| Goran Besov - Elements Review |
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ouk magazine, issue 23 [02/2000] goran besov war einer der ersten im großraum stuttgart, der sich ernsthaft mit der produktion elektronischer musik beschäftigten, und hat damit und durch die konsequenz seines schaffens ein kaum noch zu übertreffendes qualitätsniveau erreicht. diese platte ist schlicht ein soundtechnisches meisterwerk, gleichzeitig aber auch extrem schwere kost, die einiger zeit bedarf, um verstanden oder nachvollzogen zu werden. es gibt kaum einen musiker, der sich derart akribisch auf soundsuche begibt wie goran besov und das merkt man. seine musik ist derart bösartig, daß man sich zwangsläufig im vorhof der hölle wähnt. distortion, gemeine flächen und eine zumeist beatlose rhythmik gehen einher mit 303-artigem tonmaterial und sorgen für eine beklemmende atmosphäre. großartige platte, aber nichts für selbstmordkandidaten und menschen, die musik nur als unterhaltendes nebenbeigeplänkel betrachten. ][ motik new empire [02/2000] here he strikes again: goran besov, one of the unique artists of the megahertz-label and a master of the more experimental sound. his new release is called "elements" and is a double lp containing 20 tracks on 4 sides. four sides - four elements... i must admit that i have to wipe some dust from my lp-player because i am ot a big fan of this large and black things. but the new goran besov is worth all the "work". i think i'd even play it if it would have been pressed into 80lbs of metal. all 4 sides offer interesting sound-structures. while his last album "major malfunction" was still a little bit technoid, this new release reminds more of noise-artists like pal or even the masters of megahertz themselves, klangstabil. why do i name those bands? not to tell you goran besov copies them. i just want to describe you that he mixes up experimental and very minimalistic arrangements (the klangstabil-part) with heavy beats and powerful rhythm-structures and a good portion of noize (the pal-part). the deep relationship with pal can also be seen in the track "dream and bliss" which is in it's original version by pal and apperas in a "radiant mix" upon this lp on side a. but let me say one thing to make a point: goran besov is not a copy of pal !!! one of my favorite tracks on the album is "prefex" on side c. very heavy, slow, deep-structured and noisy. try to listen to all the little noises in the background and try to identify all the sounds and parts...it needs headphones to do this properly. a very complex and good track. a lot of songs use strange, interesting and alternated speach-samples, which makes the music even more atmospherical and complete. the samples are more of the intelligent kind and not just cool words sampled from some cool movie. i am not sure if i can identify every element or if there even is a relationship between the "true" elements earth, wind, fire and water and the sound, or if goran besov relates to something different. but i look forward to make an itnerview with him to get more informations about this. try to get a copy of this limited (520) dlp, it's worth the money and the use of your lp-player! (toxin) re:mote induction [03/2000] elements is the second lp to be released by goran besov on the megahertz label – following his major malfunction with a double lp. the 20 track elements almost forms 4 distinct sections, though that is partially a suggestion provided by the separation of the sound by the four sides, but is clearest between the atmospheres of side c and the distinct noise influence of side d. elements demonstrates some of the techno influence of major malfunction - but while unaware of it at the time major malfunction becomes a considerably rawer and stripped, minimal sound in comparison to elements. throughout the four sides there is a greater complexity and use of layering, on top of which goran besov demonstrates a considerably greater range with this release. elements side a starts with a slow swirling that mounts to a scream, which is the cue for a tight spiral of beats that brings us to imbalance. a regular and upbeat technoid structure, with jangling, wind-chime textures wafting through with a certain discord. the chimes being replaced by a more coherent melody with progression, a wave with a bass edge. chemical imbalance also swirls, but in a tottering off-balance form, bass snakes slithering amongst the shaking beats. the core structures interrupted by intermittent impacts of sounds, sending splinters across this affected scape. a darker sound, full of tightening violin like loops and nights hooting echoes. reducing to a more minimal form with the scape’s surface flow. pronounced, impacting beats – thud, away, reset – thud – bringing us to surface. a slow steadiness, suggesting potential through which little sparking neurons are shot. tapping percussive beat is added to the swirl, another element in the mounting technoid sound. on certain layers the surface becomes more focused and tighter to the contrasting looser swirls of blistering rays. light cymbals spattering is the first sound, to the bass beat and pulse loops of dream and bliss, besov’s cover of a track by p*a*l which appeared on a megahertz compilation. this gives the impression of being the tightest track so far – focusing in a more minimal form. the couple of layers in slow mutation – the pitter-patter giving birth to shimmers of little beats – while the cycle suddenly peaks in pulsed flourish, before evening out its form once more. suggesting at various points that it may erupt, but in the end feeling no real need. the last track on side a is subteranian and is the hardest on this side. crashing entry, cycling forcefully, while bass blurts along and everything else forms in a spacey but militaristic fashion – a hardened, regimented flotation. with the first vocal sample we flip over to the apocalyptic first track on side b, request it seems is the “way the world ends”. a dark slab of sound, threatening in some way, but in the end a short piece. the following track nylon evasion is more upbeat and has a strong techno feel, but is also quirky. strange sounds echoing and layering in a way that sounds like manipulated brass. very happening, everything at once, keeps you on your toes as you try to keep up with the warped flows – a little funk, perhaps a little jazz, considerable techno. by contrast to nylon evasion, prevent accidents comes across as being more straight forward in its regular rhythm form. the core structure remains with other levels layering into it – the first a rhythmic march, then a shuddering bass/beat movement, followed by the rise of a spectral drone. each sound starting as a background element and each step a little more prominent adding to the complexity and denseness. increase production maintains the dark edge which becomes present in prevent accidents, with the string section a buzz of flurrying bass notes. an edge in the sound has a certain manic suggestion, bustling forward in a no-fuss manner. an encompassing sound that threatens to overwhelm the listener. stripping down to conclusion ad the rumble of the understated the source occupation. despite the textures through the sound, droning, swirling rumbles it remains suggestive rather than fully stated. the source occupation is a droning scape – layering noises in textural forms, patterned by glitches. side c opens with the oceanic flow of at the shivering star, nights tidal forces heavy against the shore. a tune reverberates motions beneath those wave, mimicking the tonal shifts of the surf in their own shimmered way. at the shivering star being a track of pure atmosphere, unlike the strident prefex which follows. prefex a heavy beat regularity – bass beats mixing with more clattering forms. percussion layering as the regularity leads us on. mechanical whirring emerging between the rhythm structure, but in no way matching the of the foreground consistency. bass enters as a sighing drone, haunted by slight echoes of lighter sounds, yet the beats remain steady. moving on we have the crackle of the fire that is silent perversion, the first sign of the light melody and the looping vocal sample. “for more enjoyment and greater efficiency, consumption is being standardized”, it seems is the motto of the silent perversion while a reassuring melody plays in a plinking fashion. scraping across the surface levels we have interference and blasts of dialogue – experimentation and perhaps an attempt to throw the silence. mutating and varying in style as contamination grows. following on from silent perversion we have the upbeat awareness that is detension. melodic edged swirl of techno potential, echoing in motions of wide-eyed special awareness – allowing the start of a slowly progressing dance. almost trancey in form, compared to the its more ambient predecessor. with a sinister edge we reach the last track on side c, titled media termination. slow rise of dark and metallic edges, spikes through the wavering rise of uncertainty, backed by a hollowly absorbent ambient suggestion. side d starts with the monstrous roar of psychophonic consumption - looping with a malevolent force, deep layered triggered beats, streaking static and the continuation of the bass roars. hard and regular rhythms form the core to the lashing layers and constant intensity. a vocal sample looping through the increasingly mechanical form, this track reminding in some way of ms gentur’s recent album. the hard and dark elements carry through to the caustic, tearing noise of escape from necropolis. snarling in a mounting rage of metallic strain, hard piercing peaks f chaotic forms that still manage to form a tune. though dark sun eases up. a drifting intro, with rumbling ritual beats that work well with the addition of vocals by melina besov. a quiet voice, texture to the rumbling soundscape, in the same ball park as templegarden’s. dark sun is followed by the archive mix of side c’s prefex, which goes for a slower , more swirling intro. drawing the sound out to allow more melody and a greater scape feel to come through the quick pulses and solid beat work. the final track on goran besov’s elements is blessing of the masses. a looping scrape against a blossoming radiant sound – rising slowly, while the shimmering of a beat layer promises an emergence. blessing the masses seems to fill the air with crying, a darkness against a bass rumbling – a last distressing conclusion. looking back on elements it is clear that while i like most of this release it is side c which i enjoy the most - at the shivering star, prefex, silent perversion and detension are all highly enjoyable. though besov’s version of dream and bliss along with his own subteranian, nylon evasion and