Artefacts by experimental music compilation from Russia

"Millennium", "Y2K" - these words were pronounced all around when this first compilation of Russian experimental electronic musicians has appeared. No doubt - it only happens once in a thousand years! In that time there were a lot of hopes and plans for the new era as well as thoughts about what should we take with us so that not to be ashamed to show it to 21st-century kids. Some took what they can: packs of yellow newspapers, bags of cheesy pop music etc. But some did not even think of any old rubbish. They merely created something that entered the new century quite naturally and organically.

Here is the background of the compilation: ART-TEK Records was founded in Moscow in 1994 by Roman Belavkin, also known as Solar X (Worm Interface, Defective Records, Art-Tek). It is about a mixture of Art and Technology, the music of "civilization achievements", physics and lyrics under one souse. The name of the label is reminiscent of the "Artek", soviet "pioneers" (boy-scouts) camp. The idea to become pioneers, voyagers, generating life sounds out of soulless technology wrapped in crazy formulae, quickly found a response among Roman's mates, who started doing experiments under the "nothing ordinary" slogan.

This will be not hyperbole to say that Art-Tek records became the first Russia and ex-USSR which started to produce experimental electronic music and spread it to the world. The sound of the label was usually associated by their fans with IDM, braindance, techno, jungle, ambient. The first tape-releases of the label were albums "Outre X Mer" by Solar X, "Biogenesis Resources" by Novel23, "In Dust Real" by J-Toonz, "Manzherok" by DJ Compass-Vrubell. It followed by CD re-release of Solar X "Xrated" album, which produced a tremendous impression on the Western press, who named ".former Soviet Union a goldmine of undiscovered talent" (The Wire, Apr.1997).

In 1999 Yura Moorush, who intended to start his own mu.ru label decided to join Roman to run the label together. The release of the "Artefacts" became their first compilation on the label with 13 participants from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Minsk, and Novosibirsk. They are Lazyfish, EU, Compass-Vrubell, Fizzarum, J-Toonz, Kustota, Ambidextrous, t.a.n.d.e.m, Panya, SCSI-9, Novel 23, Solar X.

These electronic heads demonstrated their discoveries in full color here. Search for new sound esthetic, unusual, and non- existent harmony was realized in a final shape. Each track proves its own right to be beyond the millennium line. It is a whole palette of synthesized colors, science, philosophy, aggression, tenderness. Gods from the machines, devils from the ashtray, ladies drinking vodka and morning stars. It is the happy end for the mathematics and humanitarians conflict.

Moscow-Nuremberg-London based music label producing experimental music from ex-USSR since 1994.

Label spirit by:
Roman Belavkin aka Solar X and Yura Moorush