Finland has been always a intermediate barrier between Russia and Scandinavia. We don't know much about finnish music here, however there exists a strong and influential electroacoustic music school. But in the underground electronic music, there was just a few minimal-techno acts like famous Panasonic and other musicians starring on the Sahko Recordings label. With the inception of N&B Research Digest label, it got the additional support but also the opposition. N&B means Nikkila & Borisov, two co-founders of the label, both well known electronic musicians which join their forces to promote modern russian music worldwide. All N&B releases are concerned with Russia, and this second Nikkila's solo album takes a look from the outside into the soviet science and technical progress history. Honestly speaking, the track titles like "100 Years Of Soviet Cybernetics" and "How Steel Was Tempered" sounds too grotesque for me. But fortunately, the music avoids the standard set of cliches and tends to be really remarkable. The key point of composition is the contrast between the most common musical approaches, original and computer-treated. Each track comprizes musical forms of the 60s being separated and replaced from the context, and completely dehumanized, machine sounds and noises being brought to the foreground. Absolutely shizoid mix of heterogenous fragments, it seems to be nevertheless quite integrated and harmonized, showing the real music legacy succession of the such remote periods. Plunderphonic exploration and nostalgia for heroic zeal in the light of industrial aesthetics and romanic technocracy should appeal to the wide audience as well.

             (Dmitri Vasilyev, Independent Electronic Music, 28.12.2003, Russia)

            (Dmitri Vasilyev, Independent Electronic Music, 28.12.2003, Russia)

              (TJ Norris, SoundVision, July 2002, USA)

              (Oleg Yurchenko, Na dne 18 (143), July 2002, Russia)

             (Francois Couture, All-Music Guide, September 2002, USA)

            (Quentin Dève, Soit dit en Passant, September 2002, France)

             (Lawrence English, Time Off, October 2002, Australia)

             (Julien Jaffré, Jadeweb, October 2002, France)

            (T™, Black, Germany)

             (Sasha Van der Speeten, Rifraf, Belgium)

                     (Paul Paulun, De-bug, Germany)

             (EtherREAL, France)

            (D-Side, France)

             (Andrei Grachev, Enmuz, November 2002, Russia)

             (Mute Musikkmagasin, Norway)

              (Pavel Klusák, His Voice, Czech Republic)

           (Mikko Hietaharju, Aksentti 8/2002, Finland)

      (Emmanuel Grynszpan, Zvuk, 2002, France/Russia)

   (Stéphane Possamai, Marmuz, 15.4.2007, France; originally published at Clarknova in 2002)

            (Mats Almegård, Fat Bankroll, 2002, Sweden)

            (Peter Morrison, Re:mote Induction, January 2003, UK)

            (Blackharvest, UK)

            (Bad Alchemy, Germany)

               (Skug, Austria)

             (Toni Dimitrov, Fakezine #10, May 2003, Macedonia)

GEOLOGISTS & PROFESSIONAL TOURISTS

V/A Vol. 2

ANTON NIKKILÄ

White Nights

N&B Research Digest/Metamkine

(avant electronica)

Vous cherchez quelque chose de neuf ? Vous êtes lassés d’une electronica répétitive, d’une minimale techno soporifique, mais l’electroclash, le « rock qui danse » vous agaces ? Les productions N&B Research Digest sont pour vous ! Projet transfrontalier basé entre Finlande et Russie, ce label venu du froid est à l’origine d’une electronica pointu mais pas rebutante. A cheval entre les productions Mego (la prétention en moins) et la musique concrète, Anton Nikkilä, Alexei Borisov, Leif Elgren, ou F.R.U.I.T.S. - pour ne citer que quelques artistes de la structure - proposent une réflexion sur l’obsession soviétique des 50’s pour la science et le progrès, empruntent à la muzak d’Europe de l’Est, remixent le tout et accouchent de productions uniques. Entre ambiant tordu, noise electronica, click’n’cut barré et improvisations atmosphériques. Bref, une musique (des musiques !) passionnantes et uniques, qui s’impose comme un souffle d’air frais dans la production internationale actuelle. http://www.nbresearchdigest.com/. MxR

8/10

            (Maxence Grugier, Coda, June 2003)

              (Till Kniola, Auf Abwegen, Germany)

            (Denis Boyer, Fear Drop, France)

            Joseph Lanza, "Elevator Music –  A Surreal History of Muzak, Easy-Listening, and Other Moodsong", revised and expanded edition, The University of Michigan Press, USA, 2004

(Mathieu Duval, myrecordcollection.org, 2006, Canada)