by Brad Rose

Actually, I started making music occasionally. I was just playing with sounds for my visuals. I'm a computer graphics designer. One day I found myself making tunes in Fruity Loops, I was making some electronic music, listening to old-school IDM and stuff like this and I thought, "it’s pretty simple to make such music and it’s really fun and interesting, so let’s go more weird and nearly unmusic and avant-garde." That’s how Gultskra Artikler started. I think the idea of making some avant and strange music is now fulfilled after "Kasha Iz Topora" released.

As I said before I was trying to make some IDM and electro sounds. It was cool but I lost interest after few albums under "Stud" nickname. It was released at few net labels (Kahvi, Kikapu, etc.). Actually it’s strange, but now I feel like getting back to that simple electronic sound. I want to make something retro-electro-styled. Maybe some other project with different title.

I think Gultskra Artikler means something like "unlimit freedom”, but it’s just what I can imagine. Anyone can imagine its own meaning, cause in fact the title doesn’t have any translations. It’s a mixture of different words from old languages. I made it up and I like how it sounds.

I can't say Russian music and Russian living influenced me a lot. In childhood I haven’t liked any particular music. And after that I was listening to pop music for some period.

As for Russian living, I think the fact that I’m from cold Siberia somehow influenced my music with its romantic snowy cold and melancholic melodies, something like that. But it sounds like cliché.

I really am sure that there’s some avant music scene in Russia, but I don’t belong to it. Some people make some small shows and gigs, installations, sometime they invite me. But actually they and their gigs are TOO much avant for me. I can’t take it. I prefer some middle between avant experiments and beautiful and musical elements. So those Russian avant-garde guys, they are mostly with guitars and distortions, some screams and weird sounds. That’s too hardcore. I don’t know anything that fits my Gultskra music.

Yeah, I think I nearly answered that question in another question. I think in future I will do some music for net labels, it’s fun. Those labels helped me to promote myself and to release real CDs now. That’s really important part for me. Those two releases from Thinner/Autoplate label are still interesting part of GA. It’s really honest and fresh. Maybe I have to release them on CD? Is it harder to sell CDs now I guess? I don’t care about getting money from sells, my idea is to get my GA music to many people. Maybe it sounds strange, but when I listen to my old compositions I feel like, "Hey people it’s great, how I made it? Hey anyone! You have to hear this!!" Haha. Sounds so lame.

No, Gultskra will exist, in old forms and something new too. I’m planning to do a collaboration with an orchestra, or maybe with some drummer. But the avant component will always be there, no pop or dance music under this moniker. I plan to run another project for acid electro or retro electronic music, something like that. But that’s just in plans, ‘cause sometimes I feel bored with me GA output, and I need something else more mainstream and pop-y, dance-y. Actually I made small 8bit electro album under different nickname for Soulseek net label.
It’s really fun to be able to switch between genres and styles. But not that easy.

In Gultskra Artikler I just like to play with different sounds that I records and see what happens. Making GA music is like adding and adding more and more layers, it can last for weeks. So it’s not a realtime track recording; I prepare a lot of stuff and then play with it like with Legos. I get some reference and inspiration from retro records from ‘60-‘70s, early electronic music and tape music. I can mention experimental music of Japan (1957-1967), Iannis Xenakis, Vladimir Ussachevsky, and Otto Luening, Tod Dockstader.

I think Erik found me first, when I released 2 small albums on Autoplate, and actually he introduced me to Lampse boss, Monika. But then he transformed his net label Miasmah to CD label too, and invited me to do a release. I just like to work and communicate with him, he's really a nice and easy-going person.

Oh yeah, it’s almost the end of the year. I should re-listen everything I liked and make a list sometime, but now from what I can remember, that was a super album from Eric Malmberg, Verklighet och Beat, and Hans Appelqvist's album from Hapna too. Type is still one of my favorite labels; Goldmund’s “Two Point Discrimination" is very good. M83 was something new for me. M83’s “Digital Shades, Vol.1" --I think this album has some old skool ISAN flavour. That’s why I love it. I really liked Human Action Network’s album, yeah, I listen to acid too!

I can say to all the porridge lovers: Be nice and protect the immune system!

all artwork by Alexey Devyanin