KAUAN has crossed my path a couple of times. I remember them as a TENHI (had an album called “Kauan” way back…) and AGALLOCH influenced, under-produced black / folk metal act. Their first album sucked and the second one had some qualities, but fell flat in the end. After that, I forgot about them, but by accident I stumbled across this most recent album called “Aava Tuulen Maa”. I was immediately attracted by the great looks! An awesome picture of a landscape, a grey sky and a most remarkable logo. Functional, beautiful simplicity.

The core in KAUAN is Anton Belov. He sings, play the guitars, the keyboards and operates the programming. Backed up he is by Lubov on violin. Together they’ve this time given birth to 5 long tracks. The intro is a bit shorter than the rest, and is also the only totally instrumental track. The rest has vocals, in Finnish. Funny, since the band is from Russia, but Anton’s been singing in Finnish since the debut and it sounds very fair.

I was not prepared to meet such beauty before I put the CD in the stereo. It blew me away from the first notes, and kept me desirous to hear more and more as the music progressed. The metal in KAUAN’s music is more or less a pale memory. This album is 70% acoustic, very dreamy, airy and melancholic. Not in the depressing way, more like… The autumn, filled with nostalgia and something in between warmth and cold. There are forests of wonderful piano music, winds of aerial keyboards, waterdrops of acoustic guitars and some extremely soothing electric guitar solos and riffs (45 seconds into “Föhn” and you’ll know what I’m talking about). And, of course, Anton’s voice that flows out and form melodies not of this world.
You can say this resembles TENHI in more than one way, but mostly due to the atmosphere and the feeling of mystical nature around you as you listen. The sound is more easygoing with more prominent post-rock influences, and those keyboards would never fit in TENHI’s soundscapes.

The negative sides here are very few. Maybe some of the intros, before all the instruments are in place, may sound a tad cheesy, sometimes like ENIGMA, but when the tracks are in their full bloom, it’s just perfect. Yes, perfect. And I hope this is the album that defines KAUAN, because I want more, more, more of this. More I say!

Author: cmerik

Someone in Russia really, really likes Tenhi. So much so, that they’ve not only set out to replicate Finnish band’s Tenhi’s calm, gentle folk meets rock style, but they’ve named their band after Tenhi’s most impactful album, Kauan, and even though they’re Russian, the lyrics are in Finnish.

It’s all good, though, because Aava Tuulen Maa is excellent. Lush, gorgeous acoustic tones mixed with the odd electric one, paired with tasteful, equally relaxing drums. Kauan’s music is introspective, delicate, somber, yet sweet… just like Tenhi’s.

If we’re going to have a side-by-side shootout, however, one ca nsay that Kauan’s vocals are much better than Tenhi’s, so if you’re going to start your foray into this rewarding territory, you should probably start with Aava Tuulen Maa, although the rating of this record ultimately reflects on how original Kauan’s music is.

Aava Tuulen Maa is kind of like the soundtrack to philosophizing about nature and love by a pristine lake. It’s one of the loveliest albums released in 2009.

Author: Roberto Martinelli

O Kauan que estou escutando, aliás, escutei umas dezenove vezes desde que o promo chegou aqui, neste terceiro álbum não é aquele que ouvira no debut – “Lumikuuro” (2007). Infelizmente não tive acesso ao segundo álbum, “Tietajan Laulu” de 2008, para comparar e notar a transição de uma banda que fazia Folk Doom Metal para uma “nova” banda que faz um Rock de vanguarda. Alguns classificam como Post Rock, o fato é que independente de conceito ou rótulo o que se ouve ao longo das cinco musicas do track list é uma banda – se bem que o Kauan tem somente duas pessoas na sua line up – criativa, ousada e pouco preocupada em impor limites à sua musicalidade.

Porém o que fica patente é que ainda há uma ligação com seu passado, já que a melancolia é um sentimento que aflora de sua musicalidade. Uma obra que nos conduz à introspecção de forma sutil e sem sobressaltos. Confesso a vocês que este álbum foi um dos melhores que chegou à nossa redação. Perfeito para doometallers e para quem procura ouvir algo diferente e com sentimento.

