Genre/Influences: Industrial, Minimal-Electro.

Format: Digital, CD.

Background/Info: Ukrainian Dmytro Fedorenko has been active for numerous years now. He has been involved with different projects -you for sure know Cluster Lizard but is mainly releasing his work under the Kotra moniker. This new work is inspired by ‘ancient ideas of ritual drum music and rhythmic meditation techniques’.

Content: Kotra deals with a very personal sound which is mixing Industrial influences together with icy, electronic sound treatments. The coldness of the sound has something remixing me to The Klinik. I also noticed a few Experimental aspects. All tracks are instrumentals.

+ + + : The album reveals 7 songs which is a magical number in alchemy. And this work has something of alchemy in the way Fedorenko manipulates sounds and noises creating an incredibly unique, icy sound. The sounds have something metallic on top which makes it only sound colder. The Industrial rhythms inject power while accentuating the global darkness of the production. I like the minimalism of this production resulting in brilliant songs. I also have to say a word about the sober but intriguing artwork which is totally matching with the music.

– – – : The Experimental touch isn’t my favorite element of the work but it sounds in the background of the total production.

Conclusion: Kotra is based in Berlin (Germany) which remains a visionary city when it comes to music and that’s an aspect -next to the artist’s talent, you simply feel emerging at this work.

Best songs: “Phase Transitions”, “Assemblage Tremor”, “The Virtue Of Consistency” “Quantum Presence”.  

Rate: 8.

Artist: https://kotra.org.ua / www.facebook.com/kotra.artist

Label: https://prostir.art / www.facebook.com/prostir.art

“Radness Methods” was released on 7 April 2022 through Prostir. Fedorenko wrote and recorded the album in Berlin in 2021 and made the artwork, Zavoloka handled the design and Noel Summerville mastered the release.

Listen to “Radness Methods”:

About Kotra

Kotra is the main solo alias of Ukrainian electronic musician Dmytro Fedorenko, who is based in Berlin. The project works with industrial rhythm, noise manipulation and icy minimal-electro treatments, largely instrumental. His releases have appeared through Kvitnu and, in the case of this album, the Prostir imprint.

Fedorenko works with Ukrainian artist Zavoloka in the duo Cluster Lizard, whose releases Side-Line reviewed as Cluster Lizard – Prophecy in March 2019 and Cluster Lizard – Star Corsair in November 2021. The pair also released the single reviewed as Kotra & Zavoloka – Silence in December 2020. Zavoloka set out their shared working approach in the ‘Click Interview’ with Zavoloka in February 2019.

“Radness Methods” takes ritual drum music and rhythmic meditation as its starting point, described by the label as a series of abstract sonic actions rather than musical events.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Genre/Influences: Experimental, Abstract.

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Format: Digital, Vinyl.

Background/Info: “Silence” is a collaboration between Ukrainian artists Kotra and Zavoloka who are both still running Kvitnu. The sad news about this collaboration is that this single will be the last release of the label. “Silence” is a conceptual release between both protagonists dealing with the silence. The 7” is a white picture disc.

Content: The concept of silence has to be understood in the truest sense of the word: silence and nothing else! Music and silence sound a bit contradictory, and makes me think of the fusion between water and fire. So this vinyl features only silence, there’s no single trace of one single note or kick or whatever, just silence!

+ + + : I’ve now been involved reviewing music releases for 30 years (!), and this work is without a shadow of a doubt the most unexpected work I’ve ever been invited to review. It’s a challenge, but at the other side and especially in times where everything has to go fast, where people are stressed and never take the time to relax, “Silence” is a welcome gift, like an invitation to get back to our inner self; a meditation or a kind of mindful experience. Call it art or insanity, but the greatest artists in history often were insane…

– – – : This is for sure one of the weirdest challenges I’ve ever found in music; releasing a record with silence! The sad news about it all is that this work also has something symbolic; the end of a company, which now will remain in silence.

Conclusion: Somewhere in between genius and insanity, “Silence” will not leave you unmoved!

Best songs: “Silence”.

Rate: /

Artists: https://kotra.org.ua / www.facebook.com/kotra.artist /

 www.zavoloka.com / www.facebook.com/Zavoloka.Official

Label: www.kvitnu.com / www.facebook.com/kvitnu

About Kotra & Zavoloka

Kotra is the moniker of Ukrainian sound artist and promoter Dmytro Fedorenko from Kyiv, active since the late 1990s with releases including “Icon” (1999), “Fourfold Symmetry” (2002, Nexsound) and “Dissilient” (2004, Nexsound). Zavoloka is Kateryna Zavoloka, an Ukrainian musician, sound artist and graphic designer from Kyiv who explores digital and analogue sound synthesis combined with Ukrainian folk songs and traditional instruments.

