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Various Artists, Electric Funeral Cafe Vol. 3: Journeys End and Begin

Posted in Reviews on January 17th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

electric funeral cafe vol 3

Look. The thing is immense. One can barely hope to give a decent accounting of a compilation in a review in the easiest of scenarios, but to attempt to sum up the scope of Robustfellow ProductionsElectric Funeral Cafe Vol. 3, which spans three CDs in its physical incarnation and tops out at an astonishing 48 tracks and four-plus hours of listening material when the digital bonus tracks are included from the Bandcamp version, the idea itself becomes silly. All one can really do is the same thing the listener likely does: make your way through it at your own pace, try to absorb as much as you can, and step back to admire the incredible amount of coordinating effort that must have gone into its making.

The latter is particularly impressive as what’s been touted as the final installment of the Kiev-based Robustfellow‘s Electric Funeral Cafe trilogy — nothing like going out with a bang — is bigger even than its predecessors, which came out in 2016 and 2015 and were “only” two discs apiece. The first two were broken down into component Electric and Funeral halves, arranged along this theme by discs. This edition works much the same way, with the Electric discs more focused on heavy rock and the Funeral disc dug into dirge-style doom and sludge, but adds the Cafe disc, on which one might be hear the Beatles-gone-electro-pop psych of Black Maloka, the Creedence Clearwater Revival-style boogie of Freeky Clean or the pure Doorsian meandering of The Jossers, along with more familiar names like Krobak (a Stoned Jesus side-project) or The Legendary Flower Punk (a The Grand Astoria side-project).

As with the earlier volumes, the bulk of the inclusions here highlight the underground boom in the Ukraine itself. 38 of the total 48 groups involved hail from the Ukraine. Two more are from Russia (The Legendary Flower Punk and A Foggy Realm, also on the Cafe disc), and one each from Japan (Eternal Elysium, on the Electric disc), Finland (Loinen, Funeral disc), the US (Contra, Electric), Sweden (Suffer Yourself, Funeral), Belarus (Nebulae Come Sweet, Funeral), the UK (Sons of Alpha Centauri, Cafe), and Italy (Le Scimmie, Funeral). It’s easy to get lost in the sprawl of a release like this, certainly, but worth noting all the same that this is the first of the Electric Funeral Cafe offerings to branch outside the Ukraine itself, so even as Robustfellow ends the series, it does so by reaching into new territories, making the project all the more impressive. One imagines that if the label kept it going, it would only continue to grow.

ELECTRIC FUNERAL CAFE POSTER

Not that it’s lacking in its current form, of course. Pick your poison and it’s likely here somewhere, from the progressive heavy vibes of Stonefromthesky and Ethereal Riffian on the Electric disc to the deathly chug of Chainsaw Jack‘s “Crashing Waves” and post-hardcore-sludge of Nebulae Come Sweet on the Funeral disc to the ’90s-style psych of Vermilion Nocturne and beat-backed drone of Submatukana‘s “Genesis” — which boasts a sampled Bible reading amid creepy whispered vocals — on the Cafe disc. There are, of course, a host of bands here who aren’t so easily fit into one category or another, as Dreadnought foreshadow on the Electric disc some of the screaming that will be a running theme throughout most of the Funeral disc, and the huge Ufomammut-style roll, push and echoes of Soom on Funeral do likewise for Cafe, but each piece of Electric Funeral Cafe Vol. 3 offers something distinct from the others, and so the themes are not only ably established, but solidified while jumping from band to band, city to city, country to county, atmosphere to atmosphere.

And as ever for a worthy various-artists release, Electric Funeral Cafe Vol. 3 presents a number of curios warranting further investigation. In particular, Lviv’s 1914, who lead off the Funeral disc with “8×50 mm Repetiergewehr M95” would seem to have a fixation with WWI — remind me to tell you sometime about how it was the fall of Western Civilization; unless you’re European, in which case you already know — and Lucifer Rising on the Electric disc blend modern buzz tone with classic blues rock thrust, but there are a swath of such interest-piquers as the comp plays out, and the real challenge lies in not being overwhelmed by all of it.

