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In playing Interactivity (65'33") you are agreeing to listen to K Markov's story. Expressing a mood, an atmosphere, a tone, in a numberless variety of subtle sonic shadings, he travels through space like a rocketeer blasting past planets. Polished, rigorous and sober this release is influenced by the 1970s Berlin-School, yet it narrates from the present. Each of its five tracks emerge in a slow gathering of ominous growls - putting the audience inside the action. The amorphous texture of Interactivity initially fills out our space with dense forms. These timbre experiments provide an unexpected excursion. As drifting drones roll out their charged current, the potent, primitive force of sound itself expresses power. Above a storm of sequencer patterns, rushing synthesizer chords mix with lead lines and bristle with electrical current. These pulsing passages are spirited performances of melodic and rhythmic flight. Slow melodies hold forth above a venting mass, while echoing note cycles peal out amidst animated keyboard leads. With electronic harmonies rising and falling in passages of light and dark, an unexpected beauty emerges. Beneath the enigmatic cool of a deep space traveler, this musician generates heat. When tonal content melts into a muted metallic ringing, modulated effects bring on a darkening chill. Here too Markov captures angelic harmonies, amid mined subterranean frequencies. The structure of Interactivity sets the pace of thought. Out past the storms of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, and the other gas giants, past where the planets end, we may find - among the stars - that there is a meaning to this work. It urges us to be more, not to just want more. Animated by the power of music to convey emotions it stands strong against the cynicism that tears at the fabric of modern life.
Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END - 26 September 2019
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