This CD came as a big surprise to me. I had not heard of the label before, so a few words on the background might be needed. ‘I Shall Sing Until My Land Is Free’ is a sublabel of Prostir, a label for the music of Cluster Lizard and related projects. Cluster Lizard is a project from Dmytro Fedorenko & Kateryna Zavoloka, originally from Ukraine but now Berlin-based. The sublabel and all generated profits are forwarded to support Ukrainian resistance against Russia, mainly self-defence and humanitarian foundations. So, even if the album I’m about to write about is not your thing, look at the URL to see if you can support the cause in another way.
Back to the release: Variát and Merzbow. The album is released in a few formats. Of course, you can just get a download, but this one is also available on CD and a red vinyl+blue one-sided 7″. So Merzcollectors, beware and get that vinyl version before it sells out. Furthermore, I will not say anything about Masami Akita. If you have been sleeping these last 44 years, it’s about time you wake up. Dmytro Fedorenko might need a little introduction, but I’ll stick to throwing names at you guys of things he runs or has been involved with in some way. Ready? Kvitnu, Kotra, Cluster Lizard, Critikal, Z.E.T., and, as said earlier, Prostir and Variát. The final name-calling is the fact that C-drik did a great job mastering this; the sound is very well-balanced.
I know the Merzbow sound, even though there is quite a broad spectrum where he is active. With the sound of Variát, I am less known, but when I heard “Unintended Intention” for the first time, I had some real problems thinking about who did what. Which made this album more fun to listen to somehow. The music is also not close to what I’m used to from Merzbow. So, the Variát influences are there. Overall, it’s slow-pounding drone-like structures. Massive brutalist buildings with lots of movement over the gigantic foundations. String instruments – isolated recordings of Masami’s homebuilt junk guitar? – rhythmic parts, noise eruptions and complete out-of-this-world dadaist incoherent sounds. But the general description of heavy brutalist fundaments dressed up with a cornucopia of sounds might be as fitting as it gets.
“Unintended Intention” is a complete surprise, and I am not easily surprised after so many years—compliments to everybody involved. Personal favourite? “Harmonics Of The Unknown”.
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