While the name suggests a trio of musicians, this is in fact a one man project by Alexei Taroutz, a Russian composer and multi-instrumentalist (the instruments he plays on here include guitar, drum kit, piano, glockenspiel, double-bass, assorted electronics, samplers, etc). He is also the guitarist of the avant/experimental rock band I Am Above On The Left who released two albums thus far, one of them, An A-Bomb To Wake Up, was released through RAIG in 2006.
As a solo musician he uses the Wogulow name and has so far had 4 relesaes, two of them free to download through RAIG’s website and his own. His latest release, Morok, is packaged in a lavish hard bound format. R.A.I.G.’s website describes it to be “a sort of soundtrack-album to an imaginary film, a mysterious journey through noisy micro-electronic mess, gentle minimalist tunes, repetitive moves of synchronized guitar- and drum- lines, atmospheric layers, and sampled voices.”
This quote does a good job describing what to expect here. The tracks run the gamut in terms of styles and moods the music evokes. From noise-filled audio space to amorphous and abstract sounds and avant-garde arrangements, a few rock references to electro-acoustic manifestations, there is a plethora of aural assaults on your brain. When some of those come together, such as in the second track Zahne, one can feel overwhelmed by it if not accustomed to this type of seemingly chaotic approach.
The music is not rich or fully blown conceptual style as some soundtracks are. Rather it is minimalistic, focusing on saying as much as possible with as little as possible. It is also mostly slowly moving, allowing the listener to take in and absorb the sounds produced. But here also lies the downside of Morok. At times, what sounds like simple noodling and laborious sections of guitar playing goes on too long and does not add anything to the end result. “Vermo” is one such track, which sound redundant, unnecessary and even distracting from the flow of the album.
The mention of a soundtrack in the quote above is very much in place; closing your eyes and letting your mind flow with this album is probably the best way to enjoy it, as this fails at being background music (which it is not intended to be anyway). In RAIG’s website it says: “The most interesting record for dedicated and focused listening.” Indeed, “focused listening” is required here, otherwise the whole effect and power of this record is gone. However, I would not go as far as saying it is the most interesting record; but it is of interest and has its appeal to fans of this musical medium. When listening to this do not look for a thread or theme to follow in each track; do not to try and enforce an idea on the music. Try simply to let go and “flow” with the sounds as they come. With that might begin the enjoyment of listening to this album and perhaps “understanding” it better.
- Assaf Vestin
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