Author: Jaime Amorim

Бытует мнение, что третий альбом для каждой группы становится самым важным, после него можно говорить, есть ли будущее у группы либо же на ней можно ставить большой крест. В случае с KAUAN, я могу с уверенностью сказать, что будущее у этого коллектива есть, причём очень даже светлое. Начнём с того, новый альбом дуэта из Челябинска был выпущен не только в России, но и на западе, причем не где-нибудь, а на известном финском лейбле Firebox Records. Что автоматом означает, что музыка KAUAN теперь будет доступна куда более широкой аудитории. Нужно сказать, что KAUAN в этот раз немного удивили, если раньше на их музыку можно было повесить ярлык dark folk/black/doom metal, то теперь их стиль можно обозначить как ambient/post rock. “Aava Tuulen Maa” – это очень атмосферный альбом, под завязку наполненный эмоциями, способных погрузить в состояние покоя и умиротворения. Альбом для романтиков, если хотите. Этот диск надо слушать где-нибудь на природе, наслаждаясь бескрайними полями и лугами. Лирика как обычно на финском языке, несмотря на то, что группа родом из России. Также не могу не отметить шикарный двадцатистраничный буклет, который сделан на матовой бумаге и внутри которого можно увидеть настоящие акварельные рисунки которые идеально передают настроение и атмосферу композиций. Такие релизы не пропускают…

Author: Costas

Entrer dans cet album de Kauan, c’est comme se diluer dans une aquarelle. Dès la première mélodie entamée, le ciel se colore de couleurs pastel. Le noir est banni. Tout n’est que profusion de bleu océan, de violet lavande, de vert apaisant ou de jaune lumineux. Tel un tableau de quiétude, « Aava Tuulen Maa » dessine des paysages feutrés où l’on se plait à se fondre.

Semblable au peintre qui ajoute chaque jour des touches à sa toile, Kauan incorpore à ses morceaux toujours plus de nuance grâce à des instruments posés non seulement avec finesse mais aussi d’une manière juste et harmonieuse. On est loin des grands coups de pinceau et des traits grossiers : ici, la musique dépeint le monde avec douceur et harmonie. Chaque contour s’entend sans défaut, les mélodies s’esquissent avec précision et les teintes sont respectées. Aucune distorsion violente, aucun cri haineux, seul le violon et le piano viennent s’égarer dans ces champs de mélancolie. De temps en temps, comme une brise dans cette atmosphère paisible, des voix claires viennent chanter quelques mélodies gorgées d’émotions. Kauan lève la gravité, pose ses couleurs musicales et dessine un nouvel horizon à la surface des choses.

Écouter ce dernier album de Kauan, c’est comme sentir les pétales des fleurs estivales venir nous chatouiller le visage alors qu’une guitare acoustique grisée de soleil entonne ses plus beaux airs. C’est comme s’asseoir sur l’herbe sauvage et sèche, regarder les nuages passer et entendre les résonances de leur passage entre deux gouttes de piano. C’est comme se perdre dans le calme et laisser le flou des pastels nous guider dans cette aquarelle délicieuse…

Écouter Kauan, en fait, c’est respirer. Plutôt bien pour l’été, non ?!

Author: lotus

By now we should all know that yours truly isn’t all that into folk and gothic metal. The former instantly disqualifies Kauan from getting a good grade. The absence of the latter actually puts me in a good mood. This Russian duo plays light music. As I understand it, they used to play doom, but on their third release Aava Tuulen Maa all traces of rudeness have been erased. My father could listen to this. Hell, my grandmother could listen to this. What Kauan is playing could fit your local adult contemporary station. Soothing tunes like “Valveuni” could almost fit alongside some Enya type o’ shit. Yeah, it is pretty like the morning rise on the horizon or the aurola borealis and I like piano soundtrack work as much as any other film buff, but Kauan go soft. Way soft. And even though their ear-caressing appeal might reach those into post rock, it will be a stretch to get this into the hands of fans of the heavy. A tough sell.

