005/ FEATURED ARTICLES/
PASTACAS Kõrvaklapid
CD KREC 005
NUMERO
Eestiläisen artistin debyytti sislältää 11 kappaletta vahvasti jazzahtava elektronikaa. Pastacan (suom. Kuulakärki) musiikki on akustisten instrumenttien, softasynttyjen ja folkahtavan laulun yhdistymistä vekkuliksi kokonaisuudeksi. Kaikki instrumentit Pastacas soittaa levylle itse ja suurimman osan vokaaleista laulava miesääni kuuluu sekin hänelle.
Melodioidensa puolesta materiaali on väliin melko vaikeselkoista jazzia, biittien ja ääniensä johdosta taas miellyttävää elektronikaa. Omaperäinen yhdistelmä toimii parissa kappaleessa erinomaisesti, lopuissa kohtalaisesti. Laulu ja eestinkieliset sanoitukset tuovat lisäväriä ja keventävät tunnelmaa. Pastacasta ja muitakin kohvirecordsin artisteja voi kuunnella netissä osoitteessa www.kohvirecords.ee
Deeli
issue 06.2001
Neural Online
Ancora elettronica proveniente dalle lande nordiche dell' Europa (precisamente da Helsinki), ma per mano di un musicista nato in Estonia. Ancora sviluppi che si avvicinano ad un raffinato e fresco pop, ma col supporto di strumenti tradizionali che ci donano colorate soluzioni melodiche. In "Sultan" e proprio la chitarra a guidare l'ascolto, mentre si rimane affascinati dalla delicatezza umbratile di "A pice of portrait" (traccia breve ma intensa). Spesso la base ritmica ha caratteristiche drum'n'bass, pur mantenendo in primo piano il cantato in lingua estone, ma sono proprio gli elementi dell'Europa dell'est a trionfare in "Korvaklapid" ed in particolare in "The asfalt and the atelier". Palma di brano migliore della raccolta va alla piacevolissima bossa nova di "Agka" per un album dai colori pastello ed assai variegato.
Michele Casella
skug
Das Debütalbum mit Titel »Korvaklapit« (estnisch für Kopfhörer) des Herrn Pastacas (estnisch für Kugelschreiber), seinerseits bildender Künstler und Musiker, liegt hier vor. Weinerlich und doch lebensfroh klingt's, wenn Herr Pastacas zu lieblichem Elektronikgefrickel, veträumten Flöten und wohltemperierten Elektro- und Akustikgitarren in estnischer Sprache singt. Eiernder, bruzzelnder Ambient-Techno wird mit Bossa-Nova-Rhythmen und verschämter Synthesizermelodieführung vermischt und mit reichlich Drum'n'Bass-Tupfern angerichtet - Pastacas lässt nichts anbrennen. Unweigerlich fällt mir ein Satz aus Oswald Wieners »VERBESSERUNG VON MITTELEUROPA. ROMAN« ein, den ich nur leicht modifiziert hier wiedergeben möchte, nämlich: »Alle Menschen sollten gute FreundInnen sein« - Woa is ...
Jürgen Berlakovich
11.09.2001
nettuner.de
33 % klasse, 22% gut, 22% naja, 22% schlecht
"Für den guten Zweck" ist in. Die Vermutung liegt nahe, dass diese vier Worte in der Rangliste der am häufigsten gebrauchten Schlagworte ziemlich weit oben liegen. Doch lassen wir die gesellschaftskritischen Grübeleien an dieser Stelle beiseite. 'Kohvi Records' haben es sich jedenfalls auf ihre Fahnen geschrieben, innovativer und inspirierender Musik ein von finanziellen Interessen völlig unbeschattetes Netzwerk inner- und außerhalb Estlands zu zaubern.
Ramo Teder alias PASTACAS, gebürtiger Este, zeigt mit seinem Debütalbum "Korvaklapid" ("Kopfhörer") auf ungezügelt kreative Weise, welches Terrain von Möglichkeiten in der (elektronischen) Musik noch ungenutzt brach liegt. Theoretisch ist diese Art der unkonventionellen Schöpfung nur denkbar, wenn ein Mensch gänzlich ohne Klang- und Melodieschubladen heranwächst. Denn dann ist alles möglich. Und der Musiker, Sänger und Maler Ramo Teder beschreitet mit seiner 'Vertonung' estnischer und sowjetischer Cartoones vergangener Jahrzehnte einen weitgehend jungfräulichen Pfad.
