martedì 8 aprile 2014

IGOR LEN - "ZDES'" (rec. 1988, rel. 1990)

Original artist name: Игорь Лень
Original album title: Здесь

Until 1991 only the government owned label Melodiya could legally release music albums in the Soviet Union. After the fall of the socialist regime, Melodiya closed down and its entire catalogue went out of print.
While the part concerning the most popular artists was reissued by new labels born after 1991, another great part is still buried in the sands of time and nobody seems to care about it.

It's really a shame, because we are talking about a huge amount of music. Dozens of folk and ethnic music albums from all around the Soviet Unions are lost somewhere in dusty, forgotten archives, and so are lots of experimental records, including electronic pioneers, modern classical music, soundtracks, and so on.
The day a benefactor would systematically reissue the lost Melodiya catalogue will be a great day for music. For the time being, all we can do is enjoy some old vinyl rips.

"Zdes'" by Igor Len was one of the last albums released by Melodiya, in 1990. Recorded two years before by Len and his collaborator Dmitriy Tsvetkov, it consists of six tracks that mix melodic ambient music, suggestive liturgical voices, and a wide open space echo. On "Sryv" you can also hear a beautiful acoustic guitar played by Len himself.
"Zdes'" had a 250.000 copies distribution at the time, making it one of the most successful ambient music albums of its era. This makes the fact that such a gem is out of print even more sad.

P.S. I apologize for the vinyl rip, but I cannot do otherwise. Higher sounds are a bit disturbing, so be careful with the volume.

DOWNLOAD (kbps: 320, vinyl rip)

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