Plato Newsroom #21

Some fresh summer discoveries by Belarusian artists.

28.08.2024

newsroom

Greetings! Welcome to Newsroom – the podcast about fresh releases from Belarusians by Radio Plato, and your host today is Alik Khamiak, a.k.a. Schmoltz.

In today's episode, we're featuring some fresh summer discoveries:

contemplative improvisations by Star Muss;
epic pop tune with retro vibes from the project Olia;
a collaboration between Twigs Garden and Applepicker;
a new album of playful lo-fi pop from Marg;
and a freshman bonus round: Alivaria Beloye Zoloto.

<br><iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1906129355&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/radioplato" title="Radio Plato" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Radio Plato</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/radioplato/plato-newsroom-21-w-star-muss-olia-twigs-garden-applepicker-marg-ana-zhdanova-abz" title="Plato Newsroom - #21 w/ Star Muss, Olia, Twigs Garden & Applepicker, Марг, Ana Zhdanova, АБЗ" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Plato Newsroom - #21 w/ Star Muss, Olia, Twigs Garden & Applepicker, Марг, Ana Zhdanova, АБЗ</a></div><h2>Improvised musings of Star Muss</h2>

Behind the moniker Star Muss is Stas Murashka, one of the behind-the-scenes powerhouses of the modern Belarusian indie scene. He's known for his involvement in numerous interesting projects such as Soyuz, VVaxplay, Olia Shnip Band, Valentin Strykalo, The Toobes, and others. This summer, Stas began sharing his solo works. So far, three tracks have seen the light of day – these are instrumental (although not exclusively instrumental) pieces which, like all interesting modern music, exist somewhere on the fringes of traditional genre divisions. The tracks draw you in with their atmosphere and testify to author’s refined musical taste. One minor gripe is that they play like a teaser for a more extensive work but I'm almost certain that from a musician of Stas's caliber and experience, we'll surely get an album in due time, and it will be nothing short of interesting. Here's what the author had to say about his new solo material:

– Hi, this is Star Muss. You might know me as Stas from The Toobes, Valentin Strykalo, Soyuz, or VVaxplay. I've recently released three singles – two instrumental tracks and one with lyrics. Lyrics don’t come easy to me so the songs aren’t too wordy. But I'm working on it. Over the last 15 years of my solo career, most of what I wrote I kept private, but some of my music has been used in the numerous projects I've been involved in. Overall, I've been making music for about 20 years now.

These tracks are based on spontaneous improvisations and were completed within about 2 hrs each, but I've spent quite a while refining them. "Na Chasti", for example, was recorded three years ago. The other two were done after my move to Warsaw. In the track "Toyota Project," the synths were done by Igor Latushko, who happened to drop by my studio and quickly put it all together. It turned out really well, and I realized it was ready for release. So here I am now. I write and record all the instrument parts myself, mix and master everything on my own, as best as I can. So, maybe, it's not all completely professionally produced, but I hope you'll like it. Check out my songs on all streaming platforms.

Next up is "Son"– the new single by Olia, the project by Olia Shnip Band with a bunch of talented collaborators. The project’s discography boasts three albums and several singles, where Olia's voice is consistently framed by diverse and rich arrangements. So, what about the latest single? The song's sound palette takes us back to the 70s, where disco rhythm section and harping-on-heartstrings string licks combine with Manzarek-esque organs and an almost prog-rock chorus hook. We spoke with Olia about her music – let's see what we learned.

– Hello, everyone. My name is Olia Shnip. I am a musician, songwriter, composer, and vocalist who works in various styles and genres. I'm also a vocal coach and singing instructor. In addition, I'm an artist in contemporary and street art, a designer, and a curator of various art events and exhibitions. I've been involved in the arts for as long as I can remember. It started with theater and music, and later I expanded into visual arts. I also have a formal higher education in music, and I've worked in an opera theater, participating in various large-scale musical events in the EU and Asia. In 2015, together with Anton Shnip, we created the music project Olia. To date, we've released three albums, several singles, live recordings, and music videos. You can find all of this on our social media platforms.

The song "Son" was written by me back in 2021, and it was probably waiting for the right moment. When we moved to Warsaw at the end of 2022, Anton Shnip and I teamed up with some amazing musicians: Andrey Kozik, Philip Pechenko, Stas Murashko, and Vova Mikhnovich. We continued working on my music, and I brought this song to one of our rehearsals. Everyone really liked it, so we decided to work on it because we were preparing a big live show with an orchestra. This song is about dreams that have yet to come true but feel so real and tangible. Despite its seemingly simple lyrics, the song has a deeper philosophical meaning. We'll be releasing a video for it soon.