In seinem Werkzeugkoffer befinden sich eine Akustikgitarre, jede Menge (estnischer?) Samples, ein dünner, jegliche Bassfrequenzen entbehrender D'n'B-Beat und gute Laune. "Osa Porteest" ( "Ein Teil eines Portraits"), keine zwei Minuten lang, schafft in Windeseile ein Gefühl von zerbrechlicher Schönheit, unbeholfenen, unsicheren Glücksmomenten, wird aber durch das darauffolgende "Agka", in poppiger Unbeschwertheit und mit lustigen Gitarrenlinien ausgestattet, wie eine vage Idee vom anderen Glück mit konsequenter Geste hinweggefegt.
Die Plattenfirma spricht von Electropop und liegt dabei genauso daneben wie jeder, der Ramo in Estland vermutet - dabei ist dieser schon längst in Finnland beheimatet. Wie auch immer, großartig und bezaubernd sind seine 'Kopfhörer' auf jeden Fall.
Franziska Petruschke
08.03.2001
http://www.nettuner.de/single.cfm?tontraeger_ID=904
DUXAMOON
Allermerkwürdigste Platte. Pastacas kommt aus Lettland, lebt inzwischen in Helsinki und verbindet Drum ‚n' Bass-Rhythmen mit Folklore-Instrumenten und Gesang. Das ist zunächst sehr verblüffend, die schönen Gesangslinien lassen einen aber kaum wiederstehen. Nicht so toll ist hingegen der 70er-Jahre Fusion-Jazz Einfluss mit mittelschweren, daddeligen Virtuositätsattacken auf Akustikgitarre und ähnlichem Instrumentarium. Interessante und mit abstrichen auch gute Platte.
06. 2001
Substance Ramo Teder lives in Helsinki and mixes electronic with flute and acoustic guitar. The odd thing about his music is that he also sings on some tracks. He is influenced by uptempo Drum ?n Bass tracks, Soviet cartoons from the Eighties and Pop. His music sometimes sounds like Squarepusher scoring a child movie. I don't understand the vocals at all but from the songs and sounds, I guess that they are friendly and have some level of humour in there. The tricky beats and strange melodies create this very hectic feeling, so it might be good music to get up to. My favourite tracks are Asfalt ja atelje (a very happy tune) and the longer track Hooliks Sooviks that features some female guest vocals. If you get used to the vocals and can forget the busy beats on this record, it will be an easy one for you. In the meantime you can check out the snippets and mp3s at www.kohvirecords.ee and decide for yourself what you think of the music.
René
GROOVE
Den h"r killen kan inte vara klok. Han heter Ramo Teder, men kallar sig Pastacas, vilket betyder kulspetspenna. Han "r est, verksam i Finland. Han framst"ller en f-rvirrande brygd pA experimentell jazz, electronica, postrock, drumknkbass, easy listening, bossa och dataspelsmusik. Jimi Tenor kan sl"nga sig i v"ggen, detta "r sinnesvidgande pA riktigt. Det finns inte en takt i musiken som "r den andra lik, allt flyter omkring i olika riktningar och det finns ingen r-d trAd alls. Samtidigt finns det nAgot lockande, visserligen helt akademiskt och inte det minsta k"nslom"ssigt, men "ndA tilldragande. SvArforcerat.
Pigge Larsson
de:bug
Kohvirecords, Estlands bestes Label, beginnt nach zwei Compilations nun mit ersten Artist-CDs. Da ich das Blatt dazu, wenn es eins gegeben hat, verschusselt habe, weiss ich nichts, ausser was auf der CD ist. Hyperaktive, spleenige Musik mit gelegentlichen Pianoeinsätzen, sehr schnellen kurzatmigen Beats, bis an die jazzige Drum and Bass Grenze, aber viel technoider und flatternder, oder aber Elektronikatracks mit einer
Art singenden Synthesizergeiger, dann wieder rasante Postsquarepushertracks mit klarem japanoidem Synthflair und mehrstimmigem Gesang auf Estisch, oder 70s Soul in unwahrscheinlichster Klangumgebung, und selbst ein kleines Retroelektrostück darf in diesem grossen gutgelaunten Durcheinander nicht fehlen. Quer durch alle Stimmungen produzierte Ausnahmeelektronik, die gelegentlich etwas zu musikalisch wirkt, manchmal aber genau darin und in dem gebrochenen ihre Stärke hat.
bleed ****-*****
Ultra E-zine
Estonian musician who makes highly original electronic music a la Plaid, mostly, although he uses more traditional instruments as well. Some tracks remind of Scratch Pet Land, too, whereas "Agka" winks at easy listening and schmaltzy fusion. "Ava ülased" reminds of the Gist or even the Young Marble Giants, somehow, "Hooliks sooviks" refers to both jazzy pop and proggy folk a la Spirogyra [UK] but has a cleverly engineered ultrathin d&b percussion behind it, and some nicely Warpish keyboard bleebz. The production of this cd is truly excellent indeed. As a matter of fact, the whole Black-Dog-frame-of-reference will soon melt and give way to something more timeless. If you're open to singing in Estonian, this album will grow on you; otherwise, you'll probably hate it. But let's hope you'll not submit to 'la haine', shall we? "Kõrvaklapid" is no classic, but it's highly recommended to the adventurous, especially those of you who can enjoy the odd Albion folk song or some mild (and preferably privately-pressed) early seventies progadelia!
