Paper Ruins by Sozorie

“Paper Ruins” is a dramatic and melancholic debut from Sozorie, an up-and-coming producer from Minsk, Belarus. Beautiful experimental ambient and arty electronica inspired by “visionary architecture,” the kind of architecture that is not realistic and only exists on paper.

Nikolay Steshyts, the person behind Sozorie, is really enjoying creating what he calls “controlled aggression” in his sound. Indeed, even the lushest moments of “Paper Ruins” possess a certain tension, buried underneath the elusive melodies and the rubbery beats.

The album showcases a rich production palette. Some synth work here sounds “classic,” repurposing the classic IDM/electronica/downtempo canon. But then everything changes, and we get more penetrative, siren-like hyperboles that clash against glitches, kick drums, and distorted clangs shaping rhythmic passages not dissimilar to early Amnesia Scanner. Sozorie ties all of these broad influences into a knot and carefully places them inside a narrative, and it does feel like a scaled paper model of a brilliant, strange building. Steshitz comes up with a fresh vision and an excellent record equal parts a home listening trip and great material for the more adventurous DJs.

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