Fedorenko and Zavoloka run the Kvitnu label together. “Silence” was released as a white picture-disc 7″ and was announced as the label’s final release.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com

Kateryna Zavoloka is an Ukrainian female musician, sound artist, performer and graphic designer. She’s involved with different music projects, Zavoloka being her solo-work where she explores digital- and analogue sound synthesis combined with Ukrainian ancient folk songs and traditional instruments. Zavoloka is already active for several years now and has released a respectable number of productions. Her latest album entitled “Promeni” is part of a conceptual series around the purification by four universe elements.  The work sounds as a mix between experimental-, industrial- and ambient music, but still reveals some IDM influences. “Promeni” has been released on Kvitnu for which, Kateryna Zavoloka is also doing the graphic design.

(Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)

Q: I noticed you’re artistically involved with different projects. Can you briefly introduce yourself and tell us all projects you’re dealing with?

Kateryna: Hello! I am Zavoloka, a sound and visual artist, composer and performer from Kyiv, Ukraine. I often collaborate with Dmytro Fedorenko a.k.a Kotra. Together we’re running the label Kvitnu where we recently have released the new split-EP “XII”, and my latest solo-album “Promeni”. We our project Cluster Lizard we also released a new album entitled “Prophecy”, which has been released on Prostir.

Q: Let’s talk about your music project Zavoloka. What means music to you and what do you try to express by this project?

Kateryna: Music is my freedom, an alchemical creativity that enhances vibrations, transformational force and my very own way to have a dialogue with the Universe.

Q: Your newest album “Promeni” is a conceptual work, which is part of a series dedicated to the purification by four universe elements. How did you get the idea of this concept and what did you try to accentuate on the newest album, which is dedicated to the element of ‘fire’?

Kateryna: I have started the series many years ago and this series is my exploration of purification by four universe elements, a kind of spiritual practice. I started with the air element –“Viter”, then water the element –“Vedana”, later the earth element –“Syngonia” and the  final chapter is dedicated to the fire element –“Promeni”.

The Ukrainian word ‘промінь’ can be translated as ‘ray’. Lesya Ukrainka who’s the most famous- and my favorite Ukrainian poetess, has the authorship of this word. She introduced it into the Ukrainian language by the end of the 19th century, and this word has several meanings –as rays, light waves, or verb ‘променію’ – a manifestation of happiness.

Q: I experienced your music as a mix between different influences (industrial, dark-ambient, IDM…), which is perfectly representing the concept featuring different ‘elements’. What are your personal influences and references when it comes to composition?

Katya: I want to make a timeless art and can’t affirm that only some music styles influence it; it can be a book I read, good films, just a deep meditation or a heavy experimental techno party. I think everyone should explore their own way of creativity and integrate it into life on many levels. It just simply makes you bloom from inside. I love to explore various digital synthesis, analogue bass errors, experiment with different sound sources like lo-fi recordings of ancient Ukrainian songs in a village or dirty noises on the streets with riots, or just to have a very clean record of a voice or an instrument in the studio. It is interesting to me to combine various sounds –tune flows from one to another and transforms during a time travel.

Q: I’m always fascinated by concepts and the way artists put it into sounds and songs. What has been the main focus when working on these albums and what makes “Promeni” maybe different from the other releases? What can you tell us about sound creation?  

Kateryna: “Promeni” is a very personal album, it is an audiovisual map and history of metaphysical transformations and inspirations throughout my whole life; from strong personalities that influenced me with their powerful inner fire or significant events that ignited my flame from within. For example the track “Sontse | Сонце”, which can be translated as ‘Sun”, is dedicated to ancient Slavic polytheistic religion. During one of my expeditions to the Polissya region in the North of Ukraine I have met an old woman, Dominika Chekun, who has a very beautiful and powerful vibrato voice and has an amazing knowledge of hundreds of traditional Ukrainian pre-Christian songs.

The track “Gromovytsia / Громовиця”, which can be translated as  “Thunderbolt”, is a tree that has been struck by lightning and in the Carpathian mountains “громовиця” has been used by Molfars, Ukrainian Hutsul shamans to create magical artifacts. The most famous Carpathian musical instrument Trembita, sounds at its best when it has been made out of it.

The track “Fire Consecration | Вогнехреще” is inspired by Maidan revolution of 2013-2014. On January 19th in Ukraine it is a holiday called Водохреще and then people follow a ritual by sinking into the Holy water. But during that day the Hrushevskogo street in Kyiv turned into the first fires, molotov cocktails and exploding fireworks from protestors against the riot police forces. Back then I have been so amazed by very young and brave kids, that had this strong fire from within and courage to fight for their future.

Or the track “Inhale The Light | Вдихай Світло” is about a powerful and harmonious meditation, when you have to visualize inhaling and exhaling the light, and become the light.

Another track entitled “Iskra  |  Іскра”, which you can translate as  “Spark”, is devoted to contemporary magicians.

Q: The artwork of the album is definitely artistic, but still somewhat cryptic and mysterious. What did you try to express and what’s the link with the music?

Kateryna: I designed the artwork, made the graphics and visuals for “Promeni”. There are nine tracks connected to nine visual symbolic cards; it is like an audiovisual psychotronic art, or an abstract sonic sacred geometry that has transformational influence with conscious intention.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com