GDEVA

Russian quartet GDEVA was formed in St. Petersburg in 2005, and has been an active live and recording unit ever since. The band members' aim is to improvise and avoid repeating themselves and they draw many of their influences from the psychedelic rock of the 60's and 70's according to their self-description. "Kleti Quatro" is their second full-length album and was released by the French label Musea Records in 2011.

Space rock made and performed in an elegant, subtle manner is what Gdeva has to offer on their second album "Kleti Quatro". Light-toned guitar riffs, licks and soloing take the driver's seat, backed by dampened synth textures and effects, while a steady bass and drums combination caters for drive and energy. If you generally enjoy psychedelic rock and space rock, and approve of a less-is-more approach to this kind of music, chances are good that Gdeva is a band you should get better acquainted with.

Great Russian & Ukrainian split!

Probably I have said this before, but our fellow collaborator Igor (aka prog-jester) is a very talented and busy musician whose music can please different people with different tastes. I really like his Krobak project, so I've been following it for some time. He has made some splits with other bands, the one with Somnolent which I already reviewed was not really my cup of tea, but now, things have changed. I have to thank the Igor itself because you just have to send him a message if you want to listen to his music, and he kindly answers.

So as I read from his review he wrote to these Russian guys named Gdeva, proposing them a collaboration that turned into this split, which was released in 2009 and which contains just one song per project, I mean one from the psychedelic Russian band Gdeva, and one from the experimental post rock one from Ukraine Krobak.

The first is the one from Russia, it is called "Kleti Quatro" and it is a 22-minute instrumental song. It is a complete trip with psychedelic tendencies that will take you to another galaxy, the first moments can be repetitive but that make me addicted to the sound. While the seconds are passing there are new noises, new elements and trippy effects, the bass lines are great and that drums make an extraordinary work, also worth mentioning are the guitar effects, creating a complete freaky atmosphere, where you can close your eyes and let the music take you to another place. There are moments that remind me to Pink Floyd's psych moments, like a performance on Pompeii. Later some claps sound and the song completely changes, this time it again reminds me to Pink Floyd, now I believe the Echoes influence is quite obvious. Minutes later the song returns to that psychedelic Gdeva's sound, and it is great.

The other song performed by Krobak is named "Marching for the Freedom we Have Lost", a 13-minute piece full of excellent elements that I enjoy so much, actually this is not my favorite Krobak song but I believe it perfectly fits in this split, though the music between both projects is pretty different. The introduction is like some soldiers marching, some seconds later a soft guitar sound appears but the march does not disappear until a minute later where there is an explosion. When the song restarts a new guitar sound appears, while the previous one still sounds now as background. The march returns in some sudden moments, sometimes they are far but sometimes so near. There is again a little change, drums and that guitar keeps sounding. The melancholic and emotional post rock feeling makes its apparition and creates a beautiful, maybe repetitive but great atmosphere.

My thoughts about this split contrasts with the ones about the Somnolent split. This time I really enjoyed listening to both songs, both different styles, both talented projects gathered together in this great split. You can here kill two birds in one shot, and have a good time listening to psychedelic-post rock. My final grade is 4 stars.

Enjoy it!

I have always been fond of Russian Psychedelic scene, and by saying "scene" I mean mostly two bands, GDEVA and VESPERO. While VESPERO were busy with their new record to be released Spring 2009, I dropped two lines to GDEVA guys, proposing them a collaboration, which later turned into this split. GDEVA's track is jam-based, but more structured and much more groovy and intense, than anything you could hear on their debut CD. Mine...I beg pardon, KROBAK's one is an old blueprint from 2007, reworked and re-recorded, based on single riff, but the result is far from being boring, he-he. Cover logo is made by Avis, a friend of mine who sings in a thrash-metal band, and the girl on the cover is my ex from 2009. There are some CD-Rs I've made for friends, but you can download this release for free (as any other KROBAK release), if you follow the link in album's credits here on PA. Enjoy and share your thoughts!

Psych-jamming

Gdeva, a trio of musicians from St. Petersburg in Russia formed in 2005, plays improvised rock with a hefty dose of "psychedelics" elements thrown in. Bubbles, Bubbles. was recorded in two days, live in the studio according to their page in RAIG's website (their label). In essence they jam and use elements of space/psychedelic-rock and post-rock in the process acquiring their music a grand scope and sound.

To better illustrate my point, here's a quote from the band's Myspace page written by Igor Gorley of RAIG: "On its debut release, the band tries to explore prog-rock territories while routing the map of late-60s and early-70s psychodelia by using decrepit vintage musical equipment." That is a good description of what goes on this album. Regarding the last part, there's definitely that overall feeling of a ragged recording (in a good way) that adds to the listening experience. As said above, the band consists of a trio of guitar, bass and drums. Those latter two (played by Valery Berestov on bass and Alexandr Kravtsov on drums) give the solid basis (while still flexible) that the guitar straddles upon. The guitar (played by Andrey Petrov) is the instrument with the highest degree of freedom. It roams around, but is not unleashed or uncontrolled; on the contrary, all the players seem to mostly restrict themselves from letting themselves go. There's no climax, and no climax building for that matter. This is not what the band is about, apparently. They are about creating moods, sounds, atmosphere; playing with an idea, mulling it over without giving it too rigid a form, only giving a few light brushed of its edges.

And here lies the problem to my ears. At times the music sounds monotone because of this and a little more energy would do wonders to it. Energy and more imagination. Jamming is all well and fun to listen to, but something is lacking here. The basis they set and its entourage are good but they seem to not allow enough exploration of what they can achieve with the ideas they come up with and in the end those jams, while entertaining, are not memorable and not a good reason enough to come back to the album. Currently those are mostly tracks with one musical idea being played around, without being given more body to it, more essence or direction which can be done without leaving the jamming and improvising path. A good example of that is Amagrama's album of improvisations, which has tracks with multiple good ideas that are each being explored to a little extent. I'm not saying they should do that; I'm only trying to show that it can be done in other ways that can gather more appeal and interest.

The way I see it, if you're going to improvise why limit yourself in the way you express yourself? As I've said above, that is how this album sounds to me. As if they are restraining themselves from reaching a different level, fulfilling the potential lying in the ideas they present, the potential to play around with these ideas more, make them more energetic, more "fun", more lively or more experimental, depending on the way they wish to go. Hopefully, they'll do so on their next release.

Beware: this is TRUE Psychedelic Rock. I’d regard GDEVA as a jam-band: after all, can you expect thoughtful structures or catchy melodies from an album recorded spontaneously in two days?

Think before saying “anyone can do this”, even if you feel like it is what they’ve done. In fact, there were some additional recordings, even vocals (verse declamation on a background in fact), and music floats almost in Post-Rock vein, with predictable climaxes and atmospheric feeling. But for me personally this release is rather average. It’s not like I expected something mind- blowing beforehand – I’ve checked tracks on band’s RealMusic page (half of album available for free!), but I hoped they could offer something more than just jamming. Anyway, they have all the possibilities to progress and develop their attitude. All the best, GDEVA, your bubbles are good, but definitely non-essential.