Pavel Milyakov - (2020) Masse Métal

 

The Trilogy Tapes ‎– TTT085 

As Buttechno, Pavel Milyakov has become a staple in Russia’s underground techno scene. Since emerging in 2010, he has founded the Johns’ Kingdom collective, soundtracked runway shows for fashion designer Gosha Rubchinskiy and released on revered labels like Cititrax and трип (trip). His new record, released under his given name on cult favourite The Trilogy Tapes at the end of April, sees him swap the dancefloor for more experimental fare.

The culmination of a years-long research project that included a flagship performance at last year’s Berlin Atonal, Masse Métal deals in creaking industrial soundscapes instead of pounding rhythm. While not the first time Milyakov has set out to explore territory beyond the club – last year’s La Maison De La Mort, for example, saw him try his hand at ambient – it’s one of the most extreme departures from his Buttechno project the Moscow-based producer has made to date.

While the album isn’t the most soothing of lockdown listens, as Milyakov himself says, Masse Métal speaks to the sense of precarity and, well, doom, that has become heightened during the current crisis. The album is built around samples Milyakov collected of military drills and broken machinery, always backed by a constant sense of unease. Together it evokes arid, man made wastelands and the bleakness of post-industrial capitalism, posing questions about humanity’s relationship to nature and itself.

We caught up with Milyakov shortly after the record’s release to discuss Masse Métal and talk through some of the album’s key tracks.