Ne Tvoy Drug :: Veter EP (Mestnost)

Veter glides by like gentle snow falling in the heart of winter, with its melodies drifting past light technoid flutter and a crisp chill in the air.

Luminous soundscapes

As the aptly titled opener “Drift” attests, Veter (translated to wind) glides by like gentle snow falling in the heart of winter, with its melodies drifting with light technoid flutter and a crisp chill in the air. Alternatively depicted quite beautifully in the cover artwork by Rita Cherepanov featuring migratory birds that were considered an ideal metaphor for this time in Anton Ne Tvoy Drug’s life, which involved traveling from Moscow to Tbilisi and finally to Belgrade. Nonetheless, the subtle sputtering rhythms and micro-beats on Veter shift with comfort and control as Ne Tvoy Drug (aka Mestnost co-founder) seamlessly designs luminous soundscapes from one piece to the next.

While the bubbly pulse and glitter of “Blunsh” inadvertently floats away, “Dojd & Skate” threads old-school synth fabrics as weightless 4/4 beats continue to ooze through our speakers. Ne Tvoy Drug finds comfort in delicately woven audible moments; the ambient-electronic whirl of “Elektricheskaya Korobka” and saccharine pitter-patter of “Kamen” evoke earlier recordings by Plod, Plone, and even B. Fleischmann, where soft drums and velvet-like sonic lullabies transition with attention to every detail. And finally, soundtrack glitch and crunch flows on “Krug” bookends Veter, bringing this lush EP to an inevitable close, and one that we will listen to again and again.

Mixed by Kostya Kokokei.
Cover created by Rita Cherepanov.

Veter is available on Mestnost. [Bandcamp]