Акварельные рисунки, представленные в буклете «Aava Tuulen Maa», служат идеальными иллюстрациями для музыки дуэта Kauan, который этим альбомом, как мне кажется, завершил предыдущий период своего творчества и начал новый. Действительно, как и эти рисунки, музыка, собранная здесь, чиста, прозрачна, меланхолична, задумчива и тепла. Короче – красива. Красива, как может быть красива нетронутая природа, линия горизонта, зеленый лес, полный громкого пения птиц и даже капли теплого летнего дождя, в которых преломляется солнечный свет. Да, прослушивание «Aava Tuulen Maa» пробивает на лирику, но что уж тут поделать, что есть, то есть.
Помнится, словом «Kauan» назывался первый альбом гениальных финнов Tenhi – сравнения наших соотечественников с этим коллективом не избежал ни один рецензент, негоже и сейчас нарушать эту традицию. Замечу только, что до этого в музыке Антона Белова и Любови Мушниковой (впрочем, в первые годы существования состав был немного другой) просматривалась философская и лирическая концепции, позаимствованные у финского коллектива, музыка же была все-таки немного другой. Теперь же найти отличия очень трудно – даже русская лирика, имевшая место быть на предыдущих альбомах, исчезла, уступив место финскому языку, которым Белов владеет весьма хорошо. Размеренный, неторопливый ритм, не особенно изменчивый на протяжении всего диска, лихо закрученные неторопливые партии электрогитар, иногда приобретающие оттенки пост-рока, периодически рычащие «металлическими» риффами для придания чувства тревоги и эмоционального напряжения, а иногда и отсылающие к шугейзингу и дрим-попу, органично существуют на одной территории с виртуозными партиями пианино, проникновенными мелодиями скрипки, акустической гитарой, отвечающей за тот самый «фольк», и синтезаторами, регулярно выдающими что-то на грани прогрессив- и спейс-рока семидесятых. Органично соединяют все это вместе и не дают распасться на кусочки композиторский талант и чувство меры авторов. Они всматриваются в даль (собственно, «Kauan» примерно так с финского и переводится), мечтают и восхищаются окружающим их миром, полным ярких красок, и эти же краски смело добавляют в свои звуковые пейзажи. В конце концов, это их дело, почему они, русские люди, предпочли выражать свои мысли и эмоции на «чужом» языке, главное – результат, а он великолепен.

Author: Maeror3

I first heard Kauan back a couple years back discovering them purely by accident. I like how they were one of the only bands to mix doom, black, folk metal with some ambiance and make it into a coherent package. The album i bought is called “Lumikuuro” and is one of the most diverse albums i have ever bought. The band sounded a little like Agalloch, early Empyrium and Tenhi but now move forward to 2009 and something weird has happen. This band is no longer doom, black, folk and certainly has nothing to do with metal, i would go as far to say this should be classified as “Alternative/Pop” with melancholic ambient overtones. Now most of you reading this have properly hit that little X in the top corner of your computer screens in disgust but hang on, its not all that bad. The band is pretty much a one man band, since it’s Anton Belov that does the writing, singing and almost all the playing. He only uses Lubov Musnikova on violin next to him, and that could be because i think they are married but don’t quote me on that. While the band have shifted directions, the Kauan trademarks are still present, like the dominating piano, the instrumental passages and the melancholy atmosphere. The melancholy drenched piano chords, added with airy synths do threaten to go off and get and really cheesy at times but thankfully they don’t get too schmaltzy. I did read something about Anton Belov, he lives in Chelyabinsk, a city with more than 1 million people. The expanses of the Urals is close to there and is where Anton Belov gets the inspiration for his music. That explains a lot a lot when you hear the music on this CD, released on Firebox/Badmoodman Music. Now back to the music, first of all the songs have i think Russian song-titles so i am not even going to attempt to memorize them or spell them. What the lyrics are about, i also have no idea and i am not about to spend a couple of hours on the Google Translate page trying to decipher their meaning. The music itself has some nice parts and might make for some nice mood music now and then, its also very well played and the production, album artwork is also great. One look at the artwork and you suspect this ain’t no doom album, the other thing is the record label is advertising them as “dark rock”. Not only is this wrong and mis-leading, it is also false advertising. The songs work in their length, but sometimes sound just thrown together, some parts (even the electric guitar) do not add to the overall atmosphere, rather it takes away any mood that was originally created. The album has a shortage of any tension and it only serves as a soundtrack for sleep or dreams. Kauan did have some potential but this is a major wrong turn and i am not just saying because it lacks any doom attributes. I have listened to my fair share of mellow music in my time, this is just too life-less for me. The only real highlight on this album for me is the end of third, more rock-orientated song, at that time we’re already halfway the album since the five songs take an average of ten minutes. Its at that point we hear a rocking guitar solo that we know from bands like Mogwai, Isis and Pelican. Unforgivably those moments are few are far between, i am hoping they will return to the sound of the first album. The sooner, the better.

