Memory Tapes by X.Y.R.

Vladimir Karpov from St. Petersburg is an electronic musician and producer who performs under the pseudonym X.Y.R. Synthesizer passages performed by X.Y.R. bring to mind desolate landscapes, lost worlds and labyrinths of inner kingdoms. Many of the works are set in a meditative mood and completely immersing the sensitive listener in a state of hypnosis.

More than ten years ago, Vladimir got his first synthesizer - the Soviet "Formanta", which started his musical career. In his work X.Y.R. prefers soft tones, wave-like ambient and soothing mystery of the new age, and his playlist includes, for example, releases on the Californian label Not Not Fun or Oakland's Constellation Tatsu.

Karpov's synthesizer melodies are distorted in a mirage landscape, and enveloping vibrations emanating from various guitar pedals twist in the air like snakes. Not surprisingly, the abbreviation X.Y.R. stands for "
"Xram Yedinennogo Razmuwlenuja" (Temple of United Thought) - that's how the hero of "Dead Souls" landowner Manilov calls the deserted pavilion where he indulges in lonely dreams. Similarly, the music of the St. Petersburg musician, which inspires, soothes, and sometimes disturbs, has a lonely character.

X.Y.R. said:

"Somehow I came across one picture with pencil sketches from a series of pastel posters with inscriptions in the spirit of "Life is for deep kisses, strange adventures, midnight swims & rambling conversations". Everyone wrote what life is for, and the idea came to make such an album, where each track is like a memory of pleasant moments, like a reminder of what life is for, and not that's all that's happening now."

Tracklist

1.	big dreams	2:56

2.	strange adventures	4:40

3.	midnite swims	4:08

4.	wildflowers	3:53

5.	deep kisses	4:23

6.	rambling conversations	4:52

7.	heartbreakers	5:36

8.	rybinsk lake shelter	4:37

9.	happy thoughts	6:24

Credits

released June 2, 2023

Mastered by Evgeny Shchukin
Cover made by Maxim Ivshin
vk.com/graffictraffic based on old film footage.
The release is available digitally and on cassette.

License

CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. See the Creative Commons website for details.