that the sampler is purely electronic and minimalistic.

And "Muzak" might imply irony, and it's actually a sardonic word: this is background music which wasn't meant to be background music, this is the music listeners never pay attention to.

The cover also follows this "Coldspot" strategy, this picture was taken by me in Northern Russia about a year ago.

OK, let's check out the tracklist. We begin with my remix of a song "Money" by Пророк СанБой. It's rather enegry-filled track you can even dance to, and the lyrics are actually a nursery rhyme "Work While You Work" sang with significant accent. The intention of adding a chorus "Oh, money" is unclear to me, though I realize it has some sense. Our collaboration goes on, so maybe one day we'll release the 2nd album of remixes.

The second track is a new electronic song by Лосины Маршала Потемкина. This project exists as a real band for several months now, and the live sound differs greatly from what you can hear on "recordings". Anyway, fortunately, we play live quite frequently, so you can also check out our live sound. The song "Рив гош" ("Rive Gauche") tells a story about irritation connected with constant visits paid by narrator's interlocutor to Rive Gauche (fancy cosmetics store). There was also a song with similar name, so Лосины... tend to deconstruct it by humor, and its humor is based on a pointe (wendepunkt), an unexpected turning point, so if you study Russian culture and language, you might enjoy it.

The third track is a sound collage by Nervoese Leute "I'm Allergic to Music" (opposition to music / melodies has always been important to us), which can also be found on a tape split (still available for purchase!). This project is also developing and may even see its live debut soon!

Then goes the very first appearance on our releases: the artist's name is Jo Har Key, and the track is my mix of his 2000 song "Виктория" ("Victoria") is a superb synthpop recorded using analogue equipment.

Our friend from Moscow Hipstor Smith recorded an instrumental "My Favourite Dance Machine" especially for the sampler!

The next track is a very interesting electronic work filled with Soviet speech samples. It's called "Другие миры" ("The Other Worlds"), and the project which released it, is called "Диспозиция Линча" ("Lynch's Disposition"). Thorough work with samples, pads and synths makes its sound so profound.

Then goes surprisingly noisy track by Snowbringer:

And the final track is by project Concern Void, its it's 2nd song, and I want to believe, this project will go on. It's called "In Disguise", and you may consider it as both our manifesto and a lamentation.

Hope you like our new sampler!

Sincerely yours,
John "Grey Lenses" Grey

Acid Socks — Good (2016)

Hi everyone, we’re back with the new release, the 2^nd EP by Acid Socks, “Good”.

Photos by Pavel Chainichkov

Their 1^st EP was released in 2013, after that Socks were not active, and recently they were revived and participated in our sampler “In Vacuo”.

I think I should tell you what the name “Acid Socks” means. It actually means the color of the socks of the founder of this project, green, “acid”; nobody had such socks: that’s why the founder chose such name: something which makes you different.

We can be different

That’s what makes us good
 

Says the speech robot in the title track “Good”. The music for this EP was recorded by Acid Socks in 2009—2013, and remixed in 2015—2016 by me. I also contributed English lyrics and vocals and created samples using previously mentioned speech robot. The photos for covers were contributed on the courtesy of our long-time collaborator photographer Pavel Chainichkov; it’s also from his album of impressions of Southern Russia.

Every track of this EP was made in a different style: “Good” provides solid electro while “Still a Factory”, previously released on “In Vacuo” is something little more melodramatic in its 2^nd part.
 

The third track, “Low Speed”, is the only song here. It’s some very, very lo-fi garage post-punk, the music is not even in stereo. Acid Socks, as far as I’m concerned, used standard “garage rock band” equipment consisting of a drum kit, bass and electric guitar. I applied heavily the variety of effects trying to master my production skills to make it sound “wickedly” to fit the lyrics.

Is that unfair:

Things we’ve repaired

Are breaking again,

Breaking so fast

The lyrics are mainly about Nikolay Stavrogin, fictional character created by Dostoevsky in his novel “The Possessed”, the lyrics touch upon his suicidal way of life, tendency to play suicidal games, desperately craving for “raising the bets”. That’s what the chorus is about:

Reasons vary

No reason why

The speed is still low

We need to speed up

The reasons are actually “reasons to die”. The novel portrays several ideologists who have very different reasons to live and end up that way, although everybody has similar tragic “result”.
 

The final track “The Harbor” is an impression of visiting the harbor, it’s reading of a poem with some cinematic piano sounds and seagulls’ samples. Interestingly that Acid Socks were inspired by Aivazovsky’s picture of the harbor, while I was inspired by actual harbor when I was writing the poem.

