Suche:nocow zemlya

Zemlya (earth), the final installment of Nocow's three-part EP-series for Figure unearths the artist's maybe most drastic work to date. While opener Libbi still sprouts gently into crystalline arteries of ambiance, the incessant arps of Synchronicity loom ominously. Equally challenging, yet offering conciliation in form of string-led soothing is Rave Button, after which the record finds closure in the seemingly open-ended sound spiral of Troubles Will Be Miles Away.

After his latest ‘Youth EP’ that experimented with spacious vocal chops and whimsical soundscapes, Nocow returns with a relentless flurry of blows on the heavily computerized ‘Magnit EP’ released on npm. Featuring gloriously broken melodies and hard-hitting rhythm, Nocow explores the darker, more formulaic side to his sound. Brooding acid-infused synths shimmer across the four tracks, morphing between moods as the EP progresses. ‘Magnit S’ kicks off the EP with scattered bass hits, driving dark techno arpeggios, and a hint of footwork-esque percussion. The intense atmosphere is a relatively new direction for Nocow, straying from his more meticulous, introverted beats prior. ‘Kali’ incorporates warbled synth with a more subdued rhythm, playing with a modular sound and distant echoes of robotic vocals. This fragmented track is more akin to his 2018 sound of the Voda/Vozduh/Zemlya trilogy as the kinetics of sound play a strongly defined role in the overall sonics. ‘Sputnik’ commences with a blistering arpeggio of bit-crushed synth and chimes. The rocket-propelled pacing creates a frantic, yet ultimately controlled piece, worthy of a place in a club 300 years from now. Yet, after the frenzy comes the calm. The closing track ‘Extasy’ grinds the EP to a kaleidoscopic halt. Vocoder passages drift across the dense soundscape as Nocow transports you to an other-world, filled with spacey percussion. This closer is a well-deserved return to solid ground, following the perpetual trio of dark, yet utterly compelling techno pieces. Once again, Nocow exhibits his multi-faceted approach to electronic music that truly sets him apart.

Figure‘s newest addition to its catalog is Nocow‘s Ualldie EP, a vivid adventure following his trilogy Vozduh/Voda/Zemlya on the main label.

Nocow’s synths stand out once again, churning out melancholic grooves over five pieces, which showcase his abilty to mesh the psychedelic and the heavy, resulting in tracks both bittersweet and punishing.

It‘s a distinct Russianness, a yearning frozen within, which Nocow‘s cloud techno transports effectively using stereo panning, finely layered percussion and wide strings to paint his imaginative landscape.

Vozduh (air) marks the first in a series of EPs by Nocow for Figure, showcasing his emerging signature-style of Electronica-tinged techno. Drawing inspiration from the sheer endless winters of St. Petersburg, his series builds on classic IDM tropes, imbuing them with a noticably Russian and deeply personal sensitivity. As each part of the trilogy is represented by an element, the tracks on Vozduh are vaporous by nature: from the crackling ambiance of opener Bouis to the weightless vocals on stoic Forgiven, as well as a surprisingly introspec-tive take on ghetto-house or the wafting melodies closing out the record's B-side - all forms seem to be in con-stant shift, casting a dense yet permeable body of sound. With two more releases on the way, which will be exploring the themes of voda (water) and zemlya (earth) within this artist's singular spectrum, the outlook (which also includes a full- volume edition) on this approaching season is anything but gloomy.