Much to the credit of Robustfellow and to the benefit of the acts contributing, everyone is given a genuine chance to ply their sonic wares, whether that’s a sub-three-minute death-doom rumbler like Monmuth‘s “Vail Seven” or the nine-minute heavy post-rock rollout of Stonefromthesky‘s “67,” which makes sense in a if-you’re-going-to-do-it-and-it’s-already-huge-then-don’t-skimp kind of way, and if the tradeoff for that is there’s a lot of music to dig into, it’s the kind of issue a listener should probably be thankful to take on, even if it requires multiple rounds to get through the front-to-back experience — a four-hour listening session is a rare gift in these busy times. Bottom line is Electric Funeral Cafe Vol. 3 will be there, whether one wants to take it as a whole or in pieces — as a document of Ukrainian heavy, yes, but also the scene’s will to reach outside itself and include others in a creative conversation — and as that movement continues to flourish and progress, such an impulse can only help broaden a scope already shown here to be considerable. And by considerable, I mean staggering.

Various Artists, Electric Funeral Cafe Vol. 3 (2017)

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Electric Funeral Cafe Vol. 3 Compilation Due Next Month

Posted in Whathaveyou on December 14th, 2016 by JJ Koczan

If you’ve had the chance to check out the prior two installments of Robustfellow Productions‘ compilation series Electric Funeral Cafe, you already know they’re massive things. Huge in terms of the sheer amount of music they feature, and with a strong focus solely directed on the Ukrainian heavy scene, they bring to light some acts who those of us outside the region might not necessarily run into on a daily basis. Electric Funeral Cafe Vol. 3 is no different, but it’s worth noting that in addition to the good dose of acts from Kiev and Lviv it provides, it for the first time pushes international and boasts bands from the US, the UK, Belarus, Finland, Japan and Sweden included, so this final installment in the series — which comes with seven more tracks if you get the digital version — is by no means limited. Fitting for the mission of the series that it would expand even unto its conclusion.

I feel like the first line below under specifications really says it all: 41 bands, 9 countries, three discs, over three and a half hours of music. Sold.

Release date is Jan. 21. Here’s info from the PR wire:

electric funeral cafe vol 3

V/A – ‘Electric Funeral Café vol.3’

Formats: 3xCD in Deluxe digipack & Download
Catalogue # RBF 016 | IHR005
Label: Robustfellow Prods. & Iron Hamster Recs.
Release Date: 21 January 2017

Specifications:
– 41 bands from 9 countries on 3 CDs lasts for more than 3,5 hours
– Including 23 special tracks that you hardly hear anywhere else
– Plus 7 bonus tracks on digital version on bandcamp
– The final chapter of EFC trilogy
– Deluxe ltd.ed. that will consist of EFC vol.1,2,3
– Launch Party 21.I.2017 @ Winter Mass [“Monte Ray Live Stage”, Kyiv, UA]

Artwork design by Zinkovskaya Oksana
Design and DTP by Marsym Gavronsky
Made in Ukraine | 21.I.2017

List of robust bands involved in EFC vol.3 from A to Z:
1914 [Lviv, UA]
5R6 [Kharkiv, UA]
A Foggy Realm [Moscow, RU]
Atomic Simao [Kyiv, UA]
Bichkraft [Kyiv, UA]
Black Maloka [Kyiv, UA]
Borum [Kyiv, UA]
Chainsaw Jack [Kharkiv, UA]
Contra [Cleveland, OH, USA]
Dreadnought [Ternopil`, UA]
Drunk Diver [Lviv, UA]
Eternal Elysium [Nagoya, JP]
Ethereal Riffian [Kyiv, UA]
Filthy Rich Preacher [Cherkassy, UA]
Freeky Cleen [Kyiv, UA]
Krobak [Kyiv/Kharkiv, UA]
Katakomba [Kyiv, UA]
Le Scimmie [Vasto, IT]
Les Gendarmes [Kyiv, UA]
Loinen [Karjaa, FIN]
Love’n’Joy [Kyiv, UA]
Lucifer Rising [Kyiv, UA]
MAUT [Ivano-Frankivsk, UA]
Monmuuth [Dnipro, UA]
Nebulae Come Sweet [Minsk, BY]
Night on Fire [Zhytomyr, UA]
Ningen-girai [Cherkassy, UA]
Nödutgång:Självmord [Poltava, UA]
Obriy [Uzhgorod,UA]
Octopus Kraft [Drohobych/Lviv, UA]
Onsager [Khmelnitsky, UA]
OwlCraft [Cherkassy, UA]
Risin Sabotage [Kyiv, UA]
Small Depo [Kyiv, UA]
Sons Of Alpha Centauri [Kent, UK]
Soom [Kharkiv, UA]
Space-man [Lviv, UA]
stonefromthesky [Kyiv, UA]
Straytones [Kyiv, UA]
Submatukana [Dnipro, UA]
Suffer Yourself [Kyiv, UA/Linköping, SWE]
The Curse Of Wendigo [Kharcyzk/Kyiv, UA]
The Jossers [Kalush, UA]
The Legendary Flower Punk [St.Petersburg, RU]
Trip Inside Me [Kyiv, UA]
Tungu [Chernihiv,UA]
Vermilion Nocturne [Kyiv, UA]
Warningfog [Kyiv, UA]

