Cyclotimia - The Invisible Hand Of Market

It is not a secret that commercial numbers rule our life in many aspects, somehow they manage to reach us even when we try to escape from them, to build our life in a complete solitude far away, in the very depth of the forests. It is sad but to admit that market economics enslaved us all, penetrating the most intimate parts of human beings' relationships. It is quite seldom that we can see somebody who is not dependent from the influence of market oscillations, currency rates drops or any other processes in economics. As a guy that has some connection to stock exchange I can assure you, even if you try to keep your profile as communist as possible, you cannot run away. Each time that you consume, this action point throws you into a so called "circle of trust". Maybe I am kind of a captain obvious rising this theme, but unfortunately I came across different sick fanatics during my life that were masturbating on various versions of utopia. But I try to be more realistic and keep sticking to the old joke in situations that are far beyond my control or power: "If you are being raped, try to relax at least and enjoy the situation", heh! Therefore, when the story is about global economics, better relax with the new album of Cyclotimia which is called by the consonant name "The Invisible Hand of Market".

If you decide to dig some information about this strange word "cyclotimia", you will be able to discover that it defines a psychical disorder which is common for the modern world with its high demands towards personality and personal performances. Not everybody is able to stick to the speed of life when obstacles and events create tornadoes sucking him into galloping routine and causing numerous mood disturbances, with periods of hypomanic symptoms alternating with periods of mild or moderate depression. And I feel that the definition is very close to the description of the music created by this Moscow based duo; I never know what to expect before listening to their albums that are constantly released during last fifteen years. But there are few elements that became a trademark and easily recognizable script for all of those who look for releases arriving from post-soviet era, like their 80s analogue sound with a soft touch of futuristic digitized electronics. The choice of the name for their last album has its special meaning being at least the third release inspired by the same theme of global economics. Max, one of the members of Cyclotimia, reminds in one of his interviews:

"...I guess my interest in financial markets came from studying economics in university. A lot of inspiration came from works by Fernand Braudel about the history of capitalist economy; a crazy book, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill; expressive texts and verses by Ezra Pound, Bertolt Brecht, Emile Verhaeren. I should also mention sci-fi, utopian, conspiracy literature and movies - everything influenced me in its own way..."

"The Invisible Hand of the Market" is another conceptual album with ten tracks of the new material being united with five tracks under the code name "Oil & Gas Colony" that were released during 2012 as a digital format EP. The band doesn't betray its sound developed during last five-six years. The melodies are quite minimalistic exploiting good old techniques of analogue electronics together with soft inclusions of electronic broken beat. Some of the compositions remind a little bit of Kraftwerk in the beginning of their career, especially when the sound starts to balance on the edge of 8-bit electronics. Tracks like "Cosmopolis", "In Fieri" and "Ads Norns" throw me twenty five years back in time playing Atari games, some kind of "Space Invaders" or "Tetris", a true injection of nostalgia. But please, don't misjudge minimalism with the lack of creativity, all the tunes serve a specific goal and stick directly to the main theme. "Bethel" and "Golem Inc" can be a perfect background music for operating with statistic numbers, watching stock exchange rates on the big screen and other manipulations in the field of economics. Futuristic and modestly dynamic, the record has a certain drive to carry it on the journey of almost forty minutes long.

With "Oil & Gas Colony" part of this CD, Cyclotimia takes a slightly different approach. The music turns to be much more experimental and atmospheric, the rhythm is sacrificed for different special effects and distorted speeches. Slim memories that were presented in previous tracks slowly disappear when the sound becomes formless and diffused concentrating completely on ambience and not on specific significant content. A bonus track under the name "Regresium" puts an end to this exploration with pure 8-bit textures summing it up in one electronic impulse.

In the world created by the new album of Max and Leonid, the market becomes an independent organism controlling every move of myriads of people by its invisible hand. I cannot claim that I was blown away by the way this message was presented, but I was never a big fan of minimalistic electronics before. Nevertheless, it fits into the niche of easy listening music that I use to put into my CD player while working on some routine or ordinary project at my day job, and I must confess that it was played at least five-six times in a row without even paying attention to the loop. Another good record to the portfolio of those Moscow based residents and another good addition to my personal collection. It is not too late for you to start your stock market career, just lay your hands on this CD and start investing while the tunes of Cyclotimia play on background. Jul 21 2014