Ilya Monosov's first full-length CD offers a selection of very different sound art pieces, including two Quicktime videos that add 18 minutes to the 50 minutes of the audio portion of the disc. Monosov works mostly with concepts, but he also has an ear for simple prettiness. For instance, by putting a small motor in contact with the body of a guitar in "Autonomous Guitar Music for Marc Schulz," he sets in motion a beautiful kaleidoscope of harmonics (Twelve minutes of it may be a bit too much, though). "Music for Electronics and Hurdy Gurdy (2)" features a thin sine wave and quiet scratches on the hurdy-gurdy, building up to a slightly more dynamic finale. "Architectures on Air" is a very different work, actually more of an experiment in music therapy, in which Monosov has asked post-CVA patients suffering from speech degradation to play the harmonica while vocalizing. The idea itself seems to have potential (and it is explained clearly in the artist's sleeve notes) and the resulting music is moving, of course. These three works are solo compositions/projects. The other three are presented as collaborations, although the nature of computer artist Larry Polansky's contribution to "Untitled" is not specified. Of these pieces, the most interesting is "Performance 1," in which Monosov and Civyiu Kkliu first recorded a sound walk, then played the recording back through a megaphone, at the same location, while dragging a toy xylophone and a microphone across the pavement (while recording all this with another microphone). The result is both puzzling and familiar-sounding, and raises interesting questions on the active and passive varieties of field recordings. Fans of Brandon LaBelle, Christof Migone, and Carl Michael von Hausswolff should pay attention to Monosov's work. ~ François Couture, All Music Guide
