Koan is a Russian electronic experimental musical duo, consisting of musicians Daniel Roeth and William Grey (these are probably only pseudonyms, since on their official FB page it is informed that William Grey’s real name is Vladimir Sedov), who are veterans active in the underground scene since the early nineties.
Despite their somewhat modest fan base, Koan is definitely one of my favorite electronic musical acts of all time. Their sound is majestically vibrant, ostensibly original, genuinely proficient, and powerfully exhilarating, with dense and hyperbolic melodies that transcend and redefine all the extraordinary possibilities of its groundbreaking, but consistent expansive essence. With sensible, but complex intuitive cadences that reacts over the waves of harmonies that engulf the soul of its implosive expressive musical features, the sound of Koan makes extensive use of superimposed notes, that creates abrasive sonorous effects over its intricate continuous densities. And you certainly can feel that for yourself, especially if you hear the album I consider their masterpiece, the astounding, fantastic and fabulous The Way of One.
Despite their somewhat modest fan base, Koan is definitely one of my favorite electronic musical acts of all time. Their sound is majestically vibrant, ostensibly original, genuinely proficient, and powerfully exhilarating, with dense and hyperbolic melodies that transcend and redefine all the extraordinary possibilities of its groundbreaking, but consistent expansive essence. With sensible, but complex intuitive cadences that reacts over the waves of harmonies that engulf the soul of its implosive expressive musical features, the sound of Koan makes extensive use of superimposed notes, that creates abrasive sonorous effects over its intricate continuous densities. And you certainly can feel that for yourself, especially if you hear the album I consider their masterpiece, the astounding, fantastic and fabulous The Way of One.
With a glorious, energetic and effective sonority that runs over the excesses of forgotten universes lost over a billion consciences that sleep in the existential grace of its pungent veracity, this album is a masterpiece that will completely reset your standards in the genre. An expressive audacity that runs over a universe of dispersive and dense harmonies, The Way of One delivers the laborious synergy of unrestrained inventiveness, generating to the relief of its exceptional musical tonalities a new principle of virtuous and organic originality, that anticipates a whole new category for genuine electronic art. On the playful allegories of the colorful universe envisioned by the grandiosity of this monumental eulogy of artistry, the dispersive elements of the genre are astoundingly agglutinated altogether, to reimagine the transcendental grace of life, reinstating over the vicinities of its latent, but powerful creativity a new dimension of lucid catharsis. That being punctuated, it’s more easy to assert that The Way of One anticipates in the marvelous cosmogony of its creative anatomy all the vast possibilities dormant within the genre, but perfunctorily displayed on this album, in the fertile vivacity of its dream-like everlasting atmosphere of sensibility and cohesiveness. Although I think it’s unfair to emphasize my favorite tracks – since the entire album is thoroughly excellent –, I must write them down, to relieve my conscience. The first two, Alone in Canoe and Eagle's Tale, as well as the last two, Uenuku and Peta-Owi Hankeshni!, in my modest opinion, are the highlights of this album, and deserve to be deeply appreciated by the exceptional poetic virtues of their sensible sonorous overpowering restlessness.
Another album that I think deserves to be highlighted is Argonautica. Not as marvelous as The Way of One – at least in my personal evaluation –, nevertheless, this album deserves its place of honor. Exceedingly extensive as well, being seventy-nine minutes long, this record contains the following tracks: Orpheus and Eurydice, Lost Lyre, Peleus and Thetis, Irida Falls to Morpheus' Pits, Crying Prozerpine (blue mix), Pegasus, In the Garden of the Hesperides (Golden Apples mix), Seven Mirrors of Atlas and Ladon (Serpent mix). The title of the tracks, as well as the mood in every song, displays a mythology-inspired work, a little more serene, soft and balanced than The Way of One. Argonautica gets better and better as reaches the end.
Another album that I think deserves to be highlighted is Argonautica. Not as marvelous as The Way of One – at least in my personal evaluation –, nevertheless, this album deserves its place of honor. Exceedingly extensive as well, being seventy-nine minutes long, this record contains the following tracks: Orpheus and Eurydice, Lost Lyre, Peleus and Thetis, Irida Falls to Morpheus' Pits, Crying Prozerpine (blue mix), Pegasus, In the Garden of the Hesperides (Golden Apples mix), Seven Mirrors of Atlas and Ladon (Serpent mix). The title of the tracks, as well as the mood in every song, displays a mythology-inspired work, a little more serene, soft and balanced than The Way of One. Argonautica gets better and better as reaches the end.
Ariadne's Thread is a thirty-eight minutes EP, that has a deep, vastly dimensional, linear and imponderable musical diagram. Although this work follows in a general basis the creative standards of Koan, here it is possible to notice the duo following a more reflexive, philosophic and soft harmonious theorem. With four songs – Astraea, Alpheus & Arethusa, Hyades and Galatea –, the first one is definitely my favorite, although this EP is majestic from the beginning until the end.
Diving deeply into an infinite ocean of sensitive splendor, colorful sentimentalities, abysmal nights of incurable tenacious placidity, being completely embraced by the gracious waves of its melodious charismatic fortunes, on Ariadne’s Thread, restless universes collide over multiple horizons of impatient indulgence, pretending to be lost in a stream of diligent sonorous flavors. Deliberately, a precise and salutary consistence rearranges the dynamic patterns of its anatomy, in a convergent alliance of splendor that easily understands the logic behind its own impulse. The introductory enchantment prevails over the benevolent compulsory rapture of its unlimited sonorous configuration. All the way through – expanding in the vicinities of its latent infinity –, a regressive set of harmonies rapidly overflows under the skin of its convergent sonorous projection, intelligently tracing and defining the impalpable frontier of its mordacious, but lucid musical gravity.
Diving deeply into an infinite ocean of sensitive splendor, colorful sentimentalities, abysmal nights of incurable tenacious placidity, being completely embraced by the gracious waves of its melodious charismatic fortunes, on Ariadne’s Thread, restless universes collide over multiple horizons of impatient indulgence, pretending to be lost in a stream of diligent sonorous flavors. Deliberately, a precise and salutary consistence rearranges the dynamic patterns of its anatomy, in a convergent alliance of splendor that easily understands the logic behind its own impulse. The introductory enchantment prevails over the benevolent compulsory rapture of its unlimited sonorous configuration. All the way through – expanding in the vicinities of its latent infinity –, a regressive set of harmonies rapidly overflows under the skin of its convergent sonorous projection, intelligently tracing and defining the impalpable frontier of its mordacious, but lucid musical gravity.
The eleven minutes song Underwater Moonlight is a marvelous exemplar of a beautiful, expressively soft Koan song, that definitely has an intelligent melody, despite its extravagant and graceful simplicity.
Rainfall is a very simple and basic Koan song, although it is also very beautiful. The placidity of its texture, and the calm intensity of its main harmonious line gives to its sonorous configuration a deeply gracious vivacity, whose arrangement intertwines on the space between the notes the consecration of a vast continuous melody, whose main surface is a lot more fragmented, though the affinity of its own discreet sonorous subtleties perpetuates the dense virtuosity of its major notes.
The discography of Koan has a lot of options and versatility. Literally, this is a musical act that has everything to please all the ardent enthusiasts of electronic music. Here – aside from emphasizing which one is my favorite, The Way of One, a masterpiece, in my opinion – I want to invite you to explore them by your own account, giving here only some suggestions to provoke your curiosity, but giving you the liberty to explore the works of this fantastic electronic music duo at your own expense. Be free to do it. I’m sure you’re going to deeply enjoy this fabulous journey.
Wagner
Wagner
