Ode to KAUAN.
Russia.
The name comes with instantaneous feelings, vivid images, a shiver of fear. A vast unknown, a looming threat- this is how she looks for millennia. Legends, countless in number, tinged with cruelty, the land is steeped in them. All the world asks, what kind of men live in a country like Russia?
Ignore their Leaders; bred for testosterone, they lose all that might redeem them. Forget the soldiers, ruthless, brutal, a dime a dozen; pick them up in any bar in the world.
Who is the ordinary man? He’s the worker, the businessman, the cog that functions smoothly as long as it can drink and have opinions; forget him also, he too, is found in every country. Move away from men altogether for a moment, reflect on their incredible landscape, the killing winters, the ancestry that survived it- now we’re back to men, but we know a bit about them. Nothing is as eloquent as a genetic sequence, picture it- forming, making hard decisions about the hard world around it; find all this in our ordinary man, and realize that he’s not so ordinary. This is a Russian man, he has a history of violence and survival that lives in his bones, what can he do with it? Is he aggressive? Is he territorial? Who knows? Just because a government is belligerent doesn’t mean its citizens are.
Russians must always be seen with clean eyes, otherwise you miss most of what makes them so interesting. We’re going to forget the ordinary Russian now, too. Step away from everything I just said, we’re going to focus on one extraordinary Russian man, but we’ll have to visit him in Finland, since he spends most of his time there. This man is an unqualified Genius of the highest order, adjectives abound and will be forthcoming. First, I give you a song recommendation; does it surprise you? In this song you will hear Russia, the massive, overbearing land it is, you can’t picture it- Texas would be a small island off the coast somewhere- that’s how big this country is. Most of it is inhospitable and vacant- gloriously empty of ugly; whatever else she is, she’s breathtakingly beautiful.
Hear it, in a song called “Lapsenmuisto” by the artist KAUAN. Google this name, since it will be immortalized by the music they make; you should know it. Remember this- the band has their own- critical- meanings for their music, no doubt their lyrics and videos reflect this, but they mean nothing to me; I go where the song brings me. The Scribe and I eschew lyrics, we never read them, nor do we translate those in other languages. Lyrics are meant to be heard, not read, if you miss words, it’s fine, often intentional; this keeps the experience more musical, we need to understand it in melody, absorb it with our senses. Videos are no doubt brilliant, but I can’t let my Scribe see them, she has to see what I see. Together, we find so fucking much in this transcendent music. How can I do them justice? The so-far-from-ordinary-he-can’t-be-seen, Anton Belov, and his fellow brilliants; I call them the Russian Sigur Ros.
Many masterpieces, the Devil shivers just thinking about them. I’ll just start listing, because there’s so much to praise about this band; if I knew them, I could write the most fascinating book…
I was going to start with Belov’s vision, but then his voice kicked in and punched me in the everything, so I’m going with that. It’s not too much to say his birth country is personified in his very voice- hear him in any century, keeping the people in thrall. Thralldom; regardless how it’s defined- is about voluntary slavery for divine benefits; in simpler words we might say you have to take the pain to get the pleasure. How do you describe something that is too beautiful for words? By itself, his voice is rich and evocative, his elocution sublime, who needs to understand the words? Can you doubt they’ll be important?
The vision is as vast as it should be, considering its roots, how does he achieve it? Everything we feel when we listen to their music- the explosions, the ecstasy of the wide open, the tragedy of man, the kind of heart that beats in Anton Belov- the Devil bows as low as he can, in humble worship of something he rarely gets to see.
Details- as endless as the Steppes, the more you listen the more you hear them. The drums are so perfect in “Lapsenmuisto,” one can hardly bear it. Understand it’s not just the sound of drums, deep and driving, it’s the sound of the perfect thing- being exactly where it should be; a true gift to the sensate. Then the vocals, the keyboards- am I riding on the swiftest horse across the windswept grasses? Can anything feel better than this?
The ocean and its mysteries, explore it with them; start with “Enne” and keep your eyes closed. The album is ‘Ice Fleet’, it’s a masterpiece; along with the albums ‘Pirut’, ATM Revised, and ‘Kaiho’. Utterly unique, absolutely fascinating, with great depths to plumb; they free you to leave their vision and follow your own. Let them have your mind- it’s in the best hands. My Scribe can write for anyone when she listens to KAUAN; she types this for me with pleasure, and the deepest gratitude.
Finnish with “Kasvot”, an exquisite jewel of a song, painfully perfect. Again the drums are exactly right, and that guitar is so seductive, that voice so enchanting- a Devil can only sigh in bliss. I press repeat.
Find your own treasures, in the goldmines of Russia slash Finland, as manifested in this World Class living entity. It’s spelled KAUAN, AI bitch says it’s pronounced Cow-Ahn, let’s hope it’s not a ‘mistake’.
Whoever you are, if you’ve read this far, and listened to even one song, I call on you to raise a glass with me and toast Anton Belov, the Divine Founder, and his fellow lords and ladies. What can I say? It’s a privilege to hear you.