Well, this is rather lovely, Moscow's Sergey Luginin - Growing Bin Records mastering engineer of choice - steps out of the engineering room and hops into Studio A to record 'Four Amazing Tracks" with Simple Symmetry brothers Sasha & Sergey and the DJ & photographer Ivan Pustovalov as Lilipulu. Assembled under the premise of some simple edits and an afternoon stroll through the nearby Elk Forest, Luginin's collaborators quickly leaned into his vision for a series of improvised, genre-hopping experiments for all of us, young and old.
Side A:
On "A1", Lilipulu stack poly-rhythmic percussion, fuzzy electronics, resonant bell tones and squelchy squelches into a hypnotic, consciousness-altering technoscape, before switching up towards a more guitar-led post-punk stylee on "A2". Clean, angular melodies, a motorik drum kit chug and faint, learning vocals floating in momentum, not unlike a trip through the European countryside by steam-train. Later on, extra percussion, extra tension, gorgeous release.
Side B:
"B1" kicks off with a big beat groove that reminds me of a psyched-up version of "Sons & Daughters" by The Neville Brothers, but with more cosmic herbs and spices bubbling up under a sturdy rhythm. Next, timely bursts of fuzzy guitar, spacious synth-swirls, and an odd, weirdly formless melody. Rinse and repeat until you arrive at the cafe at the end of the universe. Over on "B2" nature field recordings dance delicately against calming synth superstructures and a faint, half-remembered lullaby that could come straight out of Twin Peaks. If you start with a bang, while not end with some listless, languid calm. Yet more Top Stuff from Growing Bin Records.
"Four Amazing Tracks" is out now through Growing Bin Records in 12" EP format (order here)