9 tracks. Total time - 55:15.

“Yney” is musician/composer Igor Shaposhnikov and his new album “Micro Macro” is his second album for “Electroshock Records”. The album consists of nine tracks, most quite lengthy, and the music is restrained electro, some of it gently funky but with ambient sounds and audio washes layered over the tunes. It might not sound very palatable but it surprisingly is - experimental music with melody underneath the sounds. I was rather taken with “Morn & Even”, a mixture of slow bass rhythms and the electronics overlaid on top, which still managed to sound pastoral and menacing at the same time. “Deep Sleeping Transportation” is even more languid, but with more electro-experimentation on top - ironically the birds were singing loudly outside my window while playing this album and their chittering actually seemed to fit the sounds and feel of this album. “Erotic Summerspective”, with its feminine yelps of pleasure pretty much speaks for itself. “Underground Sea” sounds very BBC Radiophonic Workshop and something created for an episode of “Doctor Who”. “Micro Macro” is an album that will take some time to grow on you, but it does and you will end up playing it again and again as the sounds seem to rearrange themselves with each replay. I rather like the music of “Yney”, it is experimental but it is also restrained and quirky enough that it doesn't bring up the shutters in less shuttered ears.

John M. Peters ("The Borderland")

“Micro Macro” opens up nicely with manipulated dialogue samples and processed synths, that somehow manage to sneak in a few choice chord progressions. The instrumentation is very sparse on “Yney’s” “Sophomore” release,  with jazzy six string basslines incorporated throughout, though in the second half of the disc they become more abstract and/or distorted. Those bass riffs add a certain something to the experience, even if at times they seem to work against the surrounding instrumentation.  There were certain parts which were a bit “Casio” for my liking, being of a noticeably lower quality than others whose instrumentation were much more appealing and professional sounding.  I completely understand the concept of “minimal” and am a big fan when it’s executed well and properly thought out, I’m just not positive that this release was entirely effective in those two areas. By the final track, the listener is presented with what could potentially have proven to be the beginnings of a great piece, until it is abruptly cut short at just a minute twenty. The record was overall a little sleepy, which worked in some parts but not quite in others. It also has a very unique “ethereal jazz fusion” quality to certain pieces that despite being a bit partitioned, were undeniably interesting.

Barton Graham (“Chain D.L.K.”)

The second “Electroshock Records” label album from “Yney” picks up where their 2004 “Antarctina” album left off. I’ll say right off that this is an adventurous album that brings together many contrasting elements in fascinating ways.
The album opens on a sparse note with “Closed Lection”, consisting of efx’d voices, noisy electronics and scratchy beats. But with “Morn and Even” the fun really begins. The music alternates between a spaced out groove and playful bouncy keyboard melody, almost “Casio”-like, all surrounded by rhythmic scratching, chirping birds and various other freaky sounds. I got the sense of blending cosmic hip-hop and motorik grooves. But in the last few minutes it transitions to a sound sculpture that blends field recordings from nature and a peaceful jazzy melody. “Deep Sleeping Transportation” starts off as a dark electronic space exploration and sound sculpture. But after a few minutes a jazzy grooving electric piano melody kicks in, not unlike Ray Charles, which sounds strange and cool alongside the racing radio wave beam and other sounds. Shortly after a bass takes over and, similar to “Morn and Even”, we’ve got quiet jazzy ambience mixed with multiple frenetic spaced out sounds.
Most of the other tracks are similar except for “Assymetry” and “Generating of the Universe”. Both are very good 10 minute electronic space and sound explorations, though “Generating of the Universe” gets into more structured orchestral territory. There is a lot happening on this album, and many of the components “Yney” throw into the mix could very easily not work well together, and it's a testament to their artistry and craftsmanship that it does. The attentive listener will be rewarded.

Spaceman33 (“Aural Innovations”)

“Micro Macro” is an interesting work which combines a variety of musical trends. With great skill and with an experimental vocation even if it does not elude melodic and harmonic elements. The nine themes, with varied approaches yet quite related to one another, are based on electronic, electroacoustic and sound collage textures. The music flows from melodic “ambient” to “avant-garde jazz”, with interesting excursions into the “space music” (particularly in the theme “Generation of the Universe”), the mysterious (“No fear in Stratosphere” and “Asymmetry”) and the sensual (the theme “Erotic Summerspective”).

Virginia Tamayo (“Amazing Sounds”)

“Yney” (meaning “hoar-frost”) is the combination of three outstanding musicians - Jury Orlov, Igor Shaposhnikov and Andrew Kireev. All of them are so original by themselves that each is worth a story on his own. In the beginning, this brilliant avant-garde group got off to a fine start in the Russian music scene, making history in the genre of electronic music. Here is a generous slab of rather ambient, electronic music, with touches of folktronica and more formal/experimental compositions. Some bits sound relaxed and easy, especially early in the album, yet other tracks will transport you into unusual atmospheres. Serious, rather original work!

(“DWM” Music Company)