(Ambient / Post Rock) Light Under Water - Reflective Landscapes Of Nowhere EP / 2008, FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

LIGHT UNDER WATER is a Moscow-based collaborative project by guitarists Dima T. Pilot and A.B. (both are the core members of BOSCH'S WITH YOU) and keyboardist Nick Zavriev (of AMBIDEXTROUS). Since 2006, the trio (or sometimes LUW appears as a guitar-duo) has been exploring areas of melodic electro-acoustic ambient, emotive organic drone, sonic minimalism, and eschatological psychodelia. By building and layering substantial resonant abstractions, LUW's delusive imagery transcends the reality in a truly beautiful and unpredictable way.
Tracks 1, 2 were recorded & mixed at Pri-Zvuk Studio, Moscow (Winter 2008). Tracks 3, 4 were recorded live at Strangel club, Moscow (May 29, 2008). Engineering & sound production by Karl & Dima T. Pilot.
“Reflective Landscapes Of Nowhere” is, in fact, an official debut-EP by LUW. It includes four exclusive tracks which are not supposed to appear at the forthcoming debut CD-album “Sky Noise Temperature”. Original photos by SaVa. General artwork by Artem Tarasov for Accessory Takes.
Far From Moscow wrote:
This week sees the release of an album by one of Russia’s foremost instrumental ensembles, straddling with more confidence than most the rarely-mapped spaces between post-rock and ambiance.
The reason for this success is, in essence, simple: Light Under Water (Svet pod vodoi) are a trio made from members of two noticeably different bands - this gives them more people and more input from more projects.
Light Under Water are Dima T. Pilot and the pithily-named A.B., from legendary post-rockers Bosch’s With You (Boskh s Toboi), together with Nik Zavriev, a key presence in the equally seminal electronic project, Ambidextrous.
Svet pod vodoi reduce the sometimes turbulent decibels of Boskh s toboi to swathes of an atmospheric, barely audible resonance, all whilst keeping semi-improvised guitars at the fore. Thus they also eschew the more clinical noise of anything wholly digital.
The removal of all lyrics also aids their attempt to slip away from clear-cut, traditional genres. Nonetheless, for all the silence and wanton obscurity, Light Under Water are more than happy to offer long lists of specific influences. Frequently the same names pop up from the front of their mind or the tip of their tongue.
These are some of the foreign milestones used to map uncharted waters: (1) Texas-based Stars of the Lid, who likewise use wind or string instruments to weave moody textures usually associated with Brian Eno’s early electronic works. That covers the digital/physical divide and the muted, almost monastic air. (2) Quieter still, though, is Montreal’s Tim Hecker, often namechecked by equally tight-lipped Slavs. (3) Dictionary-dodging Windy and Carl (of Michigan) are a recurrent, third point of reference to help contextualize Svet pod vodoi, particularly via the equally widespread (if not hackneyed) parallels drawn between Windy, Carl, and… (4) The Cocteau Twins – both because of Elizabeth Fraser’s semi-improvised nonsense language and the ground-breaking symphonic guitars of Robin Guthrie.
In short, therefore, one could argue that a unifying factor in all that “LUW” does is an endless spurning of designations or definitions, especially from local culture. Indeed in one recent interview with the Russian press, Light Under Water loudly voiced their approval of Oscar Wilde’s dictum: “To Define Is To Limit.”
They continue: “We didn’t write those words, but we agree with them 100%. It seems to us that Boskh s toboi is a mixture of psychedelic and ambient tendencies. Svet pod vodoi of course sounds like a kindred band, but nonetheless it’s a project leaning more towards minimalism. It’s hard to say what our fan base thinks of us. They probably just accept the music for what it is.”
“With Boskh s toboi some people seem to expect ‘roof-raisin’ rock and roll’… which we’ve no intention of playing. I’m not accusing anybody of spreading false rumors! … It’s just that we’ve long since realized something: if you want to be known as a Russian ‘post-rock outfit,’ all you’ve to do is play a guitar and refrain from singing. Though you could probably even sing, too…!”
All of which takes away from rational debate and nudges us gently in the direction of three words used to describe the general atmosphere of LUW and Russian post-rock as a whole, perhaps: Sky. Noise. Temperature.