Sound that is perceived per se, with all its physical features and emotional effect on the listener, who perceives it as something subliminal, that goes under one’s skin without the need to rely on melody or harmony. Binmatu “is a ‘priest of sound’, delivering complex air pressure modulations towards ears, presenting certain degree of divine experience - connection with higher powers. Compared with regular priests, BINMATU uses visuals and sound - direct touch on a distance.” 

BINMATU @ NEXT festival 2012 from Jonas Gruska on Vimeo.

The project of Slovak sound artist Jonáš Gruska, who studies at the Institute of Sonology in the Haague, rather relies on the physical and mental experience of the sonic, its transforming powers and properties. It is an audiovisual project, which is best experienced in a live context, augmented by visuals and volume. The sound is strong and confident, a fluid medium, which defies stasis, and is never the same, simply “sound sounds, it isn’t”.

Crystylys is out now on Ukrainian label Kvitnu.

12z is an improvisational project from Budapest, whose regular weekly sessions in their Buda flat overlooking a park and the famous Gellert hill, have lead to a full-fledged album, recorded not in Budapest, but in a countryside hut. 12z’s Marci Kristof has told me that he doesn’t think music that is aimed at live contexts, should be statified on record. This has, nevertheless, happened now, surprisingly courtesy of the Budapest label Farbwechsel, which usually focuses on more 4/4 type of music. 

Their self-titled album is a psychedelic meddley, manouvering through various sonic territories - art/rock/ambient/free/jazz/experimental/electronics. A syneasthetic soundtrack to hazy faded afternoons, with a dash of Eastern nostalgia, but essentially, uncategorisable, and good that way.

The song-titles are onomatopoeic, such as “White Mountain Apache Knows No Fear”, and seemingly arbitrary, it’s instrumental music, in the end. The 16 tracks are diverse, and somehow, in spite of being recorded live and by a project that essentially, favours the fleeting rather than the material, it works. 

There are also more traditional “songs”on the album, such as “Reflecting Bean”, which features vocals.

You can listen to the interview with the band in our weekly Radio Wave show Vychodiska - in Czech, but featuring music here.  

The inherent lofi quality of bedroom-pop is often an alluring even if unwanted side-effect of the production process. This is also the enthralling aspect about the music of the young Slovak songwriter Katarina Kubošiová. She releases her stripped-down and bare skeletons of songs on Soundcloud under the moniker KataRzia. I asked her a few questions.

How did you start writing songs ?

I study film scriptwriting, but since I’m still unable to write a script, I started to write music. From my early teens I have been writing poems, terrible poems mostly about unhappy loves, and rarely about the happy ones. My songs are about the same thing though, with slight variations – about how I fuck up a romance, or someone else dumps me.

KataRziа’s texts revolve around little personal topics, part poetry and part almost childishly sincere snapshots of her day to day life, loves and relationships.

“The songs are snapshots, but I tend to work on each of them at least for a couple of days. The best moments to write are those when I suffer from outbursts of self-pity. Or when I’m in a café feeling alive after eating a huge chocolate candy. I might be childish, that’s why the texts are like that, but I’ve also been an adult for a long time, and my texts are adult too. Actually, I hate immaturity.”

What comes first ? Text or music ? How do you compose music ?

Text is always the first thing. Music is created separately. Later on I somehow merge them, rewrite the text to be sung and try to learn to play the song. I record it into my mac’s garage band through the shitty mic which is more suited for skype calls then music. I records several takes because one can’t understand a word from what I sing. I lost the ability to look objectively at my music. I believe it must sound horrible. Nevertheless it is the only thing I do that brings me joy (apart from ingesting carbohydrates). Especially when I play live. Those are the moments when I feel so much alive.

The attractivness of KataRzia’s music lies not only in her song and text-writing talents, but also in the imperfection of her sound. Reverb and layering of vocals are not meant as aesthetic devices but rather serve to camouflage the low quality and errors in the sound. Apart from using her guitar she also plays a transverse flute “it is hard to do harmonies with it and its hard work, it is too fragile and its perfection bothers me” and owns a violin “I tried to master it for two or three years, but only because I tried to seduce a folk violinist”. However, KataRzia’s live shows are just about vocals and the guitar.

“I play live only with a guitar and my voice because I do not own any mixer or looper. I dont even have a microphone cable or any amplifier. One day I get a looper though. But I’m in no hurry. If I would have the skills, I would write nu jazz or fusion jazz, but I’m dumb, and that’s why I do music like that. In a transcendental way it fills me up.”

What are your plans for the future ? Are you preparing a debut ?

I’m in the process of producing a record, but I don’t want to speak about it yet. I’m not writing music to get famous, or to earn money. I just wish that people who listen to it feel something and laugh, and understand they are not facing life alone. My problems are so banal against the real trouble. I think people might not be interested in listening to emotional outpours of some teenage girl anyway. However since there’s no war here and there are still some chocolate candies at hand, I write about Love, that cunning bitch.

In the future I want to seize and use the hidden comedy I feel inside me. To use it constructively to make people happy and not depressed. Tracks from last year are mostly sad, as it was a sad period, but it is getting better and the record will feature also “happy” songs. Jokingly I call them “hits”, but I do hope that at least some of them will be, because it has no big sense to do anything if not for the people. That’s how it is with any art, even though I don’t consider myself an artist. The fact that i do music is just a cosmic coincidence.

CS Industrial has recently started as a Facebook page digging out Czech and Slovak industrial and EBM tinged videos and tracks from the period between 1982 and 2010, in a way effectively creating an online archive documenting the birth of Czech and Slovak electronic scene, which considering the political and societal conditions at the time this music was made, is also an expression of the then zeitgeist. The industrial electronic scene, with its guttural alienated atmospheres and paranoid undercurrents in Czechoslovakia has always been strong.

CS Industrial in a step that is only natural, has just brought out its first bandcamp release by Quarantaine, a project that has caught my ear as soon as they posted it on FB. The original project “was ephemerous collaboration between Jaroslav Palat and Slavek Kwi, active in early 80ties in Prague, former Czechoslovakia.” Their album Lichtempfindlich was recorded in Prague in 1984 and self-published on cassette in 1985, is a manifesto of this “ephemeral” collaboration, which even after 30 years, stands the test of time. In a way, it reminds me of Smersh’s proto primitive electro/post punk experiments, with their rough around the edges, but maximally charming compositions, recorded every Monday and never replayed.

The Quarantaine album is a free download, so make sure to get it, while it’s there.

It’s almost exactly three years since we started this, our Eastern adventures, sonic explorations, meeting amazing people, listening to great musics, climbing up the Soviet monument in Varna with Жълти Стъклa, to visiting cold wave musician and artist Wojciech Bąkowski in his flat in Poznan, chatting to animal activist and artist Penka Popova in Plovdiv, and impromptu broadcasting from the great diy radio Kanal 103 in Skopje at midnight. this video, featuring some shaky footage from our travels, was made by our friends a while ago, maybe it’s time to post it finally ;) Thanks to Fundaluka for making it for us! <3