Once upon a time, returning home, I checked my mailbox and
saw a white envelope with no stamps and no "from" address. There was
only one word scribbled on it, "DVAR". Inside was a CD-R and a
small sheet of paper saying that the CD-R contains the song called "Taai Liira",
performed by DVAR for "Russian Gothic Compilation". I put the CD in my player
and three minutes later I called my RGP brethren and said there was a new
outstanding gothic band. It was rather long ago, we have already released "Russian Gothic Compilation",
which contains the mentioned above song, but I still do not know anything
about this band, except some information on their website, run by their fan,
who also knows next to nothing. And finally a fortnight ago DVAR contacted Russian Gothic Project
asking us to distribute their new single "Taai Liira". Such conspiracy is very
intriguing, but what is the mysterious single like? Let us
begin with the cover art - despite the fact that single was produced amateurishly.
(The disk is a CD-R, the decoration is half-professional, although very trendy,
the insane cover inspired by creative work of sanitarium regulars, the
degraded picture of the band on the reverse. What I liked most was the inset
with different bugs and insects and a picture of Death in the middle.)
As for the music, if you read in some reviews on "Russian Gothic Compilation",
that DVAR is "electronic black" - don't believe it - such statements speak
about the incompetence of the author. In reality DVAR is darkwave, and it is
one of the best examples of this style. If i should compare them with some
other band, that would be RELATIVES MENSCHSEIN or even DAS ICH, although there
is something in their music that characterized the early SOPOR AETERNUS. All
the tracks are pathologically ill, and that is how they mesmerize. The music
is wild in expressing its emotions, and you will certainly feel all its beauty
- but only in case you can see beauty in pathology. Pathological is not only
the music, but the vocals, too: on one hand, there are doubts about the
vocalist's gender (just like SOPOR AETERNUS) - although I am inclined to think
that he is male - on the other hand, it is sung so that it is impossible
to understand how a human body can produce such sounds. As for the lyrics, it
is written in the so called "bird language", when lyrics is made up
by mutations of a null language, although it will be "raven language"
in our case. And although the names of the tracks sound pretty sing-song ("Hissen
Raii", "Iina Tamira" and "Taai liira"), you will
understand what I mean when you listen to them. There are five tracks on the
album (although there are only four mentioned in the booklet, the last one
seems to be a bonus). Besides the well-known "Taai Liira" released
on Russian Gothic Compilation (and its more ambient remix), you will hear the
mentioned above "Hissen Raii" (my favourite track) and "Iina
Tamiira".
I would also like to mention the fact that the quality of record
on the CD is fairly good, it satisfies the level of world darkwave standards -
so much for the quality - the musical material is so original, that this band
occupies the same position with Western masters of the genre, being much
better than many of them. For me DVAR were the sensation of the year, and I
claim it the best and the most promising Russian gothic band.
I am pleased to tell you about the single of Dvar. This is one of
quite few Russian bands that plays really scary and really beautiful music. Dvar
is justly called the band of the year in Russia. This band cannot arouse
emotions, because the musicians work very sincerely. Their creative work is so
frank, that this is probably why they have to conceal all the information
about themselves, in order not to cause changes in people's attitude to them.
I don't know what they have been playing before, mist probably music like “Taai Liira”,
although the quality must have been worse. Dvar's creative work is
many-sighted: on one side, their music resembles german (not only deutch) dark-wave,
it its composition; on the other side, their music possesses the infinite
charm of the border world, where powers of both poles are in power one after
another, in its conception. Here I cannot find any analogs on the emotional
level; maybe something like that is created by Sopor Aeternus. The best thing,
in my opinion, is “Iina Tamiira” – a calm (if I could say so about Dvar),
almost ethereal song with leading female vocals, as though positioned in a
circle of demons on the laugh. A nice surprise was the remix of “Taai Liira”,
the original version of which was introduced on Russian Gothic Compilation. Of
course, it is impossible to dance even under the remix, but its presence adds
some dark tints to the palette that denies the colours of the rainbow.
This
is a new CD-R Single of a mysterious occult darkwave band - the gothic
sensation of the year! On this page you can read some CD
reviews and listen to a couple of tracks from the album in MP3.
You can order the CD on our distribution page.
Iina
Tamiira (04:58)