октябрь 2005

Cul-De-Sac (Glenn Jones)

 "I hear good compositional ideas, good arrangements, and a sense of drama.

What I think is missing is a quality of "getting lost" in your music, that something can happen that is unintentional, or "wrong," or surprising, or mysterious.

The song itself, for me anyway, is just the first step towards something else. Songs can be a vehicle to take you -- and your listeners -- on a journey of sorts.

But if the compositions -- the songs -- are just an end unto themselves, they become a bit like classical compositions (which is OK -- I listen to lots of classical music!), where you try to play a very proscribed piece as well as you can each time you perform it, but there's not much opportunity to reinvent the piece, or yourselves, to surprise yourselves, or to invest the songs with different kinds of emotion."

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Leonard's Lair (английский музыкальный критик)

 "I have just had a full listen to all the mp3s on the site. I rather like the music you're producing. The percussion sounds like you were drumming on biscuit tins but it works suprisingly well with the violin parts. It's nice to hear a band creating short instrumentals tracks rather than overblown epics which never seem to end. Overall, I think you're producing an original take on the post-rock scene."

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Whisperin & Hollerin (ирландский музыкальный сайт)

  "Although their website (www.moyaband.com) features an English version, information regarding Belarus post-rockers MOYA is still relatively scant. However, this intriguing, eponymously-titled 10-track demo has already attracted a few discerning Western ears, not least one Keiran 'Four Tet' Hebden, who posted a very encouraging message after giving these tracks a lengthy critical once-over.

And it's not hard to see why, because this 26-minute demo certainly has its' moments. It's entirely instrumental music and sometimes you get the feeling the ten tracks have been edited down crudely from longer, Can-style workouts. Yet what remains is well worthy of inspection and shows real promise in the long run.

I've no idea whether it's with Residents-style enigma in mind or simply a lack of workable English that prevents the tunes (bar the concluding cover of Mogwai's "Arundel") from having titles, so you'll have to make do with me referring to them as "Track 1, "Track 2" etc, but don't let that put you off, as a number of these set-pieces are long on atmosphere and have their individual quirks to recommend them.

"Track 1" gives you some idea of what to expect. Soothing and enigmatic, it's built around ringing guitar, exploratory, rimshot-heavy drums and skirling violin. It's poised, dreamy and mournful and orbits you gracefully, cutting off just as you're getting sucked into its' languid groove.

"Track 2" and "Track 3" consolidate nicely, with "Track 3"s descending, chromatic scale, ambient break and gypsy violin frenzy sounding especially enticing, while the distant, lo-fi "Track 4" is nervous and tense, recalling both The Sea & Cake and the rustic likes of Daniel Patrick Quinn. "Track 5" is arguably better again: warmer in its' approach with an almost reggae-style lilt and a neo-dub mentality.

Further achievements await thanks to "Track 8" and the closing cover of Mogwai's "Arundel". The former is a sketchy version of the kind of thing The Cure might have tingled us with circa "Seventeen Seconds", while Moya's "Arundel" gets to the melancholic core of the original and demonstrates Moya are up and coming masters of mood.

All of which is promising for the future, though the main thing Moya need to work on are their dynamics. Yes, the 10 tracks here prove they are extremely skilful where setting up mood and atmosphere are concerned, but several of them plod aimlessly and fall headlong into the trap of sounding meandering and samey instead of conspiring to come to a definite conclusion. Some fire and vital light and shade would be most welcome, especially during the middle section.

Still, these are issues which will probably be straightened out in the future when - hopefully - Moya will have the opportunity to spend longer in the studio with (fingers crossed) a budget of sorts at their disposal. It's early days yet, but there is fledgling quality in evidence here and Moya may yet get the chance to put Minsk on the rock'n'roll map. They certainly deserve a crack at the title. "

Рейтинг 7/10

Tim Peacock

http://www.whisperinandhollerin.com/reviews/review.asp?id=2969

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Psychotropic Zone (финский музыкальный клуб)

   "Moya is a new post-rock band from Minsk, Russia. They sent me a CD-R with their short, instrumental tracks for review. The sound quality on this disc is very primitive; it seems everything was recorded at rehearsals wit only one mike. The music of Moya at first reminds me of Godspeed You Black Emperor! and the whole Montreal scene, although they are not a straight copy band by any means, and Moya’s tracks are a lot shorter, usually in the two to three minute range. The band doesn’t give any titles to their tracks, so they are just numbered. The violin player is in an important role in the band playing melancholic melodies on top of the, usually quite peaceful, backing. The tracks are pretty nice in themselves, and at times the fact that the band is Russian shines through the music, which is only a good thing in this occasion. Unlike most of the post-rock acts, the tracks don’t really have a clear dramatic arch and they are rather much the same all the way. Sometimes it’s not easy to notice that a track has changed into another, so the material could be a bit more varied. The last, Moqwai cover track doesn’t really stand out from the rest, either. On the other hand, this might be caused by the sound. This is a promising new group, anyway, we shall see how they develop in the future."
 

06.10.05 by Dj Astro

*как видно из текста, нас ошибочно приписали к Российской Федерации - видимо, историческая память у финов чрезмерно сильна - ну да мы конечно не в обиде.

http://www.unimeri.com

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сентябрь 2005

Four Tet (Kieran Hebden)

"I checked out your mp3s and I thought they sounded great."

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Friends of Dean Martinez (Bill Elm)

"very nice music.....it sounds great. if i would make a suggestion it would  be to work on your dynamics.........something that every band needs to work  on! playing very softly in the soft parts and emphasize the louder parts, play harder and make it a little more emotional. the melodies are lovely, but it's a little too linear after a couple of songs....more dynamics.".

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Saeta (Matt Menovcik)

"Sorry it has taken me so long to listen to your songs. I really like them a  lot. I especially like tracks 7,8 & 9. I've been listening to a lot of  ambient music recently and I really lik the dreamy quality of those  compositions. Some of the songs remind me of Ocean Songs-era Dirty Three and a littl bit of the Rachels, but you certainly have your own voice that comes through. Thanks for inviting me to listen to your material. It was definitely a pleasant surprise."

*Saeta's last album produced by Steve Albini - great band, check it out www.saetamusic.com

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Wintersleep (Tim D'Eon)

"I listened to your music, it sounds pretty cool. Kinda reminds me of a band from Canada called "Godspeed you! black emperor" I think they have a song called Moya actually. If you don't know them you should check them out. They are part of
Constellation records. www.cstrecords.com"

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июнь 2005

Clann Zu (Declan de Barra)

"great stuff! I like track 3 best but they are all great. Keep up the good work its sounding great."

www.moyaband.com