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Music

In KYMATIC

Moscow’s instrumental ensemble reimagines Terry Riley.

The contemporary and experimental music ensemble KYMATIC is a Moscow collective of academic improvisational musicians who use Baroque, modern chamber and oriental instruments, as well as electronic-generated sounds. The ensemble’s repertoire features music of the Baroque era, 20th and 21st-century work, new compositions, as well as free improvisation.

Terry Riley’s extensive body of work includes more than 30 issues, many of them featuring him not just as a composer, but an active performer as well. The prominent American composer was a pioneer in the minimalist school of classical music, bringing conventions of Indian classical music into the Western context. Such symbiosis often implies improvisation and variability – some compositions aren’t printed as musical notes, but remain a recorded improvisation.

With that in mind, members of the KYMATIC ensemble have created their own version of Riley’s “A Rainbow in Curved Air.” Building upon the 1969 original, as well as several other versions, KYMATIC retained the harmony and rhythm while adding character of its own and incorporating the unique timbre of the ensemble. This version develops several genres inherent to Terry Riley and KYMATIC: progressive rock, ethnic, improvisational and electronic music.

Clothing provided by Prada and Louis Vuitton

This film wouldn’t have been possible without the help of  Vladimir Gorlinskiy and Stanislavsky Electrotheatre.