lovozero
moscow
Dissonance is the greatest force in music
Диссонанс есть величайшая сила музыки
Petr Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Anastasia Tolchneva performs as Lovozero, the name of small town in Russia’s far north. She traces her audio output to 2012, when she began to make field recordings, predominantly in rural surroundings––including those of Lovozero itself. “It’s not so much that I wanted to dedicate my music to that music; I just wanted to merge myself with its energy that I sensed. In some sense that became a ritualized decision. Lovozero is home to unique natural phenomena… I mean, that’s ancient territory. In fact you’ll find the oldest hills in all of Europe. The landscapes look like Mars; you get the feeling there are no signs of anything human whatsoever.”
That last phrase is key. Tolcheva sees the Russian landscape and the field recordings as a positive opportunity to erase oneself. In favor of a larger space––and “the more we return to that DNA of ours, so to speak, the more we discover its reserves.” Humility makes room for something better.