We’re also continuing to work on releasing recordings from our concert in Warsaw this winter, so stay tuned for that. Additionally, we’re working on new singles and collaborating with other musicians. We’re preparing for upcoming performances in Warsaw and planning a major solo concert. Follow us and keep and touch, and do come to our shows. We really appreciate your subscriptions, likes, engagement, and support, it really means a lot to us.

Twigs Garden is a project by Ulad Dubouski from Minsk, known for his dreamy, hypnagogic pop tunes where post-rock and ambient elements prevail of the lo-fi sound. Over the course of two albums and several singles, Ulad has refined his distinctive style. Recently, he released a collaborative single with Applepicker. In my view, the combination is outstanding. Both musicians are instantly recognizable for their unique respective styles, and the song benefits greatly from the combination. Personally, I find it hard to imagine the track outside of this duo – whether it's without Applepicker’s dry, tight syncopated drums, or with a vocal other than Ulad’s heart-rending and reverb-soaked one. As a bonus, there’s also an instrumental B-side featuring a poignant fuzzy guitar solo reminiscent of early Pink Floyd. Let’s meet Ulad together, using this brilliant release as an excuse to chat:

– Hi everyone, my name is Ulad. I’m an artist and musician, I sing and play and do all the cool stuff in Twigs Garden. My creative journey started with a desire to create something of my own. I always loved singing and just shouting, often shouting my head off to Beatles and Kiss as a kid. Just rocking out having fun. I recorded my first track back in 2014 in Babrujsk at Kościa Ryžkoŭ’s.

I spent a lot of time thinking about the name, wanting something cool and meaningful, like Lady Gaga. You can also check her out. Back in the day I used to be into deathcore, post-hardcore and djent. I even played a metal fest in Rečyca. That was a massive gig! Then I got into the sounds of Ariel Pink, Blood Orange, Bjork, The Doors, noisy lo-fi pop.

"Look At Me" is a track I collaborated with Mikita Arlou a.k.a. Applepicker on. It was created over the course of a year, with lots of back-and-forth and breaks in between. A lot has changed during this time and so was our track being constantly updated. Mikita recorded the drums, bass, keys, and guitar, while I handled the vocals, synths, and the cover art. The guys from the YouTube stream, really cool guys, said the track is "acidic, old-school, and cool."

The song "Look At Me" is about relationships, desires and finding your soulmate in the chaotic crowds of people. About taking your best outfit from the closet to wear to the party tonight. About letting go of the past, not dwelling on it and moving forward with your life. About the complex dynamic between people who both crave and resist intimacy in search for someone to spend the night with. Or a lifetime.

Next up is Marg – a name familiar to our regulars. A few weeks ago we covered his side project Vostochnyi Pliazh. Today we're checking out Marg's album "Zhizn’ Budto Son" released under his own moniker. After two consecutive listens with a permagrin on my face, I was faced with the question: is Marg playing music or toying with it? At the very least, he is definitely repeatedly toying with the listener and his expectations on this album. First of all, you have the extended stylistic palette, when compared to his previous output. Here's some choice examples. Post-punk with a wonky drum machine on "Ne Kurite". Autotuned ruminations on being a poet on "Ya ne poet". Rudimentary lo-fi house about a shoe thief on "Krosachi". Pumping electro groove of the instrumental "Taiskiy Masazh" that is abruptly interrupted by the amateurish, clumsy warbling of a recorder as soon as the thought creeps in ‘wait, is this Marg's first dancefloor banger?’ And then there are Marg's classic mundanely-mystical scenes and stories of everyday heroes, such as the ghost called Zinaida and the master of juicy solos Ivan Abzhda. In a word, it's just so much fun. Of course, if you already got the lo-fi bug and know your way around the eastern banks of Vostochyi Pliazh. And if you don't, let's go meet the legend now so that you can one day rightfully claim to have listened to Marg way before it became cool. Here's what we chatted about:

– Hi, this is Marg, with a "g". I recently released a new album called "Zhizn’ Budto Son". This is my second album (as Marg), released on Sadovodcheskoe Tovarishchestvo label. It turned out really interesting. First of all, the songs on it were recorded within a month. In May 2024 I set myself a goal to record a song a day. And I did it! Is it 30 days in May? Anyway. That's how many songs, more or less, I wrote, and then selected a third of the best ones for the album.

