Right on the cusp of ’20 turning ’21, artistic all-rounder and regular over-achiever Pavel Khvaleev introduced us to his new world of electronic music ideas. Under the PARAFRAME name, the alias has become his vessel-of-choice to bring us more eclectic and subversively tailored audio. With the emphasis off the clubfloor and on everything else, it’s freed him to venture to the musical outer limits.
January’s dawning brought us his team-up with Abra Taylor, who summoned a storm on ‘Sappho Blend’. As we march into March, Pavel’s ready to put PARAFRAME back in the game for the project’s second cypher. It finds him in partnership with a singer who, under a number of her own aliases, can now be in everyway considered his muse.
To date, Loolacoma (aka Aleksandra Khvaleev) has lent her ethereal, unforgettable – and possible now even unmistakable – tones to a dozen or more of Pavel’s works. With vocal resonances touching on everything from Portishead to Nina Simone and a production that at times echoes DJ Shadow, Goldfrapp and others, ‘Dismay’ weaves its spectacularly lament-laced spell. Cultural, political or personal – the exact meaning to Loolacoma’s lyrics are left deliberately implicit, leaving ‘Dismay’s exact meaning open to the individual’s interpretation.
While we said “not initially floor-centric”, Pavel Khvaleev remix does see the noir Grandmaster place it on a clubfloor footing. Looped vocal cuts, ominously warped pitch bends, uncompromising bass and jacking rhythms all conspire to set light to the darkest corners of the club.
PARAFRAME and Loolacoma’s sombre but sumptuous ‘Dismay’ is out today and is available to stream or buy here.
Tracklist:
01:Pavel Khvaleev presents PARAFRAME & Loolacoma – Dismay (Original Mix)
02: Pavel Khvaleev presents PARAFRAME & Loolacoma – Dismay (Pavel Khvaleev Remix)
