Lietuvos musikos informacijos centreas – MICLCD087
5th November 2015
James Wells
While operating within what could be broadly classed as the ‘electronic’ field, Gintas K’s output is vast and diverse in stylistic terms. This compilation, which draws on the work of Lithuanian composer and musical experimenter Gintas Kraptavicius, one-time leader of electro-industrialists Modus, from the period spanning 2004-2015, can only ever scratch the surface of his output. Nevertheless, it provides a flavour of his divergent sonic explorations. From wispy, ethereal contrails and softly chiming piano and glockenspiel segments via microtonal explorations, throbbing electro beats and barely-audible crackles, ‘Message in a Bottle’ is never dull.
The minimalist soundswells of ‘Reloaded Beauty’ contrast with the dizzying multitonal electronoodles and pink noise bursts of ‘5m’ (previously unreleased): elsewhere, ‘Blind Man tale’ is a piece of subterranean dark ambience which rumbles and hums, while ‘Love is Love 7’ is rendered as a Prurient-like squall of fucked electrodes and stammering synths half-buried by a wall of distortion.
The unreleased title track, a recent and previously-unreleased piece almost 13 minutes in length, assimilates many of the elements present in the other tracks, with bursts of noise and frenzied lasers forming a conglomeration of synth noise. It perhaps hints at Gintas K’s future plans – or maybe it doesn’t. One thing this album does show is that Gintas is inventive, unwilling to confirm to any one musical mode, and continually on the move.
Aural Aggravation 