En tan sólo tres años este duo ruso formado por Anton Belov (también en Strecosa y Helengard) y Lyubov Mushnikova ha editado ya tres álbumes, siendo el primero, “Lumikuuro”, un disco de referencia en el 2007 para mucha gente. Con este dan el salto y lo edita, aparte de su sello de toda la vida, Firebox Records de Finlandia.

Su anterior trabajo dejó una larga lista de excelentes críticas, pero un servidor le dió dos escuchas y no me convenció demasiado, aunque desde luego Kauan no parece el tipo de banda que entra a la primera y fue un fallo no insistir. Por eso no me conformé con el resultado obtenido tras ponerme “Aava Tuulen Maa” por primera vez, con lo cual me había quedado algo impasible y procuré volver a escucharlo en el estado de ánimo adecuado, y ahí la cosa empezó a cambiar. No podía ser de otra manera viendo su nacionalidad, las olas de melancolía desbordaron del equipo de música y envolvieron toda la habitación de una manera mágica, pausadamente, haciendote flotar en su neblinoso paisaje.

No podría encuadrarles dentro de un estilo fácilmente, y desde luego no entiendo las similitudes que puedo haber leído en distintas webs con el Doom o cualquier tipo de Metal extremo (de hecho únicamente aparece una parte de guitarra eléctrica en todo el disco, en el cuarto tema), aunque creo que han evolucionado muchísimo respecto a su primer trabajo. Kauan entrarían dentro del mismo margen musical en el que metería a bandas como Tenhi (su nombre lo toman de un disco de esta banda), Subaudition o Sigur Ros, incluso los trabajos acústicos de October Falls o Ulver.

Beben tanto del Post-Rock atmosférico como de influencias folklóricas de su país y lo traducen todo a un lenguaje muy personal; en sus cinco temas (cuatro de ellos superando los diez minutos) hay sitio para una variada progresión, atmósferas desbordantes de una mística electrizante, siempre enaltecidas por un teclado que va cumpliendo tanto la función de piano como introduciendo capas de sintetizador muy similares por momentos a las usadas por Amorphis en el gran “Tales From The Thousand Lakes”.

Probablemente el mejor disco de Post-Rock del 2009, una obra de arte. Recientemente lo han reeditado en vinilo.