Visiting the harbor, witnessing the grace

This world is actually an abandoned place

Ghostly and eluding, everything is gone

I am so confused now, don’t you see: I’m stunned

Dreams are dying quickly, touching this cold sea

I am trembling here, don’t you see?

Endings and beginnings, heads and tails

Help me now to leave these mysterious ways

This EP is very short but important to us. Hope you find it interesting! Stay tuned!

Download for free from BandCamp (lossless)

Or check out YouTube playlist

Yours sincerely,

John “Grey Lenses” Grey

VA — Music to Play with an Axe (2016) (rec. 2011—2015)

Hi everyone, we’re happy to announce that finally we managed to release the physical tape of our “Best of”. This C90 compilation includes 27 tracks, released in the web in 2011—2015. This very limited edition (50 copies) is “almost totally handmade”.

Design & photo by Hipstor Smith

If you want to get a copy or even more, feel free to post a comment or write to Hipstor Smith, the coordinator of this project (you may need to sign up). Unfortunately, tapes are not free, but I believe that price won’t be much higher than postal costs. If you’re a member of Russian social network VK, you may win a copy if you take part in the repost contest!

In the tracklist, you will find songs by artists about whom you might have already read in our blog, like Лосины Маршала Потемкина, Grey Lenses, Acid Socks, Hipstor Smith, Nervoese Leute, Man With a Dictaphone, as well as by artists about whom we haven’t written a post yet, like Алёна Кидун, Константин Охотный (a side project of Man with a Dictaphone), Шумотрон and Concern Void (a band which released only 1 song).

The music varies from Russian neofolk to lo-fi synthpop, from ambient to post-industrial.

The tapes and tape boxes were manually painted black, check out the enormous amount of care we invested in this release!

Design by Hipstor Smith

 We hope this is only the first physical release, and the next will follow soon!

Sincerely yours,

John “Grey Lenses” Grey

Grey Lenses – Motivating Tunes (2016)

Hello again, we’re back with my brand new EP "Motivating Tunes", released less than 2 weeks ago! I’m proud to announce this release has solemn “CV 20” mark, as it’s 20^th release of our Concern Void Records informal label.

Mostly this post is about informing you about the news, as it’s kinda hard to review a record which has been released almost yesterday.

I recorded this EP in late 2015, the album cover again shows snow in my native Siberian town, but this time the snow gets dirty, as well as the sound goes harsher, with more noises – and it represents what (in my opinion) a noise-pop record should sound like.

Actually, additional noises is the only major change, this is still minimalistic, “cold” EP inspired by our ruthless winter, a lo-fi minimal synth which I wanted to be as “icy” as it was a year ago on my previous EP.

The title track, “Cell” has its roots in the very early times of my existence as “Grey Lenses”, a metaphor of being put in a cell where the only thing you could do is beating its walls by your own head (this is what the noises in the interlude are supposed to express). This image got stuck in my mind for years, and finally I found courage to express my feelings in the song. Moreover, it’s a humble tribute to one of my favorites, a song “White Cell” by Clock DVA; also it was partially inspired by Coil’s “Cold Cell”, but I tried to express feelings and thoughts without any quotes or tendencies to sound alike, to resemble, and to remind of these songs.

Teach me, mother’s little helper,

‘cause my patience’s growing thinner

Things are still the same: “forced” sense of guilt, lack of “metaphysical” freedom (something what the Underground Man constantly craved for). The lines

I reject to make a fortune

If we’re fortunate with none

Are about famous poem “How Fortunate the Man With None” by Berthold Brecht, also known for its interpretation by the legendary Dead Can Dance.

The second song, “The Windstorm”, is mostly inspired by winter, the cruel wind in the Siberian plain, the blizzard, etc. (noises again serve their purpose), but it also touches upon some topics which I found bothering me again and again, like the poseur suicide, this time about the story of a “brave just for a day” German philosopher Philipp Mainlaender who hanged himself by jumping from the pile of copies of his freshly published book “The Philosophy of Redemption”:

Why does the salvation come too late?

Why do we think our doings were that great?

And then I reflect everything on me and see myself as a web-partisan hiding behind the mask for these long years, which is corresponding with an ad of Laibach’s app which should be downloaded to help me “be a better partisan”. An image of Sisyphus and a novella by Akutagawa, “Dialogue in the Dark”, are also mentioned in this song.

The third song, “Curiosity (Lead Masks)” is a topical song about a creepy story occurred in 1960’s in Brazil. Having read about this story, I was shocked for its desperately tragic character, almost cathartic and sacrificial, while it is most likely to be a murder for money. Such examples teach us that sometimes it is better not to have faith at all than to trust that much.