****
(* disappointing, ** so-so, *** good, **** great, ***** classic)
Patrick Vandenberghe
01.08 [greg sage's mobius afro-electronica issue]
Ampersand Etcetera
The other day (month now) I watched the Eurovision song contest - memories of past glories from my childhood (Sandie Shaw, Lulu) and youth (Abba) in the back of my mind (we hadn't been able to watch it for years). And what a shock - the main entries seemed to either be postmodern pisstakes on the whole idea (like Sweden, with 2 Abba female lookalikes singing a very Abba-esque song) or what passes for pop now (slow songs which never gain pace or boring ones). A highlight was a group with an accordian - I can't go past an accordion song - or my favourite: the Russian entry with a Bowie-like non-pop song which sounded like they had no idea what the contest was about. Why mention all this? Well, firstly to show how old I am and eclectic my taste really is, and because Estonia won with a very catchy song whose chorus is still careering round my head. It a alittle like the Tom Jones revival - an older guy (apparently from the West Indies) with a great voice singing with a popband. And as my readers would know, Kohvirecords is based in Estonia (two samplers looked at in the past 3.04 and 2001_06) - this is the first full album of theirs I have listened too: some tracks were on the samplers. And while this isn't quite EVScontest material, it does have a warped pop-sensibility.
Listening to it I was impressed by how pleasant it is - not being at all derogatory - that it something to listen to an enjoy, not analyse or cerebrate, rather celebrate. While there is not a great similarity I was reminded of Style Council, songs redolent of summer and relaxation and joie de vivre. It is a collection of 11 pieces - a mixture of songs and instrumentals swinging across a pop-jazz-lounge trajectory, interesting rhythm beds with guitar, bass, piano and synths of various styles and moods over the top. "Kanasupp" is a bubbling instrumental to open proceedings, with some spacey synth, backward sounds and synpercussion and a keening high tonal play, all coming and goinf nicely. The jazzy element pops up in "Jaanusele" the first song: after a woman says the title (and more) a choppy piano finds a melody, joined by bass and lead guitar, then a vocal, electric piano, synth solo and tuned percussion. The unfamiliarity of Estonian adds a certain attraction.
Mellow and bloopy synths and acoustic guitar lead "Sultan" over a restrained rhythm-bed, a late night relaxer, ending in deconstructing guitars. The great popsong "Minu naer" was on the second sampler (and is available on site) and it could be a hit - it is catchy (I am phonetically singing along), bounces along, the loungey vocal tracked by a melody line, a few tricksy bits (processed vocals, semi-scatting), and I appreciate it more in context. The short echoed vocal fragments, strange elephant calls and swirling synths of "Macbeth" (on the earlier sampler) follow, forming a break before anothr "single". "Asfalt ja ateljee" opens with a nice electric guitar solo interwoven with an electric piano, then some soft semi-spoken lyrics. The organ, sort of jazz mood and rhythm, especially in the freeform instrumental second half, seems almost 60s, a psychedlic jam freaky lightness - a highlight. The feel continues in "Pusikud" (also on the recent sampler) with the tune carried by a blurty cheesy synth with a second high squeaky one over a slowstepping rhythm. A moody slow harpsichordal line brings a serious interlude with "Osa portreest" after which a jaunty guitar carries us into "Agka" where the flute and harpsichord weave a magical retrolounge groove.
Another long song, "Hooliks sooviks" features a duet with Mirja Mari Smith in a very summery number (which is when Style Council really came to mind) with light guitar accompaniament and solo synth, and it comes to a really strong conclusion with sustained notes and strange percussive sounds, which could end the album. But there is one more track - "Ava ulased" another song with some choppy and acoustic guitar and flute, and the distant vocals do seem to be signalling to us to drift away, as the album does with an echo of the guitar and some shimmering notes.
This is a fun album - strongly crafted, craftily instrumented and well produced - and often we do just want music to enjoy, to make us move and to hum along with. And maybe even a possibility for the Eurovision - if the contest became just a tad more courageous.
Jeremy Keens
10.2001
Recycle Your Ears
Pastacas is a one man act from Estonia, now relocated in Finnland. The least to say is that this CD sounds weird, and that I have a lot of difficulties to understand where this guy's music is coming from and where it is going with these 11 tracks.
