Refractions

Zalazak (Sunset) is Jan Nemeček's original score for Miloš Jaćimović's documentary of the same name, filmed inside the Institute for Physical Therapy 'Dr. Simo Milošević' in Montenegro: the last active state health resort of its kind from the former Yugoslavia. The score listens for the membrane between body and surrounding - tuning the organic rhythms of care, therapy cycles, repetitive movement, bodies in disciplined proximity, into the inorganic register of the resort itself: its mineral water, its machines, the ambient weight of a modernism that has quietly outlasted its context. Across ten short pieces, the music moves fluidly between composition and sound design, blurring the line between the scored and the observed.

1. Opening (03:44)
2. Soft Arrival (02:48)
3. Poolrooms I (01:30)
4. Portals (01:33)
5. Loam (01:17)
6. Transit Vacancy (02:24)
7. Pressure Event (02:32)
8. Carrier Decay (01:56)
9. Poolrooms II (02:27)
10. Ending (02:29)

Written and produced by Jan Nemeček Cover photography by Miloš Jaćimović

‘Organ Dissolution’, accompanied by a short film of the same name, wraps up the universe introduced in the 2023 album ‘Dissolved’. Revisiting and recontextualizing the tracks from the original ‘Dissolved’ studio sessions, Nemeček deconstructs and reassembles the original layers, bringing previously hidden elements to the forefront. To craft a journey through the remnants of a world unraveling, the release clashes instruments as diverse as the ancient resonance of the pontic lyre, and the muted textures of processed cello.

1. Organ Dissolution (video edit) (03:56)
2. (After) Hoover Phase (05:38)
3. Shards (Polyphonic Room take) (06:52)
4. Organ Dissolution (lbdl remix) (07:16)

Pontic lyre on “Organ Dissolution” by Branislav Jovančević Cello on “Shards (Polyphonic Room take)” by Federico Motta Remix of "Organ Dissolution" produced by Danilo Tomić Artwork by Emir Šehanović

‘Dissolved’, a new album by Serbian synthesist and sound designer Jan Nemeček, began its life cycle in a studio live room. It unpacks the paradigm of the individualistic act of computer music creation, transporting it into the communal setting of a band, its performers contributing elements ranging from prepared piano to Turkish lyre.

The album opens with an unexpected falter, a false start that imbues the album with a sense of vulnerability. It's as if the album itself is finding its footing, mirroring the dissonance of an orchestra tuning. This digital ensemble, an assembly of electronic voices, seems to search for its harmony, its discord, its pitch, its timbre - much like a traditional counterpart would.

As it unfolds, ‘Dissolved’ further taps into the raw tonalities of partially defunct digital synthesizers, ranging from early 2000s’ attempts at neural networks to precursors of oscillator-laden software synthesizers, in order to build its cloud of suspended tension and alternate histories. Through this clash of wistful piano and biting frost of digital pads with the iridescent hum of tube amps, the album reflects New Age tropes through the prism of metal (machine) music.

1. Tunings I (9:11)
2. Tunings II (2:19)
3. Organ Dissolution (8:16)
4. Hoover Phase (6:12)
5. Shards (6:02)
6. On Subtle Horizon (7:23)
7. True (4:43)

Pontic lyre on ‘Organ Dissolution’ by Branislav Jovančević Bass guitar on ‘Hoover Phase’ by Vladimir Mitrović Prepared piano on ‘Shards’ by Lukatoyboy Verbos synthesizer on ‘On Subtle Horizon’ by Miloš Hadžić ‘Shards’ contains samples of ‘Listening Station’ by Kalope ‘On Subtle Horizon’ contains samples of ‘Jurjevo’ by Nemeček Artwork by Emir Šehanović Graphic design by Bratislav Milenković Distributed by Cargo Records Germany GmbH