Осколки

January 23, 2020

1. Глупая песня
2. О том, что
3. Осколки (оживлённый)
4. Закат
5. Лекции-инфекции
6. Нелепая история
7. Аполитичный хмырь
8. ...и не спрашивайте...
9. Оковы твои
10. Ты ушла (громкий)
11. Что ещё светит?
12. Ты ушла (тихий)
13. Осколки (печальный)

Where to listen:

• YouTube

CAUTION! Excessive amounts of false notes, crooked vocals and unrhythmical guitar. And also live emotions, mostly negative.

Information

Detailed history of the album "Осколки" ("Shards") is presented in these two videos in Ukrainian with grimaces and stupid pictures, but otherwise quite informative.

Recording started on November 21, 2009, prelast day of quarantine due to swine flu pandemic. Three songs ("О том, что", "Закат" and "Лекции-инфекции") were recorded that day, music and lyrics being created on the fly without pre-takes and cuts. Nylon guitar became the main accompanying instrument, because it doesn't need no cable, its sound doesn't need no setup - just grab and play!

Despite of the low quality of the recordings, spontaneous method of songwriting seemed much more appealing to Szysztof* than the swamp of perfectionism he was drowning in before**. Thus it was decided to record a whole album using the same method. Moreover, all the tracks were deleted immediately after mixing them to song, both due to the small capacity of the hard drive to which they were recorded and to suppress the desire of enhancement and cleaning.

Since studies at the university have resumed, and since the inspiration does not choose when to come: at home, on the road or in class, "Оковы твои" and "Глупая песня" became the last songs to be composed right at the time of recording (although the recording of the former was considered unsuccessful and was not included in the album). The subsequent ones were composed in a conventional way - on pieces of paper, which only improved their quality. Songs were still recorded from the first take though.

Exact dates of creation of most of the songs have been lost because the computer to which they were recorded had dead real-time clock battery. Only their order is known: "Ты ушла" (first loud, then quiet version), "Аполитичный хмырь", "Осколки" (first lively, then sad version), "...и не спрашивайте...". Only after the listed songs "Оковы твои" was finally recorded.

The song "Нелепая история" was recorded on January 16, 2010 and is the most detailed description of the relationship between Szysztof* and the girl to whom most of the album’s songs are dedicated and who became the author of the drawing for its cover.

The recording of the album ended on January 21, 2010 with the song "Что ещё светит?". Szysztof immediately realized that he would not dare to publish it in its entirety, even labeled as lo-fi. Only 6 of its 13 tracks were considered good enough to be posted on VK named "Ну его в печку" ("Screw it").

The only CD copy of the entire album was given to that same girl, who, however, hardly needed such a gift. The relationship broke down even before the end of the recording. The girl expressed her emotions about the breakup in a drawing for the album cover, which she presented to Szysztof* at the same meeting.

Attempts to make "electric" recordings of individual songs have been made repeatedly. In 2010, "Что ещё светит?", "Нелепая история" and "Ты ушла" were re-recorded, but were only stored in a VK playlist. In 2011 - "Лекции-инфекции" already with the full text, but in a rather strange semi-acoustic arrangement***, so it was left in a VK post. In 2012 - finally those versions of the songs "Нелепая история" and "Лекции-инфекции", which will later be included in the official release "ОББТ, НЯЖЕНС!".

At the beginning of 2020, Szysztof began to record talking-head videos, trying to do it regularly, despite the chronic shortage of topics to talk about. Naturally, the decade since the end of the "Shards'" recording immediately became a topic for two videos. It was while working on the videos that separate songs were combined into one plot, which made it possible to arrange them logically, based on the dramaturgy of that plot. At the same time, the lyrics of the song "Ты ушла" were completed to include its performance to one of the videos.

The album appeared on YouTube on the same day as the first talking-head video about it, namely January 23, 2020. But at first the music video was available only by link. The reason was not only shame for the low quality of the recording, but also a desire to completely re-record the album together with other musicians who play acoustic instruments. This idea was expressed in the videos and even received some response, but the plans were botched by another pandemic, this time the coronavirus. The video was published only on April 21, 2021.