Gintas K
Resonances
Sloow Tapes - CS 44
Gintas K, once part of the first Lithuanian industrial band Modus but since over two decades he dedicates himself to electronic music, more specific granular synths and live electronics where he takes fractions of notes and moulds the sounds through speeding/slowing down and other obscure alchemical processes into new abstract configurations of space debris with remnants of drones, hums and bleeps. 70 copies.
Resonances, the first of these, ‘was recorded live, using computer, midi keyboard & controller on Autumn 2021’ and has been released by Sloow Tapes in an edition of 70 copies. It spins slow-swirling vortices around hovering hums and low-humming drones over the course of its ten, comparatively short (only a couple extend beyond four minutes), ponderous tracks. It’s perhaps one of his more varied works, both sonically and atmospherically – and Resonances really does explore atmospheres and cavernous swampy echoes. (Aural Aggravation)
Gintas Kraptavičius was once a member of the industrial band Modus, and afterimages of their music can often be heard in the cold, metallic nature of his solo work. Resonances comes from a live session where he used a computer, a midi keyboard, and a controller. He modulates sounds, slows down and speeds up the layers, and sinks into sound waves and musical constellations. At the same time, he keeps an eye on structures – the compositions are relatively short, apart from two which reach eight minutes. Overpowering drones rumble from one side, a mass of noise and interweaving atmospheric layers from the other – an impressively constructed mesh of sonic sketches. (The Quietus)
Gintas K has been on these pages a lot of times. I must admit that, despite not knowing Sloow Tapes all too well, I am a bit surprised to see his work. I always think of him as a serious operator of laptop music, which seems not to be the home at Sloow Tapes. He creates ten pieces of music using his computer, midi keyboard and controller, but as this is a cassette (the label has no Bandcamp), I found it hard to tell where a track starts and stops. This cassette could very well contain one track per side. Oddly, perhaps, there is also an element of free play in Gintas K's music. Other than what I think is his stricter approach to composing, these pieces arrive in a free-flowing modus. Sounds drop in, quite uneventful, but are just 'there' and change in form, may grow, or reduce or simply, as unexpectedly disappear again. Yet there is never silence because there are many sounds, each fighting for our attention. It never becomes chaotic, as Gintas K manages to control the proceedings, which he does quite well. A certain psychedelic, ambient quality is part of this music, and I can see why Sloow Tapes found this to be an interesting addition to their catalogue. (Vital Weekly)
Prolific Lithuanian sound artist Gintas K adds to a full shelf of cassette releases with Resonances, a suite of pieces created with keys and a computer that alternate between being slurpy and bracing. The individual elements are quite abstract and have a creepy, dense feel with exotic cinematic overtones. Pretty sure I’d hate the movie they’d likely accompany, but as a stand-alone Resonances makes me no itchier than Goblin do. (Byron Coley, The Wire)