Kasha lz Topora has something of the cipher about it. In documenting his aural hallucination of a friends version of a traditional Russian tale, Alexey Devyanin is led towards hyperreal soundscapes that brood and spill. Well removed from the work displayed on his debut, Pofigiska, it is nonetheless an arena in which Devyanin plays expertly with textures and densities. Forms morph in a volcanic, though refined, manner, and strategically give way to micro-triggers and trickles of sound. It can, on no seldom occasion, verge on the chaotic, yet the production techniques ensure that it is never muddled.
“Kartoshka†and “Propolisâ€, in particular, see Devyanin’ sense of order revel in the bizarre; the former piece revolves around a peculiar fusion of mechanical rhythms with the gestural expressivity of baroque music; while the latter features plastic rhythms that slink through sedate pulses, topped with bombastic synth stabs, and malleable electronic squiggles. Indeed, the album all but teems with such ostentatious flourishes, from grizzled abstraction of near-cacophonous plastic rupturing to retrofitted harmonies and windswept, almost psychedelic droning mantras.
The traits buttressed on Devyanin’ previous work manage to shine through, too. On “Gagraâ€, for one, the focus is clearly placed on algorithmic loops, the steady manipulation of which renders the piece a monolith of clanking tones and atonal bursts. At eighteen tracks and over an hour in length, the results are not always so convincing, but Devyanin’ sensitivity to nuances and his ability to direct his hallucinations while not deflating them, ensures these works maintain a torchy aspect that is not altogether common.
Max Schaefer