psychophonic consumption are all up there with those tracks. having heard goran besov’s major malfunction certainly won’t have prepared you for elements. artist [03/2000] goran besov hat seine dritte arbeit vorgestellt, das album ,,elements" ist auf dem markt. hab ich ein fach frei im kopf für das besondere, bin ich geneigt, neues unkonventionelles zu hören, bin ich gewillt, beim hören auch zu arbeiten, dann ist der besitz dieses albums ein unausweichlich ding. eine unmenge von material, gesammelt abseits der üblichen wege, wurde mit handwerklich absolutester souveränität in verschieden vielste strukturen geschachtelt, geschüttelt, gereimt in fester und loser form, mathematisch montiert und wie von geisterhand gefügt, es bleibt die gläserne erkennbarkeit trotz dichtestgefügter kollagen. der musiktheoretische aufbau, die behandlung von dramatik und die kompositorischen fertigkeiten beim vorstellen eines themas sind unerklärlich, weil sonst mit einer ausbildung hinterfüttert, woher das hier vom himmel fällt, wissen vielleicht die götter (außerdem stecken mittlerweile wohl 10 jahre intensiver arbeit drin). witzig ist die punktuelle nähe zur grenze "konventionelle musik", manche klangbilder kommen ganz vertraut daher, organische klangfarben und die vermeidung toter wiederholstrukturen und synthetischer geräuschreihungen verschonen mich vor fundamentalistischen grundsatzdebatten. thematisch bekommen wir die ganz großen fragen vorgesetzt, es wird eine geschichte erzählt über den zustand der welt. mit ganz realistischem blick wird der tanz ums goldene kalb gezeigt und die stellung des einzelnen dazu und seine möglichkeiten beim mittun und ausweichen. die entwicklung der welt in richtung kommerz, der alles gleich macht, wird erzählt, die tatsächliche aussichtslosigkeit beim gang der welt an ihr ende wird klarsichtig benannt, ohne gejammer und sehr fatalistisch wird ein ganz persönliches statement abgeliefert. endlichkeit, vergänglichkeit werden erwähnt in großer traurigkeit, als fragestellung formuliert und sanft angezweifelt in ihrer smnnhaltigkeit, antworten gibt es keine, weil, antworten gibt es keine. die art der denkanstösse ist absolut nachvollziehbar, durch das vorstellen seines kulturellen hintergrundes, seiner herkunft in ,,dark sun" bekommen wir den schlüssel in die hand, der die schwärze der sicht erklärt. die vorgestellten bilder sind sehr persönlicher natur, die erzählte geschichte landet in totaler flucht und im chaos, das ist nicht überraschend, weil der weg dahin genau beschrieben wird. beim hören von gelungener musik, egal, ob fugen von bach oder blues oder jazz, egal, entsteht das gefühl der richtigkeit des gehörten, jeder ton, jede pause sitzt, muss also da kommen und ist darum auch da. mir geht es so beim hören von ,,elements", ich bin oft völlig überrascht, wo es langgeht, oder, hoppla, was kommt hinter dieser ecke, hab aber immer das gefühl, das stimmt so. das kreative flirren beim erdenken dieser platte wird sehr spürbar, die aus der üblichen abschottung heraus und schutzlos uns anheim gegebene, sehr intime weltensicht ist aufregend und, das macht es interessant, versetzt mich in einen zustand abseits vom banalen alltag. ich trete zwangsläufig durch die konsequente durchführung und kraftvoll strotzende prismatik selbst ein in denk- und traumwelten. auch beim wiederholten auflegen gibt es neben dem wiederfinden der erkannten strukturen neue ausblicke und demzufolge neue reflektionen. die erste platte war schon nicht das werk eines anfängers, die zweite kam in perfektionistischer manier daher, nun haben wir es mit einem sehr opulenten ereignis zu tun, das an umfang und an konzept die werke vorher beschattet. stellen wir uns vor, es wird bald mehr geben von diesem jungen und potenten querulanten, welch schöne verheißung. haben wir es mit kunst zu tun? ja, ja, ja, es werden wie sonst bei guter kunst altbekannte inhalte neu verknüpft, so dass akzentuierte, verblüffende, neue sichten uns ermöglicht werden. das ist hier absolut gelungen. michael oswald nezzwerk.com [2000] mastered by klangstabil with layout by s.alt, this dark ambient/noise technician introduces a barrage of various cinematic and power-driven tracks on two lps. we are presented with the thematic and forceful pulses, dirges and meltdowns of "chemical imbalance." "surface" turns into multiplexity of stabbing and reverbed phases, acidic drips and loops. a radiant mix of p.a.l.'s "dream & bliss" is approached with more building and intensified percussives and two-step chord progressions. on "nylon evasion" we are endorsed with a horn element and more attractive and driving beats that phase with resonance sounds. the darkest track, "prevent accidents" throws in an eerie organ element to the machine work of the ever-building percussive structures. "increase production" gets into even more cinematic orchestrated synth lines that build to a climatic region not yet heard on the album; very nice to say the least. "prefex" & "silent perversion" on side c build more dark driving beats structures with unnerving dark ambient elements. "media termination" shows a slightly more reverbed and fully infected sound of shifting paradoxes and bleeding melodies. side d deals with more harsh elements, much like some of black lung's material on the first two tracks. "dark sun" brings on the hauntingly lovely vocals of melina besov embedded between the subtle