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coverpic flag Russia - Full Moon 248 - 11/14/16

Redukt
Otho
Kvitnu

Redukt is a Russian combo surfing machine or factory drones deep into dark, dark territories. Redukt are Alexander Vasiliev and Nikolai Turchinski, a Moscow-based electronic duo. According to the Kvitnu label, they're up to: 'Raw electric impulses, heavy isolated beats and rough dirty soundscapes. Overloaded machines are set free to communicate with each other, to create their logic of noise story.'

It seems Otho is ther first record. Otho holds five tracks and runs for some 32 minutes. All the track titles are variants of the album's title: "Ooth", "Htoo", "Otoh", "Tooh", plus the title track "Otho" of course. Redukt make the analog and digital collide and it's the sound and effect of this 'collision' that makes their pumping, pulsating soundscapes. Their tracks are both non-figurative and abctract but also figurative and concrete. The sounds of Redukt are quite physical. It's like you can feel the songs pushing, tapping or pricking your shoulders, your cheek, your hands, your head, your legs... It's a bit creepy but it's also comforting, yes almost satisfactory. The five long tracks appear a bit threatning, but oddly enough they also bring some safety feel. It's hard to describe this feeling. You'd better check it out yourself.

Like the Discogs bio states, Redukt are 'making figurative sound aesthetics the corner-stone, they lay bare elements in their rough natural beauty, without any attempt to enrich them artificially or shock listeners. This is not a scientific study or a musical story, it is pure experience of immersion in an emotional sound environment.' Dare to be exposed to their sound setups. I'm not sure what 'Ohto' means or symolsizes, but according to Wikipedia sources 'Otho (Latin: Marcus Salvius Otho Caesar Augustus) was Roman Emperor for three months, from 15 January to 16 April 69 AD. He was the second emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors.' Well, this Otho is probably some completely different guy. Or, it might be a robot? A little humanoid one. Because even though Redukt's music is rough and brutal at times, there's a human touch to it all. Like the bio goes: '...human elements can be caught woven into the mechanistic sound. They have found the exact edge where music doesn't fall into the abyss of conceptual noise.' Is this the soundtrack to the modern Otho-man empire...?

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