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Cast - Are Teek L
CD, Peace Technologies/Lagunamuch Community, 2005
www.lagunamuch.com
"Are Teek L" is the second offering by the Peace Technologies
sub-label of the Russia-based Lagunamuch Community. The first release
to come from Cast, alias Denis Kaznacheev, the album is nothing short of
an impressive display of creativity and musicianship, with a maturity
that is simply unexpected from first releases, but certainly most
welcome.
Spanning 15 tracks, "Are Teek L" contains as much music as you can fit
in a single CD, but still manages to sound good, without filler
material employed to drag the album to its rather full length. In the
cold and dark world of idm, an album that fits within the genre
without resorting to cliche, forced moodiness, is a most refreshing
change. As a matter of fact, Cast's work may be one of the most laid
back records I've had the pleasure to enjoy in the past while,
retaining the ocassional undertone of mystery, but never becoming
unnecessarily heavy. The glitchy, experimental sound of the tracks is
wonderfully focused, remaining simple without feeling too
minimalistic, while a great sense of emotion is conveyed through the
more melodic sections of the tracks, in a mixture of sound that can be
equally chilling as chilled. Overall, while not heavily danceable,
"Are Teek L" is an excellent record to sit back and relax to, the
melodies easily captivating enough to be a great landscape of sounds
rather than mere aural wallpaper. Also worthy of praise is the
excellent packaging and artwork, specially for a release with such a
low price of admission, in a refreshing change from the "CD-R in a
printed A5" that's becoming disconcertingly common.
A stellar release, showing much promise for the future of Cast, as
well as that of the Peace Technologies and Lagunamuch labels.
-- George Mouratidis [8.5/10]
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