for russian electronic music, mikhail chekalin is not only a major character, who has affected the scene’s establishment and development, but also a kind of symbolic figure. his music has been praised by many in the west - from journalists and critics of all kinds to frank zappa and karlheinz stockhausen, while in moscow chekalin’s name was excluded from the official cultural agenda for a long time: he was accused of propaganda of foreign pro-western aesthetics and up until the end of the 80’s wasn’t allowed to release his works or travel abroad. this, however, didn’t interfere with him recording dozens of innovative electronic compositions and contributing greatly to the development of unofficial soviet art in general - for example, providing sound design for the famous exhibitions of twenty moscow artists on malaya gruzinskaya or arranging the first audiovisual performances on a specially constructed light organ.
however, just like all great artists, mikhail himself prefers to focus not on personal achievements, but on creativity. i don’t have a biography - only a discography - this quote of the author may become an entry point of sorts into the compilation presented. this archival collection of works recorded within the period from 1978 to 1987 are chekalin’s multigenre experiments ranging from spatial music (in essence, ambient’s precursor) to more contemporary synthesizer and post-symphonic compositions.

cosmopolis is an electronic music release from artist fonemi. this work is inspired by the novel cosmopolis by don delillo, a book that tells of a modern odyssey along the streets of a great metropolis. the four pieces here, composition of cosmopolis, sounds as the soundtrack of an introspective journey rich in ancestral suggestions and forgotten rituals recalls over time. the undervalued atmospheres that characterise the whole work seem to be held in suspension by a percussive magma that marks the passage of the past that becomes present. cosmopolis is a fluid that carries our lost memories.
cosmopolis: a tribal and primitive dance, a propitiatory rite that has been handed down unchanged over the centuries.
fiori carnivori: what you do not expect, the flower, a symbol of delicacy and sensitivity that turns into an inexorable predator.
verso casa: the return from a long journey, the lights that illuminate the asphalt and the distant flashes of unidentified cities.
tra le rovine: an ancient song, a prayer that exorcises a universal omen.