British news outlet The Guardian has recognized an upcoming record by Ukrainian electronic musician Oleg Shudeiko, known under his stage name Heinali, as the contemporary album of the month.
Set for release on Nov. 13, Shudeiko’s “Madrigals” is a four-track blend of human improvisation on antique acoustic instruments and generative synth sounds.
“It’s a beautifully plotted suite that mixes free improvisation with mathematically generated precision, a journey that lurches so wildly between the medieval and the space-age future that it quite transports you from the here and now,” writes The Guardian’s John Lewis.
In the paper’s monthly feature, Lewis selects and reviews recent releases. Published on Oct. 30, the piece reviewing Shudeiko’s album rates it as four out of five stars and calls the record transporting.
According to the journalist, the Ukrainian composer masterfully mixed software-synthesized baroque music with improvised parts by other musicians.
“Madrigals” features improvisation by Igor Zavgorodnii, Maxim Kolomiiets and Andrew Maginley.
“Congratulations to everyone who worked on this album,” Shudeiko wrote on Facebook on Oct. 30, as he shared The Guardian’s piece.
The name of the album, which refers to a type of secular vocal music composition of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras, hints at the composer’s inspiration for the record, his love for the polyphonic compositional style of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. According to his official website, Shudeiko has been working on the release for two years.
A Kyiv-based composer and sound artist, Shudeiko writes music for video games, films, art performances and installations. Aside from singles, his discography now counts 11 albums. On the world’s leading music streaming service, Spotify, the artist has over 105,000 monthly listeners, while his most popular track on the platform, “Sway, Sway,” has reached nearly 13 million streams.
Scheduled to be published through U.K. label Injazero Records, “Madrigals” is now available for pre-order.
