Tietäjän laulu

Anticipation is the keyword here. ‘Tietäjän Laulu’ was one of the most anticipated records of 2008, on a personal level. Given the satisfaction that was drawn out of my beleaguered soul upon hearing the immense ‘Lumikuuro’, Kauan were beginning to establish themselves as a bit of a favourite in my books. The inspired hybrid, which blended a successful amount of black, doom and folk metal, were one of the best newcomer bands and supplied one of the most intriguing records on the scene during 2007. I had wanted to hear ‘Tietäjän Laulu’ since I had discovered Kauan, which wasn’t long after the Russians had announced the new full-lengths arrival. Anton Belov, the main conspirator behind the marvellous hybrid is at the heart of this records creation, figuring prominently from beginning to end. His performance should be regarded as one of the best of the year given his young age and influential creativity that has sparked a Russian Revolution in the underground. Even before the arrival of this seductive piece, I knew that Kauan were set to offer something completely new to its audience. Anton himself had stated that the methods of displaying Kauan’s unlimited ocean of creativity were going to differ from that on the first opus, ‘Lumikuuro’ which has been considered a largely piano based black metal offering, though I don’t necessarily agree with that view entirely since it spans across several genres with unfamiliar sounds to one another. ‘Tietäjän Laulu’ is a condensed version of ‘Lumikuuro’. It keeps a familiar production, which enhances the beautiful echoes of the vocals and instrumentation (particularly the piano based sections), but other than that, the aims and goals of this record seem to be a polar opposite to the debut, which was accessible mainly to the fan of the extreme.

‘Tietäjän Laulu’, by far and large, is more so accessible to any fan, of any kind of atmospheric music which delves into the lush soundscapes that heightens its appeal because it has opted to omit certain aspects of the previous record for large parts and only applies them in sparse and varied quantities. ‘Lumikuuro’ formed a familiar sound with constant use of distorted guitars and harsh vocals, only sometimes dipping in to other forms of projection. However, ‘Tietäjän Laulu’ is a contrasted affair as it takes a new direction to project its themes of nature. To me, both records now seem metaphoric in their individual approaches, which stand in contrast to one another. First, ‘Lumikuuro’ depicts the destructive force of nature through harsher soundscapes. Second, ‘Tietäjän Laulu’ depicts the beauty of nature through the mellifluous soundscapes which are drawn out by clean vocals and other elements of clean instrumentation, which were sparsely used throughout the debut. Without focusing too much on ‘Lumikuuro’, one cannot help but analyse the differing patterns that the debut took to this record. The use of a new structure has seen Kauan establish themselves as an even more effective band, conjuring alluring elements of beauty and elegance that took a back seat on the debut. ‘Tietäjän Laulu’ opens up a new set of doors to the listener, forcing them to pay closer attention. This record, unlike the first, focuses almost entirely on clean instrumentation, which adds a new dimension of elegance. The piano based center still exists, but allows other sections of the instrumentation to grasp and hold the soundscapes for longer. One mustn’t forget the performances of the session members, of which add to the folk inspired feel that the soundscapes draw out. Two members actually contribute on traditional instruments like the buben and duda, which I’m largely unfamiliar with. Lyubov Mushnikova’s performance on violin mustn’t go unnoticed either.

The piano based center is pivotal to the worthwhile sound of Kauan as it portrays the saddened feel to the music in all the right ways, see ’Transparent Flower’ for an example. Switching from the haunting, to the sorrowful, the piano based sections are especially good at displaying the content of emotions on offer to the listener. The piano, the violin, the clean vocals and even the tribal drumming which subtly scorns the soundscapes from underneath the main elements of the instrumentation. All the aforementioned aspects of this record control the inspirational dimensions that intertwine and fixate themselves on the listener. Of course, the old elements do exist, but only sparsely, as stated. Some use of distortion is required to contrast the records own use of clean and harsh elements, shown perfectly on songs like ’Aidin Laulu’. Songs like this use old methods of allowing bass to structure a sombre edge to the base of the music, whilst the piano passages like to tug away at the heartstrings which are consciously effected by the emotive soundscapes. The violins and clean vocals supply a fresher appeal to the audible instrumentation and allows the music to become more accessible to a wider ranging audience. Considering the fact that Kauan base their music around the themes of nature, this record does a successful job at rendering the listener in a state of perpetuated awe as their themes unravel themselves in glory. I don’t consider this record, ‘Tietajan Laulu’ to be any more worthwhile than the previous. Both outings are too different to pit against one another, so they shall stand alone. One must bear in mind the fact that Anton is very young. Given time, he may developed this band into one of legendary status as he figures so prominently in it, contributing to vocals, guitars, keyboards and programming. His mature sound is inspiring and makes me feel lazy for not contributing to the musical scene I love so much.