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Various Artists, Electric Funeral Cafe Vol. 2 (2016)

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Ethereal Riffian Post “Drum of the Deathless” Video

Posted in Bootleg Theater on October 18th, 2016 by JJ Koczan

ethereal-riffian

If you were in Kiev-based heavy psych ritualists Ethereal Riffian, how could you not tilt your head back and hold your beard aloft to the sky over your head? I mean, unless you don’t have a beard, in which case I should think a bare chin would do. Point is, they’re clearly a group looking to commune with the music they’re making, and on their 2016 two-song EP, I AM. Deathless, it’s easy to argue they get there. With just “Drum of the Deathless” and the longer B-side “Sword of the Deathless,” the core four-piece plus a couple guests on djembe and didgeridoo engage worship-ready psych fervor and a depth of atmosphere that only adds to the appeal that the overarching weirdness of it all provides.

And they’re incredibly purposeful about all of it. If you don’t believe me, check out the documentary they premiered here back in August. See how they talk and think about what they’re doing. While I’d still definitely call it exploratory music, they’re not just throwing ideas out for public consumption. This material is built, put together in such a way that represents a mentality as progressive as it is heavy. The video for “Drum of the Deathless” extends this even to its visual cues. The first two and a half minutes lead you in — a constant stream of inward motion of band shots. The middle section is all swirl and circles around the group. And for its ending section, just as they lock in the big finish for the last minute or so, it begins to pull back outward again, returning the viewer to their own reality.

You can check out and read more about the clip, which was directed by Victor Priduvalov, below.

Please enjoy:

Ethereal Riffian, “Drum of the Deathless” official video

Ethereal Riffian presents the visualization of their song “Drum of the Deathless.” The video was created by an iconic Ukrainian director – Victor Priduvalov and Re:Evolution Film team at the Mental Drive Studio. For the time being, this work is the brightest flash in the band’s history that uncovers the idea of their mini-album “I AM. Deathless” to the greatest possible extent. This album was released on a CD in unique format for collectors, as well as on tapes in association with Kyiv-based label Robustfellow Prods.

Mystical song “Drum of the Deathless” tells about the deathless nature of human being and refers the listener to Buddhism and Advaita Vedanta philosophy. Collaboration with Victor Priduvalov over “Drum of the Deathless” is certainly the new experience for Ethereal Riffian that opens a new path to the next stage of development. For the audience, it is the opportunity to reach the Light, expand their consciousness and move to the fourth dimension.

Ethereal Riffian is:
Val Korniev – guitar/vocal/didgeridoo
Olexander Korniev – bass
Max Yuhimenko – lead guitar
Nikita Shipovskoi – drums

Guest Musicians:
Maha Tretyakova – djembe
Yaroslaw Kaminskiy – didgeridoo

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Ethereal Riffian Premiere Documentary Video

Posted in Bootleg Theater on August 22nd, 2016 by JJ Koczan

ethereal riffian again

The proper name for the clip is ‘Robust Rehearsal Vol. II: Bobina Records & Ethereal Riffian,’ and in a nearly edited half-hour, it tells the story of Kiev-based heavy rockers Ethereal Riffian, splicing in live-in-the-studio rehearsal footage with interview snippets covering the five-year history of the band. It extends to the composition of their first two albums, 2011’s Shaman’s Visions and 2014’s Aeonian, and showcases work from their latest offering, the I am.Deathless EP, released in 2016 by Robustfellow Productions, along with the Youniversal Voice (review here) live album. Moving back and forth between shots of them rocking out and talking about their methods and the reasoning behind them, it gives a concise look at the Ukrainian outfit while also plunging into some depth about their themes of spirituality and the perils of ignorance on all levels.

It’s also completely in character for Ethereal Riffian, and by that I mean that the band has proven to be one putting considerable thought and effort into the expressiveness of their work. One can see this even in the packaging in which their latest EP and live album arrive — elaborate, thought-out, individualized even unto its very construction — and in the fact that their second full-length came with a narrative story to complement the music. These steps help distinguish Ethereal Riffian from an increasingly crowded Ukrainian and Eastern European heavy rock scene, but ultimately it needs to be the songwriting and performance carrying their ideas forward to their audience. One obviously gets the best sense of that listening to their records and presumably seeing them play live — I can’t say I’ve done the latter — but to hear the passion of guitarist/vocalist Val Korniev and guitarist Max Yuhimenko, bassist Alex Korniev and drummer Nick Shipovskoi as they explain where they’re coming from as a band goes a long way toward understanding the core drive that seems to bleed into everything they do.