percussives and fractured drips and waves. feeling much like the sound of hybryds. overall, a wide range of versatile compositions that prove not to be as boring as most can be in this genre of music. i seek to hear even more though. recycleyourears.com [03/2001] "elements" is the fourth release by the mysterious goran besov, and his second on megahertz. with these 20 tracks on two 12" vinyls, he offers us a long collection of varied and deep tracks. it's very difficult to put a label to goran besov's music: somewhere between drum'n'bass, dark industrial and noise, this guys don't seem to be able to write two tracks that sound the same. behind the martial and weird art of the sleeve hides a music that has the same thickness and heaviness than the warrior of the cover. besov uses big beats, loud drum samples, repetitive religious sounds or movie samples, to create a mostly slow moving, percussive and impressing music. all the tracks are heavy, dark and rather dark, even when we get to the most rhythmic, club-appealing ones. i think the most important aspect of goran besov's music lay in the "mass" implicated here: this is the kind of music that can be neither modified nor touched. these compositions are dense and overwhelming, the very opposite of an "ethereal" music. when goran besov uses a drum, it sounds like it's made of stone and when he writes a rhythm, it is a huge and repetitive steel machinery that you hear. same things goes to the noisy soundscapes that are prominant on most of the album, as well as to the samples appearing every so often. in a way, "elements" fits very well in the european martial / industrial scene, with its dark, serious and massive aspect. however, it brings more than the usual samples+drums recipe, with an acute sense of the rhyhm on some tracks, as well as a bit of electronic experimentation that justify his signing on klangstabil's label. all in all, this is a long, well done and very various release that needs to be listened to a lot to be fully discovered, and really not something that will bore you quickly. gaze into a gloom magazine [09/2001] goran besov interbreeds the most radical directions of electronic music: rythmic industrial, psychedelic and noise ambient. as a result, a half of the recording has turned out although rhythmical, but, nevertheless, but rather dull and dead conveyer sounding - this is the lp #1. however, the second half is simply perfect. lp #2 is more quiet, balanced and much more three-dimensional variant of experiments which were started on the first lp. completely incredible rhythms and combination of effects simply forced me to forget the irritation which i feld during first 40 minutes. ... slightly cosmic, slightly ritual, slightly dancing and slightly experimental sounds unite, turning out into a huge ethemeral form, which hangs and then slowly dissolve in space. brilliant experimental! legacy magazine [09/2001] auch schon eine ecke älter ist diese megahertz-veröffentlichung. im vergleich zu den label-hausmeistern von klangstabil wird hier geradezu einfach zu hörende musik gemacht. klare strukturen, keine allzu fiesen sounds (aber ein paar nettigkeiten hat goran besov schon auf lager), eine gewisse eingängigkeit weit entfernt von jeglicher anbiederung an techno. "elements" entbehrt nicht einer gewissen schwere, die schon von beginn in ihren bann zu ziehen weiß. auf der b-seite werden wir geärgert: vorgetäuschtes hängen der platte, rhythm 'n' noise und abgefahrene kerker-klänge in 'nylon request'. das ist das schöne an dieser musik: man kann sich nie sicher sein, ob das nun gewollt ist oder die nadel zu lange verweilt. dieser klang zwischen bearbeitetem elefantentrompeten und schrägen 60er-jahre-soundtracks verzückt mich einfach nur. 'the source occupation': langsam, tief wummernd. auf der c-seite entwickelt sich 'prefer' ähnlich schon aus nervigen grundnoises und einem beat. 'silent perversion' und 'detension' sind chillig, irgendwo zwischen kühler beklemmung und heimeliger vertraulichkeit. mit 'media termination' klingt die seite aus, deren ambiente prägung lobend hervorgehoben sei. 'psychophonic consumption' startet die d-seite wieder noisiger. 'escape from necropolis' hat echtes industrial-flair: metallische klänge, verzerrte geräusche und experimentelles arrangement. daumen hoch! (rh) 12 punkte auf abwegen [02/2002] goran besovs elements würde ich, bezogen auf eine aussage in einem interview von ihm, nach der es ihm sowohl um energien als auch um psychologische studien geht, in die fahrrinne von clock dva positionieren. adi newton versuchte wie kaum ein zweiter im electro/post-industrial-bereich die wechselwirkung zwischen menschlichem geist und technologischem fortschritt zu erkunden, und als teil des letzteren gleichzeitig in neue sounds zu kleiden. goran besov liefert psychogramme, die einen größeren spagat musikalischer art vollbringen: von den archaischen brutzeleien solcher kombos wie headbutt oder hunting lodge bis zum in sich gekehrten trippeln am rande einer tanzfläche ist der abstand nicht allzu groß. zumindest für besov. er ist krieger und traumtänzer zugleich. selten ist heute auch, daß ein elektronisch operierender act auf zynismus und firlefanz verzichtet, zum preis der ewigen jugend, die an die kreischenden schlachtrufe des geloopten metalls verlorengeht. schmeißt eure rostigen taler in diesen jungbrunnen, es wird euch umkrempeln. |