Let's first try to describe what one hears on this album: the music is electronic and it's relatively cheap / analog sounding. But then, it has a really rock / jazzy feeling and is quite groovy, light hearted and light.
The beats are, from times to times, slightly drum'n'bass-oriented, but the main element of this music is a use of warm, strangely edited melodies that evoke strange video games or old movies music. Add to this vocals in some language I don't know, sung with a semi-soulful voice, and you get a release that lost me. Somewhere between crazy hyped electronica and groovy old rock, this is an album that somebody should explain to me.
Besides the music, the atmospheres of this release is fun, light hearted when not tongue-in-cheek ("Pusikud"). The tempo is rather fast, but then, it is sometimes driven by the strange use of some accoustic instruments (what is behind the guitar on "Osa Porteest"?). Some of the best track has a very original female voice ("Hooliks Soovika"), with a diva-feeling that fits well the mood of this album.
All in all, here is yet another album I have problems with. It doesn't sound bad, it is well recorded and written, but who is going to listen to this? Weirder than weird, poppy but hard to listen to, electronic but sounding like a modern version of old rock ballads, this is an unidentified aural object. Be sure to listen to it before you purchase it.
Nicolas,
26.04.2001
Postimees "Arter"
Aastal ammusel - kui tulevane Pastacas-poiss alles poleerib mulgimaist põhikoolipinki, kui tema-nimelise kirjapulga nime reeglina alles pisikese p- ja kõva k-tähega kirjutatakse, ja Kohvirecordsi esimese stuudiorösti lõhna ei haista veel ükski põrandaalune astroloogide gäng - kirjutab lastelik aimeraamat ENEKE universaalse ettenägelikkusega: «Kohvipuul on valged lõhnavad õied, ta õitseb mitu korda aastas ja kannab seepärast mitmes valmimisjärgus kirsisuurusi lihakaid vilju» (Tallinn 1983, II köide, lk 149). No loe, no imesta: «mitu korda aastas», «mitmes valmimisjärgus vilju» - nagu Kohvirecords, täpselt? No… küllaltki. Ega kõike kohvi-likku ja Pastaca-pärast ei osanud ENEKE siiski ette aimata. Näiteks võimalusest, et «kohvipuu» kroonijuveele kasvatab, ei poeta toonane ENEKE sõnakestki. (Aga selle koha pealt on ka tänasel EMAkesel suu vett täis.) Pastaca pop-laeka väljailmumist ongi enim osanud oodata ikka need, kellele veidi varasemast on tuttavad Uni ning eriti Vonsucki kange-karaadiline «Enne und». Pastaca teemandid pole küll kaevatud samast mäesüdamest kust Vonsuckil, ja nende lihv erineb ja graveeringud ei kattu. Filigraansus ja värskus vaimustavad sellegipoolest mõlemal puhul. Pastaca flööt, kitarr, laul, klaver ja elektroonika heidavad iseäralikult tuttavlikke helke. On filmimuusikalisi äraolemisi, nii Grünbergi kui Ehalat, nii multit kui Tarkovskit. «Agka» seirab Brasiiliat läbi Tallinnfilmi heli-läätse; «Sultan» seab end minekule justkui Aphexi unenäo-kaksik. Ning «Minu naer», viirastub mulle, kõlab nagu sünkrofasotroni sattunud Treee teel «Hukkunud Alpinisti Hotelli». «Kõrvaklapid» on tõsiselt kelm meisterdis. Peale ei tüki, pigem peibutab. Tõmbab ligi, kuid talle päris lähedale pääseda ei ole lihtne ometigi. Vastupeegelduste paljusus ja üheaegsus segavad salatasa meeli. «Jaanusele», näib siinkribijale igal järgmisel kuulamisel üha enam, on Pastaca «Sun Is Shining» ja «Good Day Sunshine», tema «Gravity's Rainbow» ja tema «Black And White» (Greyhound). Kõik korraga. Kaalukus ja kergus, kiirluup ja ajasulg, päikesepiisad ja lauspilvitus, läbipaistvus ja lapselikkus, tasakaal ja kaalutus. Hoolega valitud, poeesiaks värvitud proosa. «Kõrvaklappides» ei leidu kaugeltki kõike, mis Pastacas kunagi kirjutanud. Kogu paremikkugi mitte. Ja paar päramist lugu, tundub nõnda, polegi vast Pastaca säravamate seast. Aga mis on, on kui pisimate kumeruste ja vähimategi toonivarjunditeni paikapintseldatud pilvekobar, maalitud otse taevasse. «Nii, et tuul seda laiali ei pühi».
Tiit Kusnets
http://arhiiv.postimees.ee/leht/01/03/17e/plaat.htm
