Bonfires & Stars
What an intriguing project, was the first thought that passed our mind, when watching the trailer to "Bonfires & Stars", a documentary by the Moscow-based Stereotactic collective and director Sasha Voronov. The film details the journey of equally Moscow-based, emerging electronic artist Fyodor Pereverzev, aka Moa Pillar, to the Caucasus, the Kabardino-Balkar Republic to be exact, in order to collaborate with Circassian folk musicians. There he meets his guide Bulat Khalilov, radio host and co-founder of Ored Recordings, an imprint specializing in traditional music from the Causasus, Russia and the world. Together they embark on an inspirational musical adventure, an experiment filled with new encounters, cultural discoveries and philosophical exchanges.
"Bulat, constantly questions the value of this experience and the possibility of any dialogue between secular traditions and modern culture. For, too often, electronic music has been content to affix a mechanical rhythm onto samples of traditional music in order to make them ‘modern’. Moa Pillar’s project is driven by the ideal of dialogue and exchange, but the initial momentum of opening up to others can easily be transformed into mistrust, given how blurred the lines between appropriation and collaboration are."
Seeing as we haven't yet watched the movie, we cannot come to a proper conclusion, but feel free to watch the trailer below and check for a screening near you. The film will be showing this Friday, January 13th at the Norient Festival in Bern, Switzerland. We are definitely looking forward to the experience and the soundtrack!
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