Compared to "Zdravstvuite" is album is based on improvisation and use of samples. I frequently used my Teenage Engineering PO-33 KO sampler, or whatever it's called. I would often play the guitar with my hands and the sampler with my toe. But, perhaps, the main experiment is the digital lo-fi experiment. I compressed all the masters to light low-bitrate mp3's. This also added some warmth to the sound. Digital warmth, not analogue.

The album turned out more diverse stylistically, because for me relationship with the listener is kind of personal. So, the first album "Zdravstvuite" ("Hello" in English) was an introduction of sorts. Relatively even-sounding and polite – as if trying to show my best side like when meeting someone. The album that said ‘Hi! Nice to meet you!’ and that kind of stuff. The essence of Marg is to not be flat, to be bumpy and diverse, to not cling to a single sound or genre and just sit on it. Although, admittedly, that's a good strategy commercially, but to me it sucks. So that's the type of album you get with "Zhizn' Budto Son". There's hip hop ("Ivan Abzhda Kak Dela", "Krosachi"), there's some straight post-punk ("Ne Kurite", "Privedeniye V Nochi"). It's just all types of music I listen to. I like making my own version of the genres I listen to. Just for fun. It's all for fun, first and foremost.

Next up is a solo single by Ana Zhdanova called "Smuta". Ana is an artist you may know as member of the band VVaxplay. A tune about keeping it together in today's crazy world, with an arrangement that suggests to dance along in the process. DJ alert! Definitely, one of the tracks to buy on Bandcamp and download to you USB stick. Musically it's a very bouncy garage house, with a swinging groove that just gets your feet moving on their own.

– New single "Smuta" is a collaboration with my husband a.k.a. Karpesh about the efforts to maintain a good mood in troubled times, however difficult that may be. Slava makes music on grooveboxes – relaxing chill vibes for the heart and soul. And if I hear a beat I like when he’s working on something, I'm like ‘hook me up with that’, and then continue the production myself. Family business is probably a good term to describe this.

By the way, Slava has lost his eyesight over ten years ago, and he makes music literally blind, which can't help but amaze anyone who encounters him. So one can call this music is a kind of manifesto on the possibilities of the human spirit coming from someone who's been through the merciless grinder, endured it, and keeps doing what they truly love.

As for plans for my musical carreer, I don't really make any. I just make music whenever inspiration strikes. Hopefully, the same goes for Slava. Would be cool to make a big release. I definitely love making albums and crying from the difficulty of the levels I've decided to climb. You can say that's a hobby of mine, haha. But when I get to it depends on the inspiration. Check out my music on streaming platforms, the more you listen to it, the more I feel inspired to write more!

This was supposed to me the end of the episode, but instead it’s a new segment of the show called ‘Super fresh!’ Literally on the last production day for this episode I came across a string of extremely cool lo-fi beats or demos of an artist I've never encountered before. Moreover, uploaded literally hours previously. You know, super fresh! Short bits dripping with style and panache, which, for a newcomer, is a lot to expect. While I was ruminating whether that's an urgent addition material I noticed that I'm listening to them on a loop. Thankfully, it was easy to contact the author and I got an audio reply shortly. Let's all welcome Alivariya Beloye Zoloto into the fold and subscribe to their Soundcloud, as there's sure plenty more to come from the outfit. Let's check out the author's audio message and then a mix of his stylish indie lo-fi triphop sketches.

– Hi all, I am Matya "Post Punk". I have been making music for about a year. Nowadays, my main instrument is bass guitar. I have a solo project called Alivariya Beloye Zoloto. It started randomly: I was once dying of boredom at night, opened GarageBand to record a demo. Sent it to a friend, he really liked it and I went on to record the next three demos. You can check them out now on Soundcloud. Down the line, I would probably like to release an album.

That's it for today. This was Newsroom, the radio show about Belarusians who make sounds by the Radio Plato team: Reemotto, Stwone, Helga, Krik, Schmoltz, Nadya Ya, Stereobeaver and KorneJ and graphic desiger chernova.ya.

If you're a Belarusian making music, share it with us on social networks and we'll share it with the world in our next episodes. Subscribe to the podcast on streaming platforms, support us on Patreon, or simply Paypal us a donation – this helps us do more cool stuff. Don't forget to support your local artists by buying their music on Bandcamp and, of course, by coming to their live shows. See you next time! Radio Plato loves you!