Author: Jeroni Sancho

E’ passato circa un anno dalla mia recensione di “Tietäjän Laulu”, secondo album dei russi Kauan, e la frase che concludeva il testo era questa: ‘Sempre ad un passo dal comporre l’album della loro vita, che perт tarda ad arrivare’. Bene, sono proprio contento di poter affermare che, a mio parere, quell’album и arrivato con il nuovo “Aava Tuulen Maa”.
Facciamo perт un passo indietro: innanzitutto vi ricordo che qui su Shapeless trovate la recensione di “Tietäjän Laulu” e anche del precedente “Lumikuuro”, quindi potete facilmente ripercorrere la storia dei Kauan. Per sintetizzare comunque si tratta di un duo russo composto da Anton Belov (voce, chitarra, tastiere, programmazione) e da Lubov Mushnikova (violino); il loro stile, fino ad ora, consisteva in una sorta di ibrido tra il folk acustico e un doom metal triste e sconsolato, in una sorta di incrocio tra Tenhi e Agalloch: in “Luumikuro” queste due anime restavano ben distinte, come se l’album fosse esattamente diviso a metа, mentre con “Tietäjän Laulu” questa fusione era piщ omogenea.
Adesso invece le cose sono cambiate e personalmente ritengo che ci sia stato un netto passo avanti: fin da quando ho conosciuto la musica dei Kauan, infatti, mi sono sempre espresso a favore del lato acustico della loro proposta, cosм comunicativo, delicato e struggente; al contrario mi pareva che la componente metal fosse troppo comune, senza grandi guizzi e, a conti fatti, una sorta di peso che impediva alla musica di decollare. Bene, questa volta i Kauan non hanno fatto questo errore e si sono limitati a tagliare quel cordone ombelicale che li teneva ancorati alla scena metal e si sono dati completamente al folk, lasciando viva solo qualche influenza che si avvicina piщ al post rock che al doom. Il risultato и splendido.
“Aava Tuulen Maa” si presenta giа benissimo grazie all’ottima copertina, un paesaggio acquarellato dai toni azzurri su cui capeggia il logo elegante della band; l’album и formato da cinque composizioni, di cui ben quattro superano i dieci minuti di durata, ma non vi preoccupate, perchи la noia non sfiora mai l’opera dei Kauan, che al contrario riescono ad avvolgere l’ascoltatore e a trasportarlo in mondi dove la Natura domina incontrastata e dove regna quella struggente malinconia che sa cullare i cuori piщ tristi. Come dicevo la componente elettrica и quasi totalmente scomparsa e a guidare ogni composizione troviamo le chitarre acustiche, il pianoforte e il violino, in un continuo gioco di chiaroscuri che ammalia fin dal primo ascolto. Anche il cantato diventa quasi accessorio, con interventi sporadici che si inseriscono nella trama musicale quasi come uno strumento che si aggiunge al flusso delle emozioni e non come una voce guida che narra un testo supportata dalla cornice strumentale.
Presentare nel dettaglio le cinque tracce del CD и difficile, proprio perchи nel lungo evolversi delle canzoni troviamo una miriade di dettagli e di particolari, ma posso provarci. Si parte con “Ommeltu Polku” e benchи si tratti del brano piщ corto si rimane subito a bocca aperta: un delicato arpeggio di chitarra si fa strada tra lo scrosciare della pioggia e il tuonare lontano di un temporale, ma ben presto la musica si apre, la batteria inizia a dettare un tempo lento che pulsa direttamente a ritmo del cuore e su di essa appoggia la suadente melodia delle tastiere che iniziano a doppiare l’arpeggio della chitarra, in una ciclo ipnotico e triste.
Se l’inizio era buono, con “Valveuni” si arriva al vero capolavoro dell’album: un ritmo leggermente piщ sostenuto e dinamico fa da contraltare alla leggiadria delle tastiere che si allungano e si ritirano come le onde sulla spiaggia. Il pianoforte compare a dettare la melodia e si ritaglia un bell’intermezzo, prima di lasciare spazio alla voce che si intreccia con il violino e ancora con le chitarre acustiche.
Si prosegue cosм senza mai un calo, senza noia, solo con la voglia di essere presi e trasportati in un abbraccio dalla musica: “Föhn”, “Sokea Sisar” e infine “Neulana Hetkessä” non perdono lo slancio delle prime due composizioni e continuano senza sosta ad alternare poesia ed eleganza con intrecci strumentali di grande efficacia, lavorando di cesello sulla forza comunicativa dei singoli strumenti, che sia il lamento triste di un violino, piuttosto che l’arioso espandersi delle tastiere, fino al caldo arpeggiare delle chitarre. In qualche raro passaggio, soprattutto nell’ultimo brano, fa capolino la chitarra elettrica, ma serve solo a sottolineare dei momenti piщ forti, lasciando il ruolo principale agli altri strumenti.
Finalmente, quindi, posso premiare i Kauan con un voto alto, dando onore al percorso di crescita e di evoluzione che li ha portati verso nuove vette di qualitа. Un album da non perdere.

Author: Danny Boodman