• Alan Freeman, "Audion", 23 (6/1993) UK
• "Heartbeats", 1993, USA
• Darren Bergstein, i/e, 1993
• "La vie naturelle", 6/1993, France
• "Eurock", 5/1993, USA
• "Keyboards", 7/1993, Germany
• Rainer Kuhn, "Keys", 7/1993, Germany
• "ME-sounds", 6/1993, Germany
• "Saarlouiser Rundschau", 4/1993
• "Aha", 7/1993
• Ersilia Rozza, "New Sounds", 7/8/1993, Italy
• "Novedades Arpa Folk", 2/1993, Spain

ME-sounds, 6/93, Deutchland. Mikhail Chekalin "Night Pulsation" (In-Akustic 30632)

Synthesizermusik, die sich mit den Werken westlicher Computerakustiker durchaus messen kann. Sinfonische Klangmalereien, Minimal Music, okkulte Besänftigungsklange in New-Age-Nähe - der Moskowiter Klangpionier hat alles drauf.

Saarlouiser Rundschau, 4/93, Deutchland. Mikhail Chekalin "Night Pulsation" Erdenklang 30632 / In-Akustic

Der russische Underground Ekektroniker Mikhail Chekalin lädt auf "Night Pulsation" ein zu einer Odyssée ins Reich der Sinne. Musik zum Träumen, Abshalten, Entspannen und Auflanken. Eim Muß für Sammler elektronischer Musik und ein hervorragendes Album, um in die Traumwelt der Synthesizer-Musik einzusteigen. Da verbinden sich tragende Melodiebogen mit faszinierend gestrickten Rhythmusteppichen zu beeindruckenden Soundpassagen, denen sich auch weite Improvisationsflächen öffnen. Anspiletip hierzu: "Fleetness". Im besten Sinne meditationsgeeignete "New Age Music", das man beim Sonhenuntergang hören sollte und nicht unbedingt in dunklen Räumen. Vielleicht zum Träumen zu Zweit? Reizvoll ist diese Musik auf jeden Fall.

Aha, 7/93, Deutchland. Mikhail Chekalin "Night Pulsation" (Erdenklang)

Die Musik des russischen Elektronik-Komponisten Chekalin erzeugt positive Emotionen. Seine eklektisch-philharmonischen Träumereien arbeiten mit dichten, schwebenden Klangteppichen, aus denen sich himmlische Chöre, Naturgeräusche und russische Instrumente schemenhaft erheben. Ein mystischer Trip durch unermesslic (?) weite Landschaften.

Keyboards, 7/93, Deutchland. Mikhail Chekalin "Night Pulsation" (In-akustic / Erdenklang 30632; Spieldauer: 68:34)

Zweite CD des 34 jährigen kauers, ein Querschnitt durch zehn Jahre seines Schaffens, mit elf Titeln (1:41 bis 10:09) , die vor allem zweierlei klarmachen: Erstens, Chekalin beherrscht die Kunst der symphonischen Klangdichtung aus dem Effeff, selbst wenn er sich dazu wie im knapp achtminutigen Titelstück bloß einer Yamaha-Orgel und eines Harmonizers bedient; zweitens, Chekalins surreale Sounds tönen so transparent, daß man das Gefühl hat, man könne durch die gläsernen Klangwände hindurchmarscheren wie einst Heinz Rühmann im "Mann, der durch die Wand ging". Kann man auch, nur daß auf der anderen Seite kein böser Boss lauert, sondern sich immer neue Klangraume auftun, in denen opulent orchestrierte Klassikzitate ebenso ihren Platz haben wie hauchzarte Synthiegespinste. Phantastisch fantasievolle Musik, so klar wie Glasnost, so sättigend wie Borschtsch und so prickelnd wie Krimsekt.

Rainer Kuhn, Keys, 7/93, Deutchland. Mikhail Chekalin "Night Pulsation" Erdenklang 30632 ca.69 min.

Ein Querschnitt aus dem zehnjährigen Schaffen des virulenten Moskauer Komponisten. Chekalin entfuhrt den Zuhörer in eine irisierende, symphonisch-elektronische Klangwelt. Mit großem Erfindungsreichtum pulsiert seine Musik zwischen ruhigen, aber spannenden Momenten und dramatischen Höhepunkten. Vielschichtig und interessant, nicht nur, weil die Musik aus einem bisher verschlossenem Teil der Erde kommt.