Thanks to Robustfellow and Ethereal Riffian for allowing me to host the premiere of the documentary, which I think tells an interesting story even if you’re not familiar with the band. You’ll find the full video below, followed by its credits.

Please enjoy:

Robust Rehearsal Vol. II, Bobina Records & Ethereal Riffian

ROBUST REHEARSAL vol. II
Bobina Records & Ethereal Riffian

This Episode was shot in Kyiv, 24th October 2015

ROBUSTCREW

PhillO))) – idea, general management, interviewer

VIDEO CREW
Eugene Kredenster – director of photography, interviewer
Artem Isaev – camera operator

BOBINA RECORDS
Dmitry Homulko (aka Bob)
Max Litvinchuk (aka Poops)

ETHEREAL RIFFIAN
Val Korniev – guitar/vocal
Max Yuhimenko – lead guitar
Alex Korniev – bass
Nick Shipovskoi – drums

Sound recording and mixing by Max Poops @ Bobina Records. Video production by Nikita Longinov and Eugene Kredenster. Subtitles by Val Korniev and Julia Kornieva. Final audio-mixing by Max Yuhimenko.

Live performance used in the documentary was shot on the 31st of May, 2015 at MonteRay Live stage by Kirai Gigs team. Sound was mixed by Max Poops at Bobina Records.

Tracks by Ethereal Riffian used in this video (in order of appearance):
“Voice of Reason” (performed at Bobina Records, from “Shaman’s Visions” LP, 2011)
“Thugdam” (performed at Bobina Records, from “Aeonian” LP, 2014)
“Sword of the Deathless (Intro)”/”Beyond” (performed at MonteRay Live Stage on 31st of May 2015, from “I AM. Deathless” EP, 2016 and “Shaman’s Visions” LP 2011)
“Drum of the Deathless” (performed at Bobina Records, from “I AM. Deethless” EP, 2016)
“Dkyil Khor” (used in credits, from “Dkyil Khor” single, 2012)

Robustfellow Prods. 2016
PEACE. LOVE. HEAVINESS.

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Somali Yacht Club: The Sun LP Available to Preorder

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 2nd, 2016 by JJ Koczan

somali yacht club

Dreamtoned Ukrainian trio Somali Yacht Club are getting ready to release their debut album, The Sun, on Kozmik Artifactz. Initially offered up by Robust Fellow on CD in 2014, the LP is available now to preorder and basks in a rich fuzz topped with airy leads and pushed along thick, warm grooves. Five extended tracks flesh out individual progressions while feeding into an overarching serenity that encompasses at higher volumes as flourishes of progressive guitar work add complexity to what’s already more than just simple jamming with lyrics accompanying. Vibe is paramount, and there’s clearly plenty to go around.

Way back in September, Somali Yacht Club were among the first confirmations for this year’s Desertfest Berlin. Release date is Feb. 12, so it seems safe to assume they’ll have copies on-hand for April. Kozmik Artifactz sends info:

somali yacht club the sun

Somali Yacht Club – The sun LP on pre-sale now!

Somali Yacht Club is a stoner rock trio from Lviv, Ukraine. The band mixes elements of stoner rock, psychedelic rock, shoegazing and post-metal in their music.

Formed in 2010 as a jam band, they evolved quickly to a main band for its members. In August 2011 they self-released their first four-song EP “Sandsongs”, followed by two 1-track EPs and finally their stunning full length “The Sun”. The album was self released by the band, got a digital release by Robust fellow rec in 2015 and is now honoured with a vinyl release.

On “The sun” the trio sows all their musical abilities: varying from quiet and emotional song structures, impressive instrumental parts to heavy riffing layered with strong vocals. They seem to take the best ingredients from the stoner, psychedelic, progressive and postrock scene to cook their own soup … a very tasty soup indeed!

VINYL FACTZ
– 166x white (hand-numbered MAILORDER edition)
– 150x black
– Plated & pressed on 180g high performance vinyl in Germany
– matt laquered 300gsm gatefold cover
– special vinyl mastering

TRACKS
A1. Loom 08:20
A2. Sightwaster 08:02
A3. Up in the sky 08:12
B1. Signals 10:52
B2. Sun 07:19

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Somali Yacht Club, The Sun (2014/2016)

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