004.5 - The Deep Dive - Project Lazarus - ждите Нас Звезды! Notes

 

The deep dive is for readers who want to dig further into the album by reading the notes and pre-review interview that is done with each artist.  It is best read after the review.

дней минувших воздуха глоток (Days Bygone Breath of Air) - This track sets the tone, a playful melody opens the album and gives us an idea of what is going to be going on in the album, it seems also that there is a hint of sadness to the melody.  The track surprised me by how slow the percussion was, especially the kick drum.  It seemed like it was going to be twice the speed that it actually comes in at.  It gives the feeling of weightlessness the way that the melody interplays with the background chords. What really sets the stage here is the production.  The production really is what makes this album so unique and so enjoyable to listen to.  I'm not entirely sure how to describe it but its got an obscurity to it where it sounds like it was recorded on outdated equipment and it lends an air of nostalgia for something that has never happened.  I wish I could describe it better in words but maybe I'll figure it out more later.

ждите Нас Звезды! (Title Track) - This track is faster than the opener and has a playful tone that the opener has but without the sadness, very similar and equally excellent.
 

Дом милый дом (home sweet home) - I originally thought that this track was a little darker but after listening a few times I don't think that dark is the correct term.  Maybe a bit of melancholy, its a contrast to the other two tracks to this point and gives a very nice pace to the album.  If this is a narrative about a cosmonaut then maybe he is thinking about home.
 

Бесформенный (Formless) - This song has two phases to it.  There is a semi obscured/subtle phase that acts as a verse and then the music swells to a much more straight forward section that could be considered a chorus.  The obscured part has almost an underwater type feel to it, or deep space... something where sound doesn't travel entirely correctly.  The tone is more of curiosity than sadness or melancholy, more like pressing forward towards some unknown goal.

красный гигант (Red Giant) - This one really evokes a sense of being lost in space in an empty capsule with nothing by your thoughts and an endless void in front of you. Its achieved once again by the production and the melodies.  The melody is a simple synth that brings about this feeling that something greater may be out there, we just have to find it.

Голубое пространство (Blue Space) - Man everything in this release is so damn consistent, similar style similar atmosphere similar production.  It should get boring but the melodies and structure of the songs just bring it together so well that it just keeps drawing you in.  This song is very similar to track 5 but expands on the sound slightly, maybe more direction?  That same tint of melancholy is there but it has more structure to it than track 4.

спрятанное в небе (Hidden in the Sky) - The title of this track is actually pretty telling on the sound.  There are different melodies at play here that are obscured by one another, like a satellite flying behind the clouds.  It’s very somber in tone and has quite a different feel from a lot of the other tracks to this point.  Slow sombre reflection with bits of electronic noises thrown in every now and then.  The main melody comes in after about a minute for a few measures before giving away to the melancholic atmosphere again.  This cycle repeats throughout the song and makes a very nice contrast. A very nice change of pace and perfect opener to side B.

луч (Ray) - There is a simple alternating tone that serves as the backbone of this song.  Additional melodies play on top of it but it remains the singular focus of the song.  Something seems to be traveling through space and time and the interplaying melodies are objects that pass by on its journey.  One of my favorite tracks on the album.

Мертвый Эфир (Dead Ether) - The main synth drives this one and the beat has an EDM with a middling beat.  The main melody just seems to be telling its own story with a very minimal backbone accompanying it. Again that production is really what takes the song to the next level, this is going to be a huge part of what makes this album from an above average album to an excellent one.

в космос! (Into Space!) - First of two purely ambient tracks, each closing out their respective records.  This really has that dark void of space feel to it, but not in an ominous way... more like on the brink of a discovery.  It's a great way to close out the first record and really if the album ended here it would be complete.  Luckily, there are a whole nother 10 tracks to go after this.

Прибытие (Arrival) - The track starts off behind layers and layers of interference, something is there but it is very hard to hear.  As the song starts to progress the melody slowly comes out of obscurity into clarity.  Minimal percussion drives the song forward along with very delicate tones from about the halfway point onwards.  Wherever this journey is taking us, we are coming out of the void from Dead Ether and arriving somewhere completely new.  Great opening track to the second record.

K29 - This song is perhaps the most upbeat in the album so far, that doesn't mean it's fast.  The drums are much more active here than they have been in many other tracks to this point making it another fold in what keeps this album interesting yet so consistent.  Is the title the designation of a star?

Ri9 - This song has a simple melody but a great driving beat, it's a bit darker than some of the other tracks and again makes for a nice change of pace.  The thing that really makes it stand out though is that low pulsing beat, it's got a standard kick but almost like an 808 over it to really drive home that this is the predominant feature of the song.  Not sure what the title means, maybe a follow up question. Another one of my favorite tracks.

мгновенья мимолетный свет (Moment Feeling Light) - Starts off with a lo-fi electric piano sound, man I love this production and it slowly fades into having a beat with some more typical synths.  It has a slow build for the first minute of the song before settling into a nice groove with a single synth melody.  It keeps switching out the melodic instruments over the backbone instrumentals, and reminds me of the composition structure of Ray.  Really good stuff, almost a happy tone to this one, though the production puts a damper on it being too happy.

угасать (Fade Away) - This song is so sad, the tones just drip with loneliness and missing home or anything that was ever loved.  The production really adds to the isolation, that underwater/holding your ears sound that partially obscures what is going on is back full force on this song and damn is it effective.  What is left after this? Where do we go? The third side ends on a very sombre note.

поющие волны (Singing Waves) - Side D starts with a sense of renewed hope from where we left off.  Maybe a renewed sense of purpose.  Those alternating tones that I love so much from Ray are back for the main melody but with some overdrive applied to them giving them a much more distorted tone than before.  Percussion is minimal but the melody is more than enough to drive the song forward.  Really well done and an excellent start to the final side of the record.

старинное будущее (Old Future) - Man this is a good song, the melody keeps that renewed sense of purpose from the previous song but has a distorted effect to it that makes me think that something deeper is going on as we near the end of the album.  The musical variety yet consistency on this record is masterfully done.

ищите их снова чтобы найти (Search Them Again to Find) - This song continues with the drive of the past few songs but maybe has a little less... it seems like the renewed energy is being lost to entropy and the melodies just slowly become less urgent with each track.  If that is what is going on here through musical narration that's amazing.

Сквозь пространство и время (Through Space and Time) - The melody that starts this out has a sense of urgency, not drive... but maybe desperation.  Time seems to be running out.  After a minute or two the beat comes in and really starts driving the song towards its conclusion.  There are songs that feel like "end of album songs" and this one really has that type of feel to it.  I don't know how to put it into words but the songs have a sense of finality to them as good albums come to a close and this track has that quality in spades; excellent placement.

Это Не Конец (This is Not the End) - very slow drony ambient outro. We are fading into nothingness and this is the vehicle that gets us there. Really good way to close out the album.  Was it all for nothing? Where did we end up when all of this was over? Are we just floating in space? Is this the end... or is the title of the track true?

Overall - After reading the booklet that comes with this, it tells the story of Yuri - a cosmonaut who is on basically a suicide mission to planet nine.  The only thing that he has of his past life is a picture of his daughter.  This all makes so much sense now, the nostalgia, the sadness, the drive to move forward.  Maybe side D is him landing on planet 9 and having his orders only to realize that its a mirror image of earth and that he has caused a tragedy that sets off a chain reaction that will send the same tragedy to earth... is it an endless cycle? That is never answered but this album absolutely is telling a story and it's masterfully done.