The final test of your belief

A secret mission of New Dark Age.

How much would you pay for curiosity?

The motive of climbing a hill repeats here and in the previous song, the state of “climbing up” is what I’m currently trying to do, and I experience certain difficulties connected with it.

The final track, “External Approval”, is about motivation and dependence from others’ points of view, about lack of confidence in order not to overestimate myself; and also about the tendency to hold my ambitions. The final words have also been in my head for a long, long time, and finally found their expression. The line “I’d like to hear a new noise” nods towards Tuxedomoon’s “What Use”, which, I dare to say, has quite a similar mood.

Download for free from BandCamp:



 

Or listen to YouTube playlist 

Well, that’s it, I hope you like my new EP. Anyway, your feedback is desperately needed! Please recommend this EP to your friends if you like it. Remember that I need you and

Remain, yours sincerely,

John “Grey Lenses” Grey

Grey Lenses – Perfect Conditions (2015)

 Despite the fact it’s rather hard to review my own records, I’ll try to write about my recent EP “Perfect Conditions”.

I picked the name “Grey Lenses” in 2008 for a band we planned to form with my mate, we were inspired by Iggy Pop, PIL, Joy Division and wanted to play something similar, but there was a problem: we lived in a quite small town, Internet was relatively expensive back then, so almost nobody who was rehearsing in garages didn’t know these bands, everybody played pop-punk and metalcore, so we simply couldn’t persuade anyone to play something different, and our enthusiasm had grown thin, though I had a notebook full of lyrics.

So, I was left alone at some moment and “Grey Lenses” became only my pseudonym, I tried to record stuff using this moniker in 2008, but I wasn’t satisfied with the result, so I didn’t even show most of these songs to most of my friends.

After that, I was involved in various creative activities, but I didn’t release any serious songs as “Grey Lenses” until this year. If you read one of my previous posts, you might know I participated in a project named “Acid Socks”, but it was put on hiatus, and I had to go on working alone. I started to work on this EP in 2014 and released it in early 2015. It can be extremely cold in a town I live in, so I tried to make this EP as cold as possible, and some listeners told me I managed to create such sound.

I found the title “Perfect Conditions” in the Bible, I really liked this quote:

“If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done” (Ecc 11:4)

Sorry for a personal detail, but I’m a very melancholic man, so I often need to be encouraged, and this quote encouraged me, I realized I can’t wait anymore, it’s time to act now!

And I recorded this EP. “Perfect Conditions” can be described as lo-fi minimal synth with low range vocals, although some purists said it’s not “proper” minimal synth – well, ok, I actually wanted to create original sound with more ambience and “cinematic” feeling of suspense, and I hope I succeeded :)

“The Follower”, the title track, is about the fear of being trapped by idols I created, the fear of committing a poseur suicide like some crazy fans did.

“Got rid from the dreary visions,

Woke up right at 5 AM

You acted with great precision

The ritual has turned to slam.

Can you prevent me from following you?

I am afraid I’ll end up just like you”

And from the “relationships” with dead poets, idols, EP moves to relationship with mates (“The Teammate”) which portrays a figure of helpless outsider “waiting for a guide”, like one of my “idols” said:

“Help me to pass this test:

I am tired to be the last

Apathy I had to face

Is covered with layers of rust”

The third song, “My Goal Can’t Be Reached”, is about a dull evening in a small town, where “there’s nothing to do”, nothing can be done, nothing can be changed, etc.:

“I have to spit on my own grave;

Something has faded from my field of view.

My goal can’t be reached,

And there’s nothing to do”

And yeah, “the sly man” is the same sly man which was mentioned by Blue Orchids in their awesome “Low Profile” song, I think you know it’s from Gurdgieff’s works.

The final track – “Artificial Crimes” – is an insomniac cry of despair, cry of fear of infernal visions in Ivan Karamazov’s manner, and also an insight that “things must change” mixed with the feeling of shame / regret for not having any faith:

“I feel like I’m disabled in some spiritual way

I’ve lived in a hurry, so thirsty for time,

And now the time has come for these few crucial days:

It’s time to stop suffering from artificial crimes”

The title, “Artificial Crimes”, was inspired by a work by Russian philosopher Lev Shestov (Camus mentioned him in his famous essay), who, if I’m correct (I forgot the certain quote), wrote something like: “What if Raskolnikov didn’t commit his crime, what if his crime was artificial?”, and I thought: it’s such a similar situation, I know I didn’t commit any crime, but I’m treated like if I did.

Well, enough talking, just listen to this EP!


 

Or check out SoundCloud or YouTube playlist of "Perfect Conditions"

Sincerely yours,

John “Grey Lenses” Grey