Pavel Milyakov & Yana Pavlova - Blue

One of the best from 2021 finally finds its way to record, and what timing - Blue is an ideal companion for these slow-moving, blistering summer days when just a little goes a long way. Unusual, as restraint is not necessarily the first thing you'd associate with the music made by the fella responsible for Butttechno, but Blue does a remarkable job of showcasing Milyakov's ever-expanding range. Somewhat conversely, it does so by stripping itself to the bone. Collaboration is a big focus of much of Milyakov's work, and this debut partnering with Ukranian vocalist, Yana Pavlova, is surely one of his most inspired, her ethereal tone offset against a series of stark arrangements constructed from trace elements of looped guitar and bass, the odd sax part (provided by former Dirty Beach, Alex Zhang Hungtai), and gently purring electronics. When it's not haunting and beautiful, it's strangely propulsive, and at times it's both, it's own kind of danse macabre with the shadow and the light. It feels like a slightly anachronistic collection, more in line with the downtown New York of Arthur Russell and Mark Freedman, or a classic deepcut from the avant European undergrowth cultivated by Les Disques de Crepuscular. Higher praise you may struggle to find. Rightly so - Blue might be the best thing Milyakov has put his name to yet, and Pavlova is surely someone we're destined to hear a lot more from.