Gagarin has been making music on the edges of the musical galaxy for many years in many guises. Currently he works alone crafting atmospheric digital soundscapes, sculpting future grooves and polishing aching melodies. He plays out live - an exciting mix of software precision and human frailty/spontaneity thats never the same twice.
Early adventures in cult Manchester band Ludus were followed by a sustained period playing and co-writing with the legendary Nico of the Velvet Underground. He's since recorded and collaborated with John Cale, Suns of Arqa, Eric Random, David Thomas & Pere Ubu, Bill Pritchard,Cabaret Voltaire as well as many others and played at the Tabyck shamanist festival in Siberia,in castles in Scotland and France, festivals and clubs across the globe.
A regular on the London electronica scene in recent times he's played at Moonpalace,
Rehab, Slack Sabbath, Fade In, Multivitamins, London Headphone Festival, Netlabel festival, Ginglik, Foundry, Klinker, Recluse, Disco-rdance, Recluse, Arctic Circle, Guerrila Zoo etc as well as other UK nights like Spirit of Gravity, Xposed Club, Working Classes, I betya etc.
He's member of glitch/pop combo Raf & O who are making waves on the live scene, part of an exciting band with Welsh-Iranian songstress Roshi ( ft Pars Radio ) whose debut releases have been widely acclaimed.He's also an active and experienced Community Musician running workshops for many community groups, specialising in facilitating creativity with technology and teaches at Goldsmiths College.
Gagarin's last album ARD NEV was released on limited edition by U-Cover and then V2 was released on Geo in Nov 06. It gained loads of excellent reviews in the UK and across Europe ( The Wire, Future Music, deBug, Rockarilla etc) .
" Skittering electronic rhythms and melodies, refracted through an abstract, chilly sensibility that both entices and unsettles " The Wire
"Simply beautiful music " - de Bug
In late 2006 he completed an extensive and hugely succesful European tour supporting the legendary Pere Ubu for whom he also contributes two remixes to their latest album. Then Spring 07 took him round Europe with Ubu again - this time as temporary synthesist as well as lots of interesting live events as Gagarin and with other projects.
2008 was an incredible year of action - providing atmospheres and more for Ubu Roi at Queen Eliz. Hall feat Pere Ubu/ Brothers Quay/Sarah-Jane Morris, plus beats and more for Suns of Arqa at Glastonbury and other summer festivals alongside Youth, Pritam Singh and others.
He's expanded his label GEO and completed the next Gagarin album titled ADAPTOGEN, contributed tracks to the latest Pere Ubu album, released, co-produced and played on Raf and O album, and Roshi ft Pars Radio album as well as played numerous succesful gigs alone and with his labelmates including live sessions on Resonance FM, Radio 3.
So far in 09 - a slew of succesful live dates across UK - Brighton, Shrewsbury, Plymouth, London etc, loads of collaborations, composing for Freewheelers dance group, ICA and autumn eurotour doing Gagarin soundscapes in Long Live Pere Ubu, Big Chill with Suns of Arga, loads of great reviews for Adaptogen ( see below) and upcoming Adaptogen remixes featuring Robert Logan, Rothko, Hybernation, Youth, Entrada recs - on download only v soon...
Plus beautiful vid for Golden Cap by James English -
In late 07 gagarin released 3" EP - AGRICHEM out in Oct 07 through the legendary Smallfish . Reactions to AGRICHEM - " Beautiful & sinister " - " Soothes the raging beast " !
2009 releases - beautiful limited edition 7" single - Golden Cap 7" and full length CD album ADAPTOGEN through Kudos distribution - www.kudosrecords.co.uk, www.smallfish.co.uk or buy direct www.myspace.com/georecordsuk or buy here direct from Itunes
Reviews for Golden Cap / Gavvers - MIXMAG - " Dids is a mainstay of underground London and as gagarin makes strange and fascinating ambience. Golden Cap is like a strangely 80s vision of the future. Gavvers is a dubbier, moodier piece - huge talent ".
Beware ominous synthetic clouds rising wraithlike over London. This fine slab of electronica sees Gagarin forging impressive alien vistas on GC , unveiling hints of Clint Mansells claustrophobic soundtrack work or maybe sections of Skinny Puppy's classic Last Rights. On the flip Gavvers really brings home the bacon with its jittery Autechre/ Lexaunculpt rhythms and textures which morph into plaintive melodic waves. Impressive stuff. RECORD COLLECTOR
subba cultcha - uk
“Very tranquil, atmospheric, great for having a bath to when on repeat…”
"Warm, minimal and despite quite intense beats, quite ambient – there are two remixes here – One track is rather dark, the other friendly and open – somehow he manages to make the music sound live and played rather than programmed. Beautiful music. "– De BUG ( Ger) circ.42000
"A great pleasure for listeners looking to understand dreams ".RAVELINE GERMANY
" Two new tracks of languid and sinouos melodic electronica - Golden Cap finds a way of chasing romantic and velvety idm dreams. Gavvers bends and twists the surface of silicon without ever losing its melodic way" - Rockerilla - Italy
ADAPTOGEN
An antidote to showy faux-bohemianism, Dids lifetime on the peripheries of the music industry has been entirely undeliberate and unseflconscious. But he is no awkward avant-gardist : his solo electronic albums as Gagarin have a rare and solemn beauty. Adaptogen occupies a territory somewhere between Vangelis' Blade Runner soundtrack, Aphex Twin at his most breathlessly lovely and Arthur Russells meditative mood pieces - but with a shadowy threat all of its own. You cant get more compelling proof of the benefits of maturity and hard won experience " THE WORD
Gagarin unites noisepaintings and sublime melody. Fragments of disturbance and order are encountered on waves of heartwarming beauty. RAVELINE GERMANY
The album shines in its variety of full melodic Electronica, jazzy improvisation, ambient Drones and dubby Bleeps and Clonks. HELGA-ROCKT GERMANY
Ten track of mellow and sinuous electronica.
The opener Golden Cap remains the best example of the english synthesist’s art
a velvety tapestry of romantic idm inlaid with spartan yet effective rhythms.
Chill out music in the best sense of the word . ROCKERILLA ITALY
Adaptogen sees Dowdall pushing further into vast atmospheric landscapes, creating peaceful and elegant sequences where gossamer melodies are wrapped in warm and vaporous electronic waves rippled by arid rhythmic patterns and obscure infra-bass. But Dowdall’s music is not all pretty appearance and no substance. Behind the elegant facades and gentle melodic flourishes hide deeper undertones which resonate through the whole album, in various forms, from the highly polished gloss of opening track Phormium or, later, Gavvers to the almost urban angle of ‘Den Bosch or Fila and the gritty glitch textures of Aconite. It is however with the much smoother and ethereal Ab Plas that the album reaches its peak. The piece originally appears lost in the meanders of shapeless ambient, but when the disparate analogue sound waves gather, the track is suddenly bathed in bright warm lights and becomes for a moment a vivid kaleidoscope of contrasting hues.
A fine piece of modern atmospheric electronica THE MILK FACTORY UK
Plus more great reviews - FUTURE MUSIC, OX, TITEL, TERZ... and lots of radioplay across Europe & beyond.
You can buy ADAPTOGEN here direct from us for £5 plus £1 p&p.
All current and past releases are available from www.myspace.com/georecordsuk
Adviruz is the artist psedonym of Istanbul’s Pinar Gurcan, whose growing passion for sound is translated through her music. Since an early age, she has been listening and mimicking opera singers, writing melodies, songs and poems in which she spoke her mind and reflected her soul. All of which are evident on "Nightly Sounds", an 8 track album which is the equivilent of having a glimpse into a diary, learning of love lost, gained, a snapshot of the human condition from which we can all draw experience... All of these things are developed musically into minimalistic glitch, noise, idm, experimental music and microsounds, its influences reminiscent of work by artists like Tujiko Noriko, Mira Calix, Plaid and Björk.
Adviruz and Section 27 present "Nightly Sounds", an intricately woven and rewarding musical tapestry. Available now for free download.
Thesis is the second release of Impulsive art, yet the first compilation album. -Deeply dedicated to the experimental – electronic scene brings you a brilliant and unique collection of sound-works by some of the best artists of the scene
Thesis features sound compositions by Andrey Kiritchenko , Mad EP, Keef Baker, Larvae, Spyweirdos, Moogulator, Atmogat, Tapage, Mobthrow, IP Neva, Abstractive Noise and Nole Plastique
Thursday 29th October @ 7.30pm - (Roshi feat. Pars Radio album launch) @ The Flea Pit, 49 Columbia Road, London, E2 7RG. Cost: £4 launch night for the ’The Sky And The Caspian Sea’, the debut album from Roshi feat. Pars Records, on GEO Records (myspace.com/roshisongs / myspace.com/georecordsuk). Support comes from Rothko man Mark Beazley’s Signals, Gideon Coe favourites Hong In The 60s, and Orchestra Pit/Scaledown impresario Mark Braby’s new project Damp Matchbox.
Friday 30th October @ 7pm SCALEDOWN co-presents a SARTORIAL RECORDS special, upstairs @ The King & Queen, 1 Foley Street, London, W1W 6DL. Cost: £0 (donations welcome(d)) okay, so it’s Scaledown Friday as we actually all dress up in our best whistles for a night of music featuring Terry Edwards alongwith artists from his Sartorial roster + our own guests. Full bill: Terry Edwards & Simon Charterton, Micko Westmoreland, Ian R. Watson, Pete Marsh & Pete May, Bob Constant & The Goodbye Horses, Iris Garrelfs and Damp Matchbox. Further details can be found @ http:www.theorchestrapit.com/scaledown.
Thanks for the add GAGARIN, I love your sounds btw, awesome!
If you get a chance, please take a listen to our first Chill out release "Beach Music, Cafe Music & Bar Music Collection" by ACO Ambient Chill Out. We'd love to know what you think of it!
Abstractive Noise "Mind Corrupter" EP net-release (cc) [IAd001]
Abstractive Noise, an experimental / music project of Panagiotis Pagonis, offers Impulsive Art the debut release of the new creative common net-releases [IAd001] series.
Experimenting with algorithmic composition and mathematic probabilities, Mind Corrupter build up an extraordinary glitchy, "random", bizarre, broken rhythmical complexity.
Thank you for the request, particularly liking ‘Fila’ at the moment.
I have an hour long mix for the inimitable Solid Steel Radio show (Ninja Tune) available to stream now, featuring such Gems as Minotaur Shock, Nathan Fake, Clark, Boards of Canada and much more.....
The Fujiya & Miyagi single 'Sore Thumb' which features my remix of their album track 'Dishwasher' is out NOW on Full Time Hobby Records (Tunng, The Accidental).
Online Now!
