Edward Artemiev - Solaris, The Mirror, Stalker (1999)

Hello. I forgot that I had posting rights on this blog, so I thought I'd go ahead and make a first upload. Just hope I do it correctly~

Artist: Edward Artemiev (Эдуард Артемьев)
Album: Solaris / The Mirror / Stalker - Music From The Motion Pictures
(1972/75/79, re-recorded 1999)
Genre: Ambient / Electronic / OST
Country: Russia

This is a compilation album featuring re-recorded tracks from three of Andrei Tarkovsky's cult sci-fi/dystopian movies, and consists of electronic music which is very daring, meditative and mysterious, much like the movies themselves.

It's actually quite a mixed bag; sometimes it can be reminiscent of Tangerine Dream and the Berlin School, at other times similar to the dark ambient/drone of acts like Robert Rich. (Who, in fact, recorded an album inspired by Stalker in collaboration with Lustmord) Being a soundtrack though, the music is not too obtrusive, rather serving to create atomsphere and evoke feelings. I myself found the album to be rather gentle and dreamlike at times, and rather dark and menacing at others. However, the album does flow really well.

My favourite track is the only song taken from The Mirror (1975), which has a very rough around the edges feel similar to industrial music. Years ahead of its time?
The final song is a close second, a dedication to Andrei Tarkovsky, serving as a wonderful summary of the beautiful yet moody mood of this album.

I would whole heartedly recommend this to anyone regardless of whether they have seen a single minute of the source movies or not. It is certainly a strong enough album to stand up on its own merits.

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