Tales of nightmares, moving to Asia, and experimental rap from this Russian defector: St Petersburg native Voice of KAA releases his fourth bass fueled EP OP-1
Sound Selection: OP-1 by Voice of KAA
For people who like…experimental hip-hop, rap, dub.
Originally part of the dark jazz project Fugu Quintet in St Petersburg, Voice of KAA (Голос КАА in Russian) moved to Singapore and now focuses on hip-hop genres and subgenres. His latest release was created entirely on teenage engineering‘s portable OP-1 synthesizer, and is titled as such. It’s an excellent fusion of dark production and worldly sounds, all under an experimental bassy umbrella.
The first track on this 3 track EP Сквозь тернии к страху – which translates to “Through thorns to fear” – creeps in with humming low ends and ethereal samples from the minimalistic OP-1. Being about nightmares and how they are a figment of our imaginations, the pulsating bass and creepy distorted sounds and samples provide a suitable backdrop. Even though I can’t speak Russian, his rough translation of the first verse gives me something to think about…
Our nightmares are made up by us
We have been rushing through thorns to fears for years
Demons of dreams are children of civilizations
We wake up to escape
Голос КАА tells me what he’s trying to describe in this track, “I’m trying to describe the moment when you fall asleep and you’re not sure if it’s still reality or a dream already.”
Although quite subtle and minimalistic, this is a well-produced dark alt-hop hop intro to the EP, with an experimental sound that gets my attention, despite not understanding the lyrics.
The next track Под ноги смотри! – translating to “Watch your step!” – is all about being an expat in SE Asia, with КАА now being based in Singapore. The title suggests somewhat of an advisory notice for Europeans traveling to or living in this part of the world, and is complimented by an Asian sitar style synth pad. That’s overlaid by a full-bodied bass synth from the OP-1 of course, with lyrics such as “Your English is perfect, your Vietnamese is not” and “Is the St. Petersburg flashback dripping on the brain?” This one finishes with an unexpected 2-step bass thumper outro which is a bit of a surprise.
Third and final track Оператор 1 – which translates to “Operator 1” – is a bit of a mixup of КАА’s personal history, current circumstances, and relation to the music he makes. It’s aptly titled to also represent the agile synthesizer in which the EP was entirely crafted on. This song has a slower distinctive dub sound, with КАА drawing for a reggae flute pad in the background next to dubby bass chords with his poignant and depicting lyrics.
Overall this EP is an impressive use of a nimble and solid synthesizer (the OP-1) coupled with diverse sounds ranging from Asian folk, to dub reggae and experimental hip-hop. It’s an intriguing piece of music from an interesting artist, clearly influenced by a well-rounded past in the St Petersburg dark jazz scene – a scene I didn’t even know existed before writing this. Perhaps we’ll cover that in a future Scene Report…with КАА’s help of course!
Great to see artists like Voice of KAA on your radar.
Love his southeast Asian twang too.
Wonderful review, thank you!
No problem!