Heartbeats, Summer '93, USA. Mikhail Chekalin "Night Pulsation"

Within the eleven tracks that make up this release, beauty, mystery, yearning and majesty converge to form a dreaming pool of apprehension and enchantment. This is space music steeped in orchestral grandeur, electronic eclecticism and vocal sensuality. Chekalin is a sonic sorcerer who summons forth the spirits of his Russian heritage and impregnates them with cosmic emotion. Classical influences of Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Rachmaninov, as well as folk melodies and eastern orthodox choral passages, give this music an appealing aura of epic drama without slipping into pretension. The interplay between electronics and percussion is filled with excitement and originality. Chekalin's voice is sometimes reminiscent of Peter Gabriel's vocal work on the "Passion" soundtrack. Listening to "Night Pulsation" is like walking a tightrope that stretches between Earth and distant Pleiades.

Alan Freeman, Audion, 23 (6/93), UK. Mikhail Chekalin "Night Pulsation" (Erdenklang 30632) CD 69 m

Mikhail is certainly one of the most radical and innovative synthesists around, not only in Russia but globally, he's taken the art of synth music way beyond its generic form. Via his twelve LP "M'Ars" series issued a couple of years back (actually, the twelth has yet to be released! - Ed.), he has startled many with his bizzare sonic creations. This, his third CD, and Western debut is an album full of surprises, eleven tracks that cover a multitude of styles, from spacious synth music through to carefully conceived constructions built out of sampled sounds. True, unlike some of his earlier LPs, he does play a bit safer here, he doesn't really strike out in extremes, and a melodic focus is held. "Night Pulsation" is aptly mysterious and often spooky coming across much like a mixture of Klaus Schultze's more abstract recent works, Peter Frohmader's "Homunculus" and some latter-day Conrad Schnitzler, an intoxicating concoction indeed!

Darren Bergstein, "I/E", Summer '93, USA Mikhail Chekalin "Night Pulsation" (Erdenklang) CD

All cultures possess their own innate musical heritages and sensibilities. The very nature of "Western" music can sometimes have a dampening effect on those whose ancestry lies in a different hemisphere. But the more broad-minded artists, while recognizing the sweeter advantages of "Western bounty", might just opt to forge their own destinies and let fortune favor the foolish. Ergo - anything emerging from a place whose fortunes have not yet been harvested, or whose 'scenes' are only known to a discreet few, often inplies a stark sense of exoticism. Russian keyboardist Mikhail Chekalin, as evidenced by the bag of wonders glowing within "Night Pulsation", has been graciously spared the corruption of "civilized" parties. The synth music of "Nigh Pulsation" teems with such excitement, vitality and imagination that it invites no comparisons to either the Berlin School, the US scene or any other tactical movement that currently exists. The album is, in short, a highly charismatic and original wok, utilizing as its sound fabric certain ambiguous elements found in the soundtrack work of Eduard Artemyev but possessed of sound and vision far more progressive in its thinking and ultimately more visual. Indeed, Chekalin's situation is peculiarly ironic - although having to work in an environment long unconducive to experimentation and the searching for new methods, it is that very insulation that has kept him an entity unto hinself, unblemished by what has come before, undamage by any pre-conceived ideas. Frought with aural drama, cataclysmic in spots and cathartic in others, "Night Pulsation" is a true work of art. Compliments to both Chekalin for execution and "Erdenklang" for realization.

La Vie Naturel, 6/93, France. Mikhail Chekalin "Night Pulsation" (Erdenklang - CD 69 mn)

Chekalin est russe. C'est a dire qu'en se specialisant dans la musique electronique depuis les années 60, il ne s'est pas vraiment attire la consideration du reеgime sovietique. Le KGB lui en a fait baver!.. Maintenant, ça va mieux. Il peut enfin s'exprimer comme il veut, et sa musique, de style "philarmonic new age" (ou, si l'on préfère, "nouvelle musique"), s'est révelée être d'un très haut niveau. Le present CD reunit 11 morceaux debordant de caractere, composes entre 83 et 92. Le titre generique, "Night pulsation", convient d'ailleurs parfaitement a l'ensemble de ces pieces dont l'ambiance résolument nocturne, mysterieuse, fantomatique, nous envoûte littéralement. Un delice esthetique propre a transfigurer les chaudes nuits de ce prochain ete...

Eurock, 5/93, USA. Mikhail Chekalin "Night Pulsation"

Chekalin is perhaps the leading artist from Russia in terms of cosmic synthesizer sound. He mixes pure space music with rhythmic soundscapes with ease, the result being a diverse sound that conceptually hangs together beautifully. Fans of TD, Klaus or other Berlin school artists should be well please by this one.

Ersilia Rozza, New Sounds, 7/8/93, Italy. Mikhail Chekalin "Night Pulsation" (Erdenklang / New Sounds)

E'il primo esponente, se si esclude il compositore di soundtrack Eduard Artemyev, della nuova musica elettronica russa ad uscire dai confini del suo paese. Nato, come molti, nelle file dei gruppi rock (il suo si chiamava Samozveti, e suonava alla Stones) alla fine dei Seventies, Mikhail ha fatto anche la trafila dei club e dei ristoranti assimilando gli hit del pop mondiale prima di mettersi, nell'82, in proprio e di iniziare un difficile percorso di sperimentazione con le elettroniche, effettuato a contatto di artisti impegnati in altri settori, quali il teatro, l'arte visuale e perfino la fisica. Il clima, fino a la glasnost, e in Russia molto contrastante, da un lato c'e estrema disponibilita di teatri, planetarium, locali, ad accogliere questi sound, dall'altro i conflitti con il retrivo KGB e la stessa delinquenza organizzavata. Il suo primo album e dell'88 e si intitula "Vocalise in Rapide", cui ne seguiranno altri tredici, di cui questo lungo CD e una specie di compendio generale. Circa dieci anni di composizioni, ispirate a situazioni diverse, sonorizzazioni teatrali e descrizioni visionarie, "sinfonie in stile new age" e esperimenti orientali, voci sognanti e esplosioni coloristiche, illustrazioni di opere di computer grafica e viaggi nella grande anima russa, si risolvono in flusso sonoro che ricorda per certi verso Brian Eno e per certi altri le sperimentazioni della musica contemporanea. Un interessante excursus sulle ricerche piu vitali di un panorama ancora sconosciuto, ma vitale.

Novedades Arpa Folk, 2/93, Spain. Mikhail Chekalin "Night Pulsation" (Duración 68'32'')

A pesar de que oficialmente la música electrónica no ha existido en Rusia, Mikhail Chekalin es uno de los pioneros de la música de sintetizadores en ese país, donde comenzo a tenerse en cuenta desde la politica de transparencia de Gorbachov. Este disco es una muestra de su trabajo en los últimos 10 años. Definida como electrónica y Nueva Era, la recomiendan para vídeo-arte y misas negras.

Discord Distribution, UK. Mikhail Chekalin "Night Pulsation"

Nights full of secrets - hallucinations or reality - voices in dreams - pulsing sounds - explosions of colours are lightning the empire of the dark - a trip through the soul of the Russian composer and musician Chekalin into the endless wide of the Russian landscapes and cultures. Except for the film music by Eduard Artemyev and the performance music of L. Theremin there has never officially been any electronic music in Russia. Taking a more careful look at this genre now, and seeing the former as the pioneer of synthesizer music in the '60's and '70,'s, Mikhail Chekalin turns out to be the underground electronic musician of a young Russian 'independent'-scene. The musical progress of Chekalin (born 1959) is a thightrope walk between solid craft training and ideologically imposed restriction or creativity by the Soviet system. Gorbatchow's 'Glasnost' politic Chekalin helped him to get accepted by the official authorities. From 1988 on he was given the opportunity to release alltogether 14 albums on the Melodija label. In his studio work Chekalin places considerable importance on repressing sequencer, playback and multitrack techniques in favour of live recordings. In his compositions he brings out an eclectic philharmonic style. The selection here represents a cross-section of his works over a period of ten years.