CERULLO, VICTOR
Visions - A Homage To Andrei Tarkovsky"
(Electroshock Records, 2003)

"

From Victor Cerullo and Electroshock Records comes one of the most ambitious and fascinating albums of 2003, "Visions: A Homage to Andrei Tarkovsky". If you don't already know, the late Tarkovsky is the most well known Russian filmmaker after Sergei Eisenstein. His films include the original version of "Solaris", as well as the movie "Stalker", which served as the inspiration for the Robert Rich/B.Lustmord album of the same name.
Cerullo has actually created two albums in one, in my view. There are three tracks, titled "Timelapse 1", "…2" and "…3", that occur throughout the CD (they are time cues 4, 6 and 8) that comprise dark yet beautiful soundscapes, each about ten minutes in length. On all three of these selections, drones, swirling electronics, high-pitched sounds, and noir-ish textures coalesce and break apart, forming unrecognizable patterns in the dark. On headphones, these pieces are positively mesmerizing and, while not purely "musical," they're also not disorienting or too occupied with just being noise. Track 6 ("Timelapse 2") uses stereo panning effects in a positively exhilarating fashion, as whooshing tones and drones fly across the soundfield. Track 8 is more subdued but also more eerie than the other two. The drones and electronics here remind somewhat of what Kubrick did for sound effects during the parts of the ending of 2001 (both the "stargate" sequence and the ending in the "hotel room". The music here has that same "bizarre" yet also surreally beautiful feeling/sound.
The other songs on "Visions" vary in mood and structure. Opening the album is a brief ambient cut (barely a minute long), "Last Scene", featuring a Russian voiceover of "Lights, Camera, Action" (but spoken in Russian, naturally), the sound of a motion picture projector, and a forlorn combination of piano and synthesizer. "Crepuscular Rays" blends lapping water and warm spacy electronic effects and drones, along with some spoken word vocals (again in Russian). Andrei Tarkovsky is a dramatic sweeping
EM/neo-classical piece, with Vangelis-like synth bells and lush strings, yet suffused with a Russian melodic sensibility, obviously. The song is quite sad from an emotional standpoint, especially when a solo male choral effect is used alongside a solo synth viola. "Lullaby For a Distant Son" is one of the more "straight" EM numbers, featuring a sweet romantic melody played out on synth violin and eventually taking on a waltz-like rhythm (featuring delicate bells and layers of synthesizers, some as strings and some as more over electronic effects). There are four short tracks to close out the album, at least one of which is highly experimental ("Artificial Dream" sounds like a computer having a heart attack, which actually comes across pretty darn cool) and the closing song, "Sacrifice", a terribly sad elegy, featuring the sound of falling rain, synth strings, and a series of soft electronic keyboards. This last track is sincerely emotive and I found it very moving, especially given the tragic end to Tarkovsky's life (he died only 20 years or so after his first film was released).
Cerullo has recorded a fitting tribute to Tarkovsky, with music as daring and exciting as the work of the filmmaker himself. "Visions" may take some patience (this is not an "easy" album to get into immediately), but it will reward your time immensely. A truly amazing piece of work!

2003. Bill Binkelman / Wind and Wire