Oxana Grigoryev - Ever After (2021) Hi Res

Oxana Grigoryeva is one of the key Russian experimental drummers who is passionately dedicated to free improvisation, free jazz, contemporary theatre and performance art. For the past 13 years, she could be heard in a numerous experimental bands out of Moscow. She played free jazz in [B]rom, power-rock in Izrazets, rhythmical improvisations in an all-drummers quartet Drumazhur, and more recently fusion in so called Russian Improv Group (the RIG). An unrestrained driving force of the rhythm, Grigoryeva is open for the most daring collaborations, like with the Portuguese guitarist Luis Lopes, American cellist Fredrick Lonberg-Holm and Swiss saxophonist Christoph Erb, or even with another drummer Michael Zerang on his Caucasus tour. Oksana's list of collaborations with Russian artists includes St. Petersburg pianist Ksenia Fedorova, the cult Grazhdanskaya Oborona's guitarist Kuzma UO, Moscow bassist Karina Kazaryan (KP Transmission) and many others.

Oxana's debut solo album "Ever After" was recorded during the quarantine, when many musicians not only paused their main projects, but were not able to rehearse. She recorded all six tracks using a dozen percussions including some exotic ones (from saws and metallophone to djembe and kalmba), field tapes, and voice. By the way, working with vocals turned out to be an inspiring incentive for Oxana to record a solo album. Its sonorous sound sets a pulse and mood of this release, filling it with emotional squeals and whips.

An incredibly original and colorful album plays with the listener in a fascinating game. All six pieces are performed in such a diverse manner (from drone and glam improv to Afro-jazz and academic avant-garde) that after 38 minutes of music, it is impossible to believe that it has ended. If you start listening from the beginning, the magic won’t go away and you won’t get bored.

“This album is a symbol of rebirth for me. It is like an allegory of the entire life. From the very first track - when everything is absolutely natural and calm - through the magic there is a birth in this world - and everything goes as it goes with ups and downs, a pleasure of living your life and the joy of playing drums. The album ends with the dissolution of sound in space with a track consisting of a saw blade noise, a field recording of a construction site near the Bosphorus and the voice of my beloved (already deceased) friend, who says: "The Favorite Composition of God - Ascent".

This album reflected my passion for various instruments and styles. At the time of recording, I often listened to NYX trio, and they inspired me a lot and gave me freedom. So it is not a fact that I would have decided to make it without them. It also reflects my love and attention to the purity of the sound itself (hello, Cage!), to the enchantment of minimalism, the grooves of African rhythms, the madness of Japanese musicians, as well as field recordings. Due to the absence of other musicians, I had the opportunity to play enough with the sounds of various percussion - from solo on the ocean drum, to the blows of a key on a saw, not forgetting about all sorts of small noisemakers, metallophone, talking drum, djembe, darbuka (thanks to Ilya Kruchinin). And of course - Her Majesty the Drum Kit!"