- Kate NV returns to RVNG Intl. for a kaleidoscopic journey through sound and joy.
- In a recent interview with MusicRadar, the Russian singer, songwriter, producer and artist Kate Shilonosova said, "I have no problem listening to Stockhausen followed by Christina Aguilera. Being snobbish about stuff closes a lot of doors, yet being open to music is the key to being open-minded." For the last decade, she's explored the possibilities afforded by pop and the avant-garde through a series of intricate releases for Arctic Pacific Records, Orange Milk, Plancha and RVNG Intl.
On 2018's для FOR, Shilonosova used a rhythmic style of ambient music to take listeners on an impressionistic tour of her hometown of Moscow. Two years later, with Room For The Moon, she crafted a trilingual song cycle of synth-pop and post-punk inspired by the rich musical histories of late 20th-century Russia and Japan. With WOW, her fourth album (and third for RVNG Intl.), Shilonosova unifies these approaches, arriving at an interzone where carefully selected fragments of techno-pop, mutated video game music and minimalist composition coalesce into an immensely joyful sense of freedom.
On opener "oni (they)," Shilonosova weaves Japanese-language vocals (penned by Nagoya-based footwork experimentalist Foodman) around hypnotic synthesizer figures, shakers, digital marimba and a cartoonish bassline. After building in intensity, it gently unwinds before exploding into a neon-lit whirlwind. From there, the scene is set for the possibility of going anywhere and everywhere.
Across the album, Shilonosova blurs the lines between programmed and played. Playfully expressed through the high-gloss technonaturalism, organized noise, and moments of circus music that animates tracks like "nochnoi zvonok (night call)," "meow chat" and "razmishlenie (thinking)," the music feels so tactile you can almost reach out and touch it.
One of Shilonosova's key tools here is Found Sound Nation's Broken Orchestra sample pack, a sound catalog of over one thousand dilapidated instruments sourced from Philadelphia public schools. Alongside everyday objects repurposed as percussion and texture, she interweaves Broken Orchestra's battered samples with slices of her friends playing instruments. It's a fitting counterpoint to the spectacular synthesis skills she's been honing since her earliest releases.
As part of the cornucopia of sounds on display, several tracks on WOW recall 80s techno-pop in the mode of Yellow Magic Orchestra, Art of Noise, and YMO collaborator Miharu Koshi's Tutu and Parallelisme albums. Rendered in bright, colorful tones, "confessions at the dinner table" launches into action with a melodic machine strut, periodically accompanied by violins, woodwind, and found object percussion. Two-thirds of the way through, the track switches into cruisy jazz fusion in the mode of Yuji Toriyama before fading out like sunset behind the Tokyo skyline.
Much like exploring new levels on your favorite puzzle video game, wandering through a quirky amusement park, or simply slipping into a daydream, listening to WOW delivers genuine warmth, happiness and light. Within these settings, Shilonosova expands her ever-evolving and inquisitive personal soundworld of beautiful music for the body and the mind.
Tracklist01. oni (they)
02. confessions at the dinner table
03. slon (elephant)
04. asleep
05. nochnoi zvonok (night call)
06. mi (we)
07. d d don’t
08. early bird
09. razmishlenie (thinking)
10. flu
11. meow chat