Etazhi Explained

Etazhi
Type:studio
Artist:Molchat Doma
Cover:Molchat Doma - Etazhi.png
Released:7 September 2018
Recorded:2017–2018 in Minsk
Length:33:13
Language:Russian
Label:Detriti, Sacred Bones
Producer:Roman Komogortsev
Prev Title:S krysh nashikh domov
Prev Year:2017
Next Title:Monument
Next Year:2020

Etazhi (pronounced as /ru/, Russian: text='''Этажи''' |translation=[[Storey|Floors]]) is the second studio album by Belarusian post-punk band Molchat Doma, first released on 7 September 2018 through Detriti Records. Following the band's signing with Sacred Bones Records in January 2020, the album was released in North America for the first time on 27 March 2020.

Composition

The production of Etazhi has been described as lo-fi but slightly more clean and reminiscent of '80s music than the band's 2017 debut album, Russian: С крыш наших домов|italic=yes (From Our Houses' Rooftops). A drum machine, programmed by the band's guitarist and sound engineer Roman Komogortsev, is used throughout in place of a standard acoustic drummer. Maximilian Turp-Balazs of Emerging Europe drew comparisons to New Order's 1983 album Power, Corruption & Lies, especially for the album's opening track, Russian: "На дне" ("At the Bottom").[1] is the musicalized version of the poem "" ("Enamelled Bedpan") by the late poet and writer Boris Ryzhy.[2] [3]

Release

Over a year prior to the release of the album, the eighth track, Russian: "Коммерсанты" ("Businessmen"), was self-released as a digital single through Bandcamp on 24 July 2017.[4] Etazhi was first released on 7 September 2018[5] through German independent label Detriti Records as a download and 12-inch vinyl.[6] The album was also unofficially uploaded in full to YouTube by a user named "Harakiri Diat", who had also uploaded full albums by other post-punk and synthwave bands.[7] That upload of Etazhi garnered two million listens before eventually being taken down due to a copyright notice in 2020.

In January 2020, Molchat Doma signed with American independent label Sacred Bones Records, who later reissued Etazhi on 27 March 2020. The reissue was also the first North American pressing of the album.[8] Throughout the first half of 2020, the album's seventh track, Russian: "Судно (Борис Рыжий)" ("Bedpan (Boris Ryzhy)"), gained viral popularity as a result of the song being used often as background music on TikTok;[9] [10] the song has appeared in around 225,000 videos on the platform. The song peaked at number two on the Spotify Global Viral 50 chart[10] and number one on the United States Viral 50 chart in early May.[11]

Album cover

The building on the cover of the album is "Hotel Panorama" which is located in Štrbské Pleso, Slovakia. The design of the building was made by Czechoslovakian architect Zdeněk Řihák.

Personnel

Molchat Doma

Release history

RegionDateFormatLabelCatalog no.Ref.
Various7 September 2018Download, streamingDetriti
Europe12-inch vinylDR-004[12]
North America27 March 202012-inch vinylSacred BonesSBRLP3037[13]
CDSBRCD3037

References

Notes

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Turp-Balazs . Maximilian . 15 February 2020 . Postcard from a Molchat Doma gig . 17 September 2020 . Emerging Europe.
  2. Web site: Эмалированное судно... - Рыжий Борис. 2020-11-10. stihirus.ru.
  3. Web site: Молчат Дома = Molchat Doma* - Этажи = Etazhi. 2020-11-10. Discogs. en.
  4. Web site: kommersanty (single 2017) Molchat Doma . . https://web.archive.org/web/20191218210723/https://domamolchat.bandcamp.com/track/kommersanty-single-2017 . 18 December 2019 . 17 September 2020.
  5. Web site: etazhi (2018) Molchat Doma . . 17 September 2020.
  6. Web site: Lusso . Fabrizio . 1 August 2018 . WL//WH Track Of The Day: Molchat Doma "Volny" . 17 September 2020 . White Light//White Heat.
  7. Web site: Stefanini . Giacomo . Se il punk è ancora vivo nel 2020, è anche grazie ai canali YouTube . 17 September 2020 . . 24 February 2020 . Italian.
  8. Web site: Belarusian darkwave band Molchat Doma sign to Sacred Bones, reissuing LPs, touring North America . Pearis . Bill . 28 January 2020 . . 17 September 2020.
  9. Web site: Davidson . Emma Elizabeth . 21 May 2020 . Three TikTok fashion challenges to shake up your wardrobe . 17 September 2020 . Dazed.
  10. Web site: Amter . Charlie . 18 May 2020 . Belarusian Group That Sounds Like Joy Division Scores Streaming Hit on Anniversary of Ian Curtis' Death . 17 September 2020 . Variety.
  11. Web site: Zhang . Cat . 25 June 2020 . How Belarusian Post-Punks Molchat Doma Became a TikTok Meme . 19 August 2020 . Pitchfork.
  12. Этажи (Etazhi). Molchat Doma. 2018. vinyl sleeve. Detriti Records. DR-004.
  13. Web site: Molchat Doma - Etazhi . 17 September 2020 . Ultratop.