For one slight moment Rapoon had moved to within 3 points.
Now ZF has taken a 6 point lead.
Is this insurmountable?
This Final match-up is for all the marbles.
Now ZF has taken a 6 point lead.
Is this insurmountable?
This Final match-up is for all the marbles.
LATEST UPDATE
CURRENT SCORE - IT'S A CLOSE ONE
Score to Date:
Zoviet France - 34 Rapoon Robins - 30
Zoviet France - 34 Rapoon Robins - 30
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Hollow Flight
Groundswell
Cires Divam
Snake of Earth
Omaneska
Deserted Shadows
Looking... not Finding
Circling Globes
Talking to a Stick
Still, so Still
A Softer Light
Groundswell
Cires Divam
Snake of Earth
Omaneska
Deserted Shadows
Looking... not Finding
Circling Globes
Talking to a Stick
Still, so Still
A Softer Light
Next up tomorrow...the Final Four Singles World Cup Playoffs begin with Round 1,
NØ
Mohnomishe
ReplyDeleteNFkx_Migu4o3zFUiZQCZqSOFBkBKndDtC_ZSZaxwliA
The Fires of the Borderlands
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Two very strong albums as this is coming to an end. The Fires of the Borderlands contains everything I like about Rapoon. It's dense and atmospheric, well produced, full of tiny fascinating details. The minimal monotony of the excellent Deserted Shadows is a case in point: one might suspect that not much is going on, but it's definitely worth a closer listen. At the same time, the album also reminds me why I still prefer Zoviet France over Rapoon: at times the album is too clean for my liking or even overproduced (and this is even more the case with some other Rapoon albums) and especially the first track Hollow Flight exhibits too much pathos for my liking.
ReplyDeleteMohnomishe is a Zoviet France album I like very much, but I have always prefered Shouting at the Ground and Popular Soviet Songs and Youth Music. Having revisited Mohnomishe this morning, I'm not so sure anymore. It's a very powerful album, sounds even more self-confident than Popular Soviet Songs and certainly is very impressive. I think that now I'm going to listen to all my favourite ZF albums again to find out what I really think of them and I'm looking forward to that.
Thanks a lot, Nate, for organising these ZF-Rapoon-League matches. I've enjoyed revisiting all these albums which I thought I knew very well. But now I know that there still is a lot to recover.
As I said, I would have like it, if some later, post-Storey ZF had been involved, because I haven't got all of those albums. But listening to the albums I've already got has certainly been worthwhile. Still, if you've got any of the ones that I haven't got (The End of Nothing, the Beginning of Everything, Russian Heterodoxical Songs, A Long Walk, The Tables Are Turning, Further Collusion, A Third Collusion, Ω ℧), I'd be very happy, if you find the time ... If not, I'll be happy to keep on working on the ZF albums I've got.
Thanks for this in-depth comment on the Final game as well as the entire championship. You & Mooz have fulfilled my hopes for this endeavor more than I could ever have dreamed.
DeleteAs I said in a previous reply, I made my choices from the music that I have. I guess you & I have mainly the same era/releases. I do have The Tables are Turned & maybe a few other newer issues that I'll dig up & stick on the back burner to keep warm. Don't know how soon though, as a great deal has piled up while I was off on this jag. Let it be a surprise when you least expect it.
On the opening day of March Madness I mentioned the A Duck in a Tree podcast that Zoviet France does on podbean.
DeleteWell, the 72nd of a weekly series of radio programmes created by :zoviet*france: for Basic.fm is a SPECIAL EDITION to mark the release of the then new :zoviet*france: - The Tables Are Turning. This 72nd podcast consists entirely of unreleased alternative versions & unused recordings from the album sessions broadcast on November 23, 2013. If you are interested in a preview/alternative listen, here’s links...
Podcast page link - https://zovietfrance.podbean.com/e/a-duck-in-a-tree-2013-11-23-twice-turned/
direct download link - https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-itewf-4be647?download=1
Thanks a lot, Nate. Looking forward to what's going to happen. Sounds promising.
DeleteI'm just listening to the special edition of A Duck in a Tree. This is really a great find for me. Many thanks!
And massive thank to you, Mooz, for providing all these wonderful reviews. During last week, when I got up in the morning, I was always looking forward to read what you think of these albums that I had listend to the day before. That has been really inspiring and, like yourself, I'm going to revisit some of these albums again - but this time with your reviews in mind.
ReplyDeleteWow, bringing out the big guns for the finale! Both of these albums show the artists at the top of their game, and they can each be considered one of the best albums from each camp. This is dark, industrial drone/ambience at its finest. Unsettling and attention grabbing while displaying a charming beauty to the structure and atmosphere they provide. Zoviet France may be a little harsher, in a good way, where Rapoon is more subdued and has deeper layers in the mix.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very hard decision as I really like both these albums a lot. ZF gets my vote as I think it is just slightly a better overall album.
