waterplea - Rudimentary Oscillations

Waterplea

Rudimentary Oscillations
self-released; 2013

4.1 out of 5

By Matt Jensen

Waterplea is a project from Nizhny Novgorod, Russia formed by Alex Inkin and Paul Pigalov. They explore the diversity and richness of sound on their recent full-length entitled Rudimentary Oscillations. The instrumental soundscapes on this record reach far past an ambient album that is made up of a few pads simulating elusive atmospheres. Throughout the duration of the record the duo introduces variations ranging from a thematic overture to a minimalist segue of choir like voices to post-rock and beyond. One of the most enjoyable aspects of this album is that I never knew what was coming next making for a refreshing and ultimately rewarding experience.

The album begins with a field recording of city noises and what sounds like someone leaving a voice mail. The voice becomes layered with a hall like reverb as a sustained pad of energy starts to manifest. There is a stoic quality to the tone but it abruptly fades away not too soon after it was introduced. 

The second track entitled “DD” is the centerpiece and the most ambitious song on the album.  It is a little over 32 minutes long and it goes to many different areas some of which caught me by surprise. The song starts building organic and electronic components that abruptly stop and then start. It combines powerful choir like voices, with screeching white noise and an industrial sounding drum kit. Almost before you can get into the groove they tear it apart. You are introduced to what sounds like a traditional African percussion instrument that is backed by the lightest of atmospheres. It shifts again into a gorgeous sound that you could imagine hearing while making your triumphant return to heaven’s gate. The celestial sound is then bombarded with titanic sounding drums and a distorted lead guitar. I just described only the first 15 minutes. The song continues to evolve and devolve for the remaining time never mediating too long on one particular part. Overall, it is quite an epic song and definitely the most epic on the album. “DD” was the highlight for me but you won't want to miss a couple of the other highlights on the album.

“Satellite” mixes up various vocal samples while an ambient piece in the background sounded like “Treefingers” from Radiohead while “Zeppelin” creates a stillness and sense of serenity you might compare to a group like Stars Of The Lid. The only way I could describe “Scaphandre” is that it sounded like it was fleeting. It sounded distant, like it was in my subconscious or in the dream I had but can’t quite remember anymore. 

There is a lot going in Rudimentary Oscillations. It tries to and successfully reaches for sounds that induce a sense of connectivity to the mysterious universe we live in.

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