Edward Artemiev - Siberiade 1979

Edward Artemiev's soundtrack to the Andrei Konchalovsky film about life in a remote Siberian village is very much a record of two halves. The first side contains what sound to me like traditional folk tunes from Siberia (I'm no expert in this field). The soulful voice of Dimitri Bouzilev is accompanied by simple, acoustic instruments. Quite a moving set - guaranteed to bring a tear to your eye. Side two, by contrast, is an electronica feast, with the kind of stuff we're more used to expect from Artemiev. The Soviet State Cinema Orchestra fatten things out on a couple of tracks too. The closing number, La Mort Du Heros, winds everything up to a climactic finish. You might recognise the melody too, as it was used by Russian techno duo PPK for their song ResuRection.


This came to me via a rather circuitous route. I'm not sure who the original ripper is, but it could be Double Avenue - kudos to you! What's for certain is that, whoever it was, they had a less-than-perfect LP to start with. There were quite a few pops and clicks on side one, which I sorted-out by Goldwave. Side two though, has noticeable sibilance throughout. I tried various things but they all seemed to lose the top of the sound, so in the end I've left it "as is" - I reckoned this was the lesser of the two evils. It's not perfect, but I've uploaded it because it's a rare thing - and something the cognoscenti here will enjoy.

Released on the French Le Chant Du Monde label in 1979.
LDX 74719

Face A
1. Ma Beaute A Fleuri trop Tot
2. Le Soleil
3. Les Yeux Emeraude
4. La Chanson Des Tziganes De Siberie
5. Le Long Chemin
6. Dimitri
7. Revelation

D. Bouzilev, chant
Groupe "Boomerang" et
Orchestre du Cinema d'Etat de l'URSS
Direction: SEREBRIAKOV (7)

Face B
1. Le Feu
2. Le Vent De L'Espoir (char a voile)
3. Le Tiurbillon De L'Histoire
4. Les Balancoires
5. La Mort Du Heros

Groupe "Boomerang"
Y. Bogdanov : guitare, synthetiseur
S. Bogdanov : percussion
A. Zagirov : guitarre basse
E. Artemiev : synthetiseur
Orchestre du Cinema d'Etat de l'URSS
Direction: SEREBRIAKOV (5)