The Moscow producer Yana Kedrina put out two EPs and a full-length in the span of three years, but she hit a wall after 2017’s murky hardware outing, Ariadna. “I was a lot more closed off, and I saw myself like a romantic hero who is always alone," the artist also known as Kedr Livanskiy said recently. “I reconstructed my view of the world, my own mind and how to better connect with people.” She’s not alone. The past few years have seen a number of formerly solo producers, like Laurel Halo, Oneohtrix Point Never, and Holly Herndon, moving beyond the parameters of the self and opening up their processes to collaborators.
On Your Need, Livanskiy works in tandem with the Gost Zvuk-affiliated producer Flaty, whose beats add musculature and crispness where in the past she often cloaked her productions in a lo-fi haze. The songs are tighter, too. Unlike Ariadna and January Sun, nothing on Your Need exceeds the four-minute mark, landing the album squarely in the electro-pop zone rather than the Russian underground dance scene.
Such directness leads to Kedr Livanskiy’s catchiest album to date, even if it means that the best tracks are over too soon. Despite the airy vocal hook and 1990s-inspired breakbeat of a standout like “Sky Kisses,” it tantalizes and then starts to fade away. “Why Love” opens like a classic New Order production, with its ghostly minor-key synth melody and throbbing drum programming, while Livanskiy’s wordless harmonies impart acute heartache.
At times, that terseness can go against a track’s strengths. The frenetic “Bounce 2” combines synth bass, Kedrina’s slivered voice, and a dizzying beat that clocks nearly 150 bpm. But it doesn’t last long enough to truly evoke a sense of delirium on the dancefloor. And the thrilling use of dub space on “Lugovoy (November Dub)” would be well worth lingering in for a tad longer. The skin-prickling “Kiska” (perfectly matched to its body horror video) strikes the perfect balance, its primitive production and creepy, childlike vocals just eerie enough to leave you wanting more.
Named for the Russian holiday surrounding the summer solstice (and shortest night of the year), closer “Ivan Kupala” is a party anthem in the making. Flaty and Kedrina craft a celebratory track worthy of Exit Planet Dust, full of caffeinated snare rolls, DJ backspins, and shaking tambourine. When it all gives way to Kedrina’s voice and a plaintive keyboard melody, it seems destined to raise hands in dingy clubs from St. Petersburg to London. Like any sweaty bash, it’ll make you wish it never had to end.
