Tuesday 19 November 2019

The Russian Linesman 'Monomyth - The Departure' Review





Artist: The Russian Linesman



Title: Monomyth I – The Departure



Label: Loki Recordings



Released: 8th November











This E.P. in this series takes you on a journey through field recordings, ambient electronica and vocals, dipping into a myriad of sub genres whilst weaving storytellers talk about their beginnings with tape to tape, thought processes of job rejections, jazz teachings and mis-spent youth. This really is one of those occasions where the story behind the project, will tell you far more about the project than I can and if you find that intriguing enough, then you may as well dip in and take a listen.

One of the electronic scene’s true mavericks returns to unveil the first in a remarkable new six part series of EPs, focused on the art of storytelling. As with his previous 2017 project (‘The Eysenck Suites I-IV) this “modern day composer” has been inspired by psychological theory in the creation of his latest enthralling musical collages. 

Joseph Campbell’s ‘A Hero with a Thousand Faces’ is an analysis of centuries of human storytelling, based around the anthropological theories of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, and this fascinating book provided the blueprint for the new Russian Linesman project – an artistic abstraction of the concept of the ‘Monomyth’ – a formula we are all familiar with in modern day films and books.

In narratology and comparative mythology, the ‘Monomyth’, or the Hero's Journey, is the common template of a broad category of storytelling that involves a hero who goes on an adventure, and in a decisive crisis wins a victory, then comes home changed or transformed.

Each song within the Russian Linesman’s ‘Monomyth’ episodes (the project will be released in its entirety over the next year at bi-monthly intervals) is named after the relevant part of the hero’s journey and has been accompanied by unique, complex compositions that combine a multitude of diverse collected instrumentation and field recordings to fit the mood of the storytelling. Most storytellers remain anonymous, retaining an abstract element to the process and allowing the listener’s curiosity to be uniquely aroused and be drawn into each different story as it unfolds.

This project quickly developed a life of its own and all the individual stories twisted into a patchwork of yarns that tell an even greater story than I could have ever told on my own. In ‘Star Wars’, the droids make all the space opera weirdness accessible. My droids are my storytellers, my narrators. Placing some of the stranger musical moments within reach of the more casual listener. A hero is only as great as their villain. This project is a proper human interest story.” Russian Linesman



Links
Beatport: https://www.beatport.com/label/loki-recordings/15992



All Stores:https://lnkfi.re/Monomyth-I




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