AS SMOKE IS DRIVEN AWAY

As Smoke is Driven Away is Compassionizer's 20 minute EP with Serghei Liubcenco on guitar, bass, doira, drums, Leonid Perevalov on bass clarinet, Ivan Rozmainsky on keyboards, kalimba, vibraphone and AndRey Stefinoff on clarinets, with Lyudmila Poletaeva on Viola. This Russian musical Avant group generate a decidedly tranquil soundscape that has dark RIO textures due to the dissonance of woodwind competing over the melodies.

The percussion that comes in has a tribal quality as though war was brewing beneath the peaceful atmospherics. It gets threatening and ethereal at 14 minutes in, with a repeated motif that ascends and becomes entrancing.

The music is brooding, ominous and occasionally sounds like The Residents in a baroque mood. The bass clarinet and other woodwind instruments lend a classical soundscape and the viola strings complement these melancholy nuances.

This is a compelling piece of music that moves in many directions captivating the ear. It is worth taking a listen to this Compassionizer multi movement suite.