Shoegaze: Ambient, mystifying, contemplative, astounding; there are many words that come to mind when trying to describe the emotions that can be expressed through this incredible genre of music. Unfortunately I've personally been posting the exact opposite of this for the past few weeks now: Dubstep, Electro, Thrash. Pretty much the most abrasive-to-the-ears kind of tunes and, although there's nothing wrong with that, I figured it was just about time for me to post something - well - beautiful.
We were recently contacted by Elliott Johnson aka Sleep Russia or his previous alias Hello Pacific. Elliot hails originally from St. Petersburg but now calls sunny Tampa, Florida home. He admits there has been some confusion with his alias being Sleep Russia and himself being born in St. Petersburg, Florida has caused some write-ups simply to assume that he is from St. Petersburg, Russia and thus is part of the Russian Electronic scene. I'll admit I was a bit confused myself! But here's the kicker:
Sleep Russia stays true certain characteristics of Shoegaze: thoughts of rain falling rays of sunshine, driving down the highway and being able to see lumbering puffy clouds for miles and miles; lightning striking on the horizon or a single tear careening down the cheek of beautiful girl.... You know music is doing it's job when it infuses you with images, thought, or inspires you in ways that words can't quite express. For me Vol. 1 does just that and more. This album will certainly be repeating on my iPod for a while and hopefully yours too! We hope to be hearing from Elliot very soon, and be sure to look for his upcoming writeup in DJ MAG!
I released Vol. 1 EP under Musickollektiv, a organization based in Russia. As of last month, I am their most viewed and trafficked artist. In the coming months Musickollektiv will have a segment in DJ MAG, one of the largest electronic music magazines in the world, and the most popular in Russia, and I will have my own piece of space in the section. I released Vol. 1 EP February 17 2010, and within 8 days had 1500 full album downloads.Strongly influenced by '90s Shoegaze/Dreampop, Elliot's music is reminiscent of some of his self-proclaimed influences including some of my favourite Ambient artists: Ulrich Schnauss, M83, Slowdive, Telefon Tel Aviv, Boards of Canada and Trentemoller. When I played a few of Elliot's tracks on SoundCloud my first words were, "Awesome! Sounds a lot like Ulrich Schnauss..." Which for me meant a great deal, seeing as how Ulrich's 2001 release Far Away Trains Passing By [MegaUpload] is probably one of the most influencing Downtempo albums I've had the pleasure of hearing and single-handedly opened a whole new world of music for me. However, Elliot infuses new sounds that I haven't heard much in Ambient tunes: analog synths that ring out as well a bit of crunchiness that does the ears wonders. One thing is for sure: he makes the music his own, and that is the key to great producing.
Sleep Russia stays true certain characteristics of Shoegaze: thoughts of rain falling rays of sunshine, driving down the highway and being able to see lumbering puffy clouds for miles and miles; lightning striking on the horizon or a single tear careening down the cheek of beautiful girl.... You know music is doing it's job when it infuses you with images, thought, or inspires you in ways that words can't quite express. For me Vol. 1 does just that and more. This album will certainly be repeating on my iPod for a while and hopefully yours too! We hope to be hearing from Elliot very soon, and be sure to look for his upcoming writeup in DJ MAG!
Sleep Russia - Vol. 1 [Direct Download] [MediaFire]
-jeanz.
