I’ve picked up a number of Sengiley records over the years. A bunch of their releases are the kind of things a DJ would bag and classify as “secret weapons” — records that not everybody else has or has even heard of. There’s an emphasis on sound over spectacle, a deep back catalog made up of quality tracks by names I’ve never seen before, or only seen on Sengiley.
Most of those records I’ve heard have been deep house or something vaguely deep house-adjacent. This time, Sengiley Wax (the Russian label’s vinyl arm) signs Finetune for ten tracks of eclectic electronic gems. Impulse is the third installment in the label’s “Russian Series” and it is experimental music in the best sense — unique, challenging for sure, but very listenable. The buzzy “UFA 432” begins with what sounds like a series of stringed and electronic instruments orbiting and eventually merging with the steady hum of a theremin. A quite beautiful, understated song emerges out of the process, but the process also seems to be the point. The tracks on Impulse rarely remain constant: there’s an introduction, a series of elements fall into place on a grid, but then something else happens. Constant motion is the album’s chief characteristic: a steady-state is just a transition into something else. Along the way there are snippets of field recordings, ambient music and a sound palette strikingly unique and distinct from anything else I can recall.
Finetune is the alias of Mikhail Komisarov. Under another alias, Michael Dop, he co-founded Slowdance Records, a label constructed to satisfy his urges to circulate “sophisticated and interesting” music. “We genuinely believe that human consciousness and outworld perception can be changed by music,” reads the label copy, and I miss the days when that was true for most everyone. It certainly applies to Impulse.
⚪️ Impulse Tracklisting
Finetune: Impulse LP (Sengiley Wax / 12" Vinyl)
A1: UFA_432
A2: 105_MOTO
A3: MDLR_Improvisation
B1: Harm Of Will
B2: Far Afield (Ft Sasha Bartashevich)
B3: Polymoon
C1: 森
C2: Melting Time (Ft Iskandeor Hannov)
D1: Step Gentle
D2: From Ashes To Light
⚪️ Disclosure Statement
This record was submitted as a promo.
5 Mag Issue 226
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elevate: First published in 5 Mag Issue #226 featuring DJ Slugo cover story, Michael Gray cover mix + interview, the anti-AI backlash and more. Become a member for $2/month and get every issue in your inbox right now…
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