S. Pakhomov is one of the projects of Sergey Pakomova, who will be most familiar to walled noise/textured noise fans for his other projects Train Cemetery, Leichen,Bitum & Kara. As far as I’m aware this is only the second physical release under the S. Pakhomv banner- the first was last year three C90 box set Cousteau- which saw Pakomova offering up a selection of lower case static & set ambient sound studies themed around the celebrated French diver, explorer, film-maker & Scientist Jacques Cousteau.

I’ll have to admit I approached Insect Cults with a certain amount of trepidation- you see while I ’ve enjoyed most of Mr. Pakomova work, I didn’t get on with the Cousteau set at tall, finding it lacking both substance & use of creative/ interesting textures. Thankfully I found Insect Cult a lot more focused, and for the most part consistent offering- effectively leading the listener through a subtle compelling sonic landscape that gently blends simple & soothing ambience with creative & at times alien sounding static texturing.

The releases packaging is worth a mention- each of the discs come in there own color paper slip sleeve- these each feature different color backdrop, disc one orange, disc two green, and disc three blue. Then over all three disc covers, you get the same pictures- on the front a microscope picture of a flies head, and on the back cover what looks like a fly/bee crossbreed over a circle of mystical shapes. All told, a nicely done job- though it would have been nice if there could have been some form of slipcase/ large sleeve to put all the discs in together.

Each of the tracks follow a similar blend of pared back ambience & static textures- I won’t detail all six here, but instead, select a few of my favorites. Each of the tracks here are named in number order- and the first I like to mention is "Track Two"- this sees the bringing together of hovering ‘n’ churning church organ-like sustain, with a tightly  detailed mix of micro burrowing/ twitching antennae texture. The track had a wonderful brooding & sinisterly clinical feel to it, and if one shuts your eyes you can almost imaging large long-legged ants exploring the contours of your face. Another worthy mention comes in the form of "Track Four" which sees a warming constant rolling ambient drone, topped with a blend of very low purring tumbles, tiny feasting tones, and sudden fleeting darts- the whole track has a great feeling