THERE IS AN END TO EVERYTHING

After getting his feet wet on his debut "Sound Dependence," the one man show from Kazakhstan VYACHESLAV POTAPOV or simply VP spent another year learning how to play more instruments and record music and created his second homemade album THERE IS AN END TO EVERYTHING which is yet another instrumental album of strange eclectic arrangements that were primarily recorded with the program Cakewalk and a whole lot of pent up musical creativity just oozing out into the world. This was the first of two albums in 2004. This one was released on May 25 while the following "At Sunset Of Day's" came out on July 22. There is something about this part of the planet where these creative musicians create some of the most ethereal and epic sounding music even if it sounds like it was produced on a small budget. Such is the case with VP where one guy creates some larger than life compositions that sound like they were recorded on the most rudimentary equipment that could be found.

THERE IS AN END TO EVERYTHING is somewhat of a concept album albeit loosely based on the title's universal principle. Basically the role of each instrument is to express the different moods of life. The flute expresses lament for life on the Earth dying while the guitar converses with the flute to remind it that life is fleeting and not lived in vain. The theme is impermanence through the sonic fusion of all kinds of different musical genres. While the opening track "The Man From The San" is more of an ambient and ethereal electronic piece, the second track "Pictures In Rock" picks up the pace with a percussive drive and almost tribal type sound with guitar, bass and electronic embellishments. It's rather free form without any sort of traditional song structure. "The Observer In The Shadow" is the progressive behemoth on the album lasting over 11 minutes and begins with an avant-prog sort of chamber rock type of sound with instruments leapfrogging over each other before totally changing into more of an exotica type of chill out track with vibraphone simulations and a steady bass line playing over a lugubrious synth creeping in and out of the soundtrack of life. This one reminds me a lot of early Roz Vitalis with its avant-garde classical music approach with a steady rock drive to it as well as being sophisticated compositionally yet sounding under baked in the production department. The composition itself is quite brilliant.

"The Fiery Butterfly" is the shortest track and a strange little guitar oriented number that has a piano living in its own world. It's almost as if it's two separate songs going on and then it becomes like three! Very complex musical interactions on this one and sort of sounds like something that should be on a soundtrack. "Difficulty Plaited" is the most easily digested track on the album. It is very jazz-rock fusion oriented with some sort of programmed bass clarinet but becomes more frenetic and erratic as it proceeds. Probably my favorite track actually. And to end the album is the title track which much like the introductory track expresses a VP's Weltschmerz and where he was at the period he wrote the music to this album. VP also created the artwork for the album cover which expresses the mood for the album. Very well done album actually although this is definitely a homed affair that was just a rough draft for future perfection. Not essential but really good compositions. Unfortunately the amateur production detracts from the enjoyment.