Although this album is set in space, its aural compositions combine technoid patterns, braindance, IDM, ambient, downtempo, and microscopic grooves with brittle melodic components that, in this limited edition cassette and digital release, manage to function nicely together here on Planet Earth.
Both intriguing and challenging
According to the liner notes, “The Soviet film I Was a Satellite of the Sun, released after the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite, made such a huge impression on Alexander Yella Gin that it even motivated him to create an album of the same name.” Although this album is set in space, its aural compositions combine technoid patterns, braindance, IDM, ambient, downtempo, and microscopic grooves with brittle melodic components that, in this limited edition cassette and digital release, manage to function nicely together here on Planet Earth.
The fuzzy, nostalgic parts (“Amritas Juice,” “9999 in 1”) appear esoteric, yet they transport us back to the late 90s, when IDM was first energized by basement musicians. On tracks like “I Eat What I Cook” and “Oluh Tsarya Nebesnogo,” there are bubbling electronics that seep into the mix. The album seems to start off on a slower sound trajectory before the tunes eventually pick up speed. Full of abstract frequencies and a wide range of found sounds, I Was a Satellite of the Sun is both intriguing and challenging, perfectly capturing the idea that “space is the key theme.”
I Was a Satellite of the Sun is available on Mestnost. [Bandcamp]