Both teams seemed to have made a valiant effort for the Final match-up, both coming out with guns a-blazin'. Glad the Final lived up to each camps better efforts. Added your vote, just waiting for the final tallies to roll in. Check my reply to FlaccusMUC's first comment for thanks f to you for making this much more than it might have been. You two are the best.
DeleteGreat final round. Both of these releases showcase the groups at their finest, imho. I really enjoy the depth of Ambience in the Rapoon release & so go with them for the win. Thanks for this fun outing. Got me listening to both of these two again, which is definitely a good thing.
ReplyDeleteThanks JB for your comment(s) & for listening along. I'll add your score to the final tally.
DeleteRapoon by a hair for the victory today. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, sports fan. Thank you for the comment & I'll add you to the Final score.
DeleteRapoon did go very well with the copt singing of the church nearby (ethiopian christians who sing for hours on sunday morning), -oh, that's them on looking... not finding.-
ReplyDeleteTo mitigate yestyerday's comment, I found that I appreciate Rapoon most on speakers while going on with my day or reading, than on headphones where their universe is a little monochromatic for my liking. I too appreciate very much Flaccusmuc and Mooz comments, they show how diverse good taste remains !
Mohnomishe, on the other hand is a monument of industrial ambient. The minute I put it on after Rapoon, me and my partner both had a "aahhh" of relieve, THAT is music.
So my vote for ZF again, although the last two or three tracks get really close from a rapoon piece (drony ambient, but yet with a twist).
And... I wanted to share the release date of a few ZF pieces that you offered :
Garista : 1982
Mohnomishe : 1983
Eostre : 1984
Popular soviet songs... : 1985
Gesture, signal, threats : 1986
Assault and mirage : 1987
Loh land : 1987
Shouting at the ground : 1988
I guess maybe they were commited to CD in 1990, hence your dates ?
So, comparing the two records of today is like confronting Robin with his 15 years older self!
Anyway, thank you for offering this intense listening challenge ! It was a nice opportunity to get an entrance to the discographies of these two bands. I realize I always listened to the same couple of albums. You proposed a path, which was sooo nice ! Also, I always wanted to like Rapoon, and could never really get into it, despite my love for tabla ! I now understand better why, and will keep on listening, to get in the subtleties Fluccus mentioned. Still, I have a problem with his approach to drone and vocal, to me it's ambient music for elevators in a new age corporate building...
It's good I did not vote everyday, because all my votes would have gone to ZF, except maybe on Garista day, where I found the recording a little bit minimalistic (like "are they recording their rehearsal ?"), and have been consistently underwhelmed by Rapoon (except on Khirgiz lights which I listened to on speakers, like I said before...)
PS : I don't have any of the recordings Fluccus mentions, unfortunately
The dates I used were for the versions I own. Many were Charrm re-issues. I used the dates on the versions I have because sometimes there were differences between the original releases & the reissues.
DeleteI myself often find that some groups sound best on speakers & some on headphones. I guess that's why whenever I'm listening to something for the first few times I try both to give it the benefit of its best sound.
I'm sure FlaccusMUC & Mooz will be glad their numerous & valueable comments were appreciated by folk other than myself.
My idea in sharing these was basically to provide perhaps a few from either group that folks didn't have & might want to explore.
Thanks so much for taking part in this weird experiment.
Yes, I might download your Mohnomishe to check if the sound is significantly better than on mine !
ReplyDeleteThanks again ! (I just thought it would be of interest to know when the music was originally conceived)
I loved this comparative initiative and this proposal that causes us to stop for a moment in our daily routine to listen, to analyze, to imagine, even to meditate because in part that is what Rapoon and Z.F can induce.
ReplyDelete"Mohnomishe" for me is without a doubt Zoviet France's best album, everything they later developed is here, forceful and innovative, essential post-industrial, track 6 is a sonic gem.
"The Fires of the Borderlands" is varied, ritualistic and with its usual style, recommended to introduce yourself to his work.
My unconditional vote goes to one of my favorite albums: Mohnomishe by Zoviet France
Thanks so much for taking part in this crazy project. Some times I dream up the weirdest things to try out on you all. I never know how it will go, but one thing for sure, you (& FlaccusMUC, Mooz, Mister Kein, Richard, Joey, Jewel & all the rest) make these crazy ideas come alive better than I may have hoped.
DeleteReally appreciate your insights..."This proposal that causes us to stop for a moment in our daily routine to listen, to analyze, to imagine, even to meditate" is exactly the core of the initial idea but said so much more poetically than I ever could have Sez.
I'll add your vote to the current total, but rest assured, as long as these are available for folks to share, the voting will still be ongoing.
Thanks for this head-to-head excursion. While I still listen to my favourite Rapoon albums (Easterly 6 or 7, Fires of the Borderlands, Tin of Drum), this got me to revisit ZF, which I haven't done for years. Well done!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comment. Glad I could make a restart for Zoviet France. It's often good to relisten to things from the past that we enjoyed. Give a different take on old perceptions.
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