Oleksandr Demianenko - In Memory Of... CS
heavyweight recycled paper j-cards
copper foil stamped artwork
recycled plastic cassette shells + cases
duplicated at a carbon-neutral facility
Though recorded before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022, Oleksandr Demianenkoโs ๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐... cassette very much serves as a meditation on the importance of preserving art, culture and roots at a time when war threatens to erase all of them. Dedicated to the memory of the late Olga Fedoseevna Sergeeva (1922-2002), a folk artist whose voice is featured in legendary director Andrei Tarkovskyโs 1983 film ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐โ๐๐, Demianenko immerses tape-looped snippets of Sergeevaโs singing - culled from field recordings made in her village - in layers of synthesizers and pedals. The result is an invocational auditory experience that, bridging the worlds of traditional folk music and modern ambient, coaxes Sergeevaโs spirit out of the past and into our tumultuous present. The fact that Demianenko used first-takes exclusively only intensifies the living presence already embedded in this striking music.
At the same time, ๐ผ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐... contains deeply personal dimensions for Demianenko. โAs a child, I spent a lot of time in my homeland. I often heard the folk singing of my grandmother and her friends,โ he says. โTo me, [this music] is also a fond memory of my childhood and adolescence in my native village in the forests of Ukraine.โ So while the pieces certainly exude theย aforementioned somberness, theyโre also gently pastoral and heartening reminders of a homeland and Demianenkoโs love for Ukraine.
Label: Enmossed \ Psychic Liberation
Genre:ย Experimental, Ambient
Released: 2022