The multi-genre label Telesma was founded by Kyiv-based electronic musician Pymin Davydov, aka Pymin. The first release by Telesma is a 14-track compilation album ‘Portraits’, which will be presented on May 17. DTF Magazine talked to Pymin and tells about the label and the album in more detail
About Telesma
According to Pymin, he got the idea of creating his own label while working at Gasoline online radio — the musician was the host of the podcast ‘Vechirnii Kyiv’ about Ukrainian producers.
‘Over the course of the podcast’s existence, I’ve received quite a few demos and unpublished recordings that I feel are worthy of attention. This prompted me to seriously consider creating a platform for contemporary music’.
Telesma is positioned as a multi-genre label that aims to support and promote a ‘unique and author’s approach to music creation’.
‘I’m fascinated by producers who put meaning and expressed opinion into their work, which in turn fosters a culture of active and thoughtful listening, — Pymin explains. — Music that ‘tells’ a story can actually be of any genre, but if you listen to the debut compilation release, you can get a sense of the direction Telesma will take’.
The term Telesma in alchemy was used to denote the ‘philosophical stone’ or ‘core of knowledge’ which, ‘according to legend, transformed metals into gold and animated the inanimate’.
About the ‘Portraits‘ album
‘Portraits’ is a compilation of 14 tracks by Ukrainian musicians and producers. Works for the album were recorded by Ihor Tsymbrovsky, Andrii Barmalii, YUVI, Bunht, Acid Mamba, Khrystyna Kirik, Monotonne, human margareeta, Radiant Futur, Whaler, Heruveem and Mykola Lebed.
The release description states that each track on the release is ‘a kind of musical portrait that reveals the style and expressiveness of each artist’.
‘‘Portraits’ is a compilation of contemporary Ukrainian music, from complex instrumental and meditative music to expressive electronic music. At first glance it may seem like an unexpected combination, but it’s a conscious approach that demonstrates the multi-genre nature of our music scene’, Pymin says about the album.
All proceeds from the sale of ‘Portraits’ will be donated to support the AFU. You can order the album on Bandcamp.
The next planned release by Telesma will be the album Valenteen, and the ‘grandfather and grandson are involved’ in the recording of this album.
‘Their compositions combine field recordings with analog Soviet synthesizers, a kind of Ukrainian Vangelis. In addition, the label has started to create a recording for a special album on the theme of healing and several multi-instrumental artists are involved in the recording. Telesma will not focus on the number of releases, but on the quality of the material, because apart from releasing the music, the label will also deal with mastering and other technical aspects that arise during the recording and release process’.
In April, Kyiv-based collective Pep Gaffe presented the first charity compilation album ‘Room Fiction Vol.1’, which includes 15 compositions by Ukrainian producers and electronic musicians.
The tracks for the compilation album were provided exclusively by local musicians, ‘existing outside the genre frameworks’. More details about the release — in our article.
The Strategic Media Support Program project implements the Lviv Media Forum with financial support from People in Need (PIN) and Pioneer Foundation.
