U38 | Five Elements Music | lokrum patterns
part I_excerpt
part II_excerpt
format : CD ltd to 200 hand numbered copies
all copies come with an additional art card on 300gr satin paper
release year : 2016
length : 39’36
tracks :
part I
part II
status : still available
>>> order via Paypal : chalkdc@unfathomless.net
(Belgium) : 14 € (inc.postage)
(Europe) : 15 € (inc.postage)
(World) : 16 € (inc.postage)
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: info :
In 2012, I visited Dubrovnik and went on Lokrum Island.
This record is a combination of the sounds of the city along the coastline of Dubrovnik. and the island of Lokrum.
I experienced a lot of difficulties. because Dubrovnik is a tourist destination and had was quite “polluted” sound wise (with the traffic, the voices of people, machines and so on). But I managed to find unfrequented places and record them. Monuments of man-made creations against the wall of the cicadas and the dense web of sounds all around in the area.
(Sergey Suhovik, December 2015)
: reviews :
“…Source recordings made in Croatia. Apparently, Lokrum is an island in Croatia so maybe the title refers to some sort of known seasonal changes ? Part one of this work features dense layers of brittle organic textures with occasional sound elements treated with a delayed effect for a significance not readily apparent. Part two features mysterious distant ethereal tones and overall is not as densely textured as part one. I get that there’s a mystery being conveyed in the periphery of the two parts, but what the mystery is, is anyone’s guess. Maybe research about the island and its history are required…”
Dale Lloyd
and/OAR
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The Unfathomless Series returns with another pair of fine releases, whose moods are polar opposites. Five Elements Music‘s lokrum patterns draws the listener in, while Stéphane Marin’s Invisible(s) Archipelago(s) n°1 – Serendib rhythms contains sounds that many would choose to avoid.
Croatia’s Lokrum Island is a beautiful paradise of coves, beaches and azure green waters. But there’s a down side as well: it’s awfully close to shore. As such, it’s a wonderful getaway that too many people know about. This is the problem that Sergey Suhovic (Five Elements Music) encountered when he visited the island looking for unspoiled sonorities. Amazingly, he was able to find quite a few. Blending these with recordings from the other, even busier shore, he was able to weave together a pair of gorgeous soundscapes that beckon like that offshore paradise: seemingly so far away, yet well within reach. Cicadas sing their harmonious songs while unidentified birds cry and waves lap against the shore. An occasional speedboat is heard, or perhaps just a distant hum. As the volume increases, so does the intrigue; how different is this bustle from that of Dubrovnik?
lokrum patterns underlines the difference between expectation and reality, especially when it comes to the paradises we carry around in our minds. We picture our island vacations as quiet, peaceful, pristine. Many view them as a break from the rat race, or even from humanity itself. Yet we share the same dreams, and arrive at our destinations realizing that many others have come to be alone. Not that Lokrum Island is crowded; but neither is it deserted. The beauty of this recording is that it also affirms the fact that we do want to preserve certain local environments as a way of saying that we believe in them, and need them. The very fact that Suhovic is able to make such an alluring recording is proof that the local community values what the island represents: peace can be found a boat ride away.
Richard Allen
A Closer Listen
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It might very well be the first time I see the name of [s.], the man behind Five Elements Music (as well Radioson, Redhouse, Black Deal With Snow, Candyman And Evil Flowers, Sister Loolomie and Exit In Grey), mentioned with first and last name, Sergey Suhovik ; I might be wrong of course. Suhovik is someone who uses many different monikers and there are differences between these projects, even when sometimes perhaps small. Five Element Music deals with mostly with processed field recordings and on ‘Lokrum Patterns‘, he recorded them in Croatia, Dubrovnik and Lokrum Island. He found Dubrovnik to be full of tourist noise and streets sounds but found some quiet places and mixed that with the sounds from Island, no doubt the many cicadas that can be heard on this album, and throughout sound loud or quiet, but never seem to disappear. Along with that there is rumble from leaves, branches, dirt, a bit of water and other animals; at least that’s what I think, I might be wrong. Both pieces, almost of equal length, have a much more natural feel than a city feel. I have no idea to what extent there is any treatment going on here. It only seems logical there is some of it, even when most of the time it sounds like there isn’t any. It sounds very organic, even when it is clearly put together from over-lapping recordings from different locations and the form is a collage of sounds, with almost everything slowly fading into each other; no hard cuts on this one. Delicate most of the time, it is however in various places also quite noisy. This I thought was a very well made release; not perhaps the newest, most innovative of releases in this field, but one that worked very well.
Frans de Waard
Vital Weekly
Unfathomless 