»Televiisor On Tuksis« by Taavi Tulev

1st thing: BEWARE OF BROKEN EAR DAMAGE ON “KARJE”

One of todays most important composers of classical music is Toivo Tulev, the father of Taavi. For Autoplate, Taavi cuts, smashes, mingles, constructs and keeps defining the new school of electronica folklore from Estonia. 13 neo-dsp songs which are mad and randomly structured, but in the end agree on one point: beautiful.

Taavi keeps playing various instruments of undefined origin and, if you listen carefully, unfolds multiinstrumentality i rarely took notice of yet. “Karje” pierces your ears with an enraged spoon on the heating and loud distorted pads which top on jamming a dramatic melody together. “Freako” is a metallic jam of used and unusal sounds. “Amuu” sounds like a defacement of a traditional estonian good-night song with illogcial harmonies. “Kaega” has melancholic-melody painting skills equal to some Lackluster songs of the “Container” album, but with more youthful energy behind and not too reduced. “Mleellikulal” grain manipulates hipassed guitarlick cycles and plugs/unplugs popping wires. One of my favourite cuts, “Kivi” jams on a heavy fx-ed piano with all the dadaistic, impudently, sounds Taavi loves to cutnpaste. “Minuni” evolves C-64 resonanced strings and pads and lfo-s, cutoffs and delays them to a nice potpourri of retroanalogica. On “R-Pauer” Taavi throws again bittersweet and tender melancholica around himself like lightnings which break your heart into thousand parts. “Berta” is hectic and tries to escape from the unknown. In all between those songs, we have a break with Dr. Jekyll, the liquid fountain of youth, “Televiisor On Tuksis” which keeps sparkling like glowworms. So nice! And a really impressive example of Taavis solid classical background of composing. Beware of Mr. Hyde in “Trainas”! “Taschkje” is a warm bath of electronica, before he leaves us with yet another estonian christmas interpretation, called “Alap” here. Very recommended - see Taavi on Germany tour in December, definately one of the most bizarre Gigs you’ll have heared so far then, yet.

Review by Sebastian Redenz

This time Taavi made the artwork for his CD.

“Music which permanently takes up degree migration between insanity and pure genious. Toy command meets relativity theory, Comicfigures on Acid and the entire staff of “One flew more over the Cuckoos nest” on free course” (Claus Wittwer, OX Fanzine 12/02)

1. Karje
2. Freako
3. Amuu
4. Kaega
5. Mleelikulal
6. Kivi
7. Minuni
8. R-Pauer
9. Berta
10. Televiisor On Tuksis
11. Trainas
12. Taschkje
13. Alap