In
Conversation with
‘Poostosh’
A
little background:
Some interviews for ‘Setting Sun’ (http://www.geocities.com/aen1mpo)
are incredibly, incredibly easy to sort out and arrange.
Misha who is one member of ‘Poostosh’ who is originally from
But currently living in London (UK) contacted me through my page
On myspace.com for poetry (http://www.myspace.com/andynpoetry)
Saying he enjoyed my poetry and out of interest I had a listen to his
Stuff in due course and was drawn to a quote from the brilliant
Piano Magic who described Poostosh as ‘Wonderfully evocative,
beautifully played improvised music
from
haunting, childhood nostalgia ambience, should your childhood
have been perpetually stuck in Autumn, on your back, in
marram grass."
I was going to write a fairly detailed description of what this music
Did to me when it first sank in but Piano Magic’s music sort of
Summed up to me the beautiful affect this had on me in particular
While walking through a deserted part of the countryside a few days
Later, so it made total sense I contact them for a interview with
‘Setting Sun’ and Misha got back to me in relation to this quite
quickly.
Misha as he discusses in this interview is also involved in a number
Of other projects which I won’t discuss here, but in relation to
Poostosh – they have released a number of albums and from what
I have heard are well worth listening to.
Please visit him on his myspace.com page which can be found
Here
http://www.myspace.com/poostosh
Cheers to Misha for his interview here.. I enjoyed conducting
This interview.
Regards
Andy N
Setting Sun:
How are things and what’s happening at the moment?
Pootosh:
Everything is
fine, but we are apart as I live in
and other Poostosh
guys in
But we have
some material recorded. New album is out
now on Monstaar
Records from
album, devoted to the times, when ambient was
fresh –
80s.
Another new
album is waiting for his label, maybe
eventually it’ll be our Untime
Records again…
A
lot more ideas as usual.
Setting Sun:
Next, can you tell us a little bit about the history of
your
music or as I like to say
sometimes – who fired the
starting pistol?
Poostosh:
As it’s
written on our MySpace – there was a time
when we had a brilliant time of recording
everything
we played, in good quality. Then, as I
selected those
things to find some common meaning - I discovered
the tendency which formed Poostosh
sound later on.
Concerning our
“Untime” album – some themes from
it were taken out from stuff recorded that
time, some
themes were reconsidered and replayed later as
“Then”,
for example, but anyway – it was very
important for us
to record things in one cut.
The idea of
making albums and play together
belongs to me (humble and true).
Setting Sun:
What are your influences music wise and who
are you listening to at
the moment?
Poostosh:
I’m influenced
by whole heap of records as well
as Andrey Gavrilov (DPRSSN) – my Poostosh
colleague. Andrey Kovalenko is mostly swayed by
his inner feeling and our common conception.
He’s
a most innocent in terms of previously
digested music.
What
influenced Poostosh – Harold Budd,
Alexey Rybnikov
(famous Russian cinematographic
composer), Penguin Café Orchestra, 4AD label
(mainly This Mortal Coil), art- post-space - shoegaze rock,
ambient, contemporary classic and minimalism.
At the moment I’m listening
to a new friends on
MySpace and albums bought in charity shops.
Andrey G. listens to retro stuff and a lot more
–
he’s a maniac. Also he’s composing all the
time.
Andrey K listens to Poostosh
and his guitar.
Setting Sun:
I know you play concerts on a semi regular basis –
can you tell us a little
bit more about them – how do
you compare them to your
studio recordings? Is
there one you prefer over
the other ?
Poostosh:
Concerts are
drastic drugs. Once you started
doing them – you’re addicted. No any comparisons.
But every our
recording is like a gig for us –
improvisational and self-admiring.
Setting Sun:
I have being enjoying all of your songs on
myspace.com, as well as the CD I have recently
heard, but on your songs
on myspace.com I think
my favourite
song so far on them has being ‘Then’ –
can you tell us a little
bit more about this song?
Poostosh:
It was
recorded in the booth of an art-centre/theatre,
where we worked as sound/lighting engineers
(Gavrilov worked as journalist in a door opposite to
ours, in another organization). Mixing in real-time.
We were high a
little (maybe not little). Subsequently
I added some
effects to emphasize building up. It
came up very soulful and deep. Almost
everybody
who listened appreciated it.
Setting Sun:
What’s the origin behind the name ‘Poostosh’
also?
Poostosh:
Poostosh – in Russian it’s “Пустошь” – uncultivated
plot or heath. Empty heath, not like Hampstead
one.
It implies the
conjunction of natural and urban.
It’s hard to
explain this feeling, but I’m enchanted
by places like heat and power plants, where areas
in between cooling towers are overgrown with
shrubs
and mutant grass. My childhood passed by
there.
Setting Sun:
What plans do you have next, music wise? I seem
to vaguely recall you
have a album on the way, do
you have anything planned
beside that?
Poostosh:
I’ve got a lot
of projects besides Poostosh. And
Poostosh has an album on the way as it’s been told
before.
Setting Sun:
Where are you from out of interest? What’s the
music scene like were you
are from? Have you being
to any good concerts
recently?
Poostosh:
I’m Muscovite.
Started musical activity in 80 s
in school. Music scene of
upported by establishment and underground
rock-groups. Quite a few info about
western music
life. 90s – I’m a drummer. Army.
Then - rock-bands.
Alcoholic
festivals. Then
– computer – the birth
of MOX project. Then –
“Then”.
About concerts
– I was pretty disappointed by
the sound in a gig of The Divine Comedy in
I was ready to
strangle a soundengineer. Very
nice concert of July Skies and Piano Magic
though,
in Dec. 2006.
Also, I had a gigs with The Resonance Association.
They are great
guys, invincible experimentators.
Another co-giggers –
The Ape Drape Escape –
super-powerful band. The Luminol
Beaux –
warm people play music, which reminds of
Bowie,
Kate Bush and glam aesthetique.
Setting Sun:
What do you do when you are not being a rock
and roll star?
Poostosh:
Meditating,
of course.
Setting Sun:
Anyway, a few light hearted questions to finish
off with, firstly what
would you like to be doing
when you are 60?
Poostosh:
I hope I will
have grandchildren. I will be
performing certainly. But I’m trying to
live “here and now”.
Setting Sun:
Lastly, what do you think you will be doing
when you are 60?
Poostosh:
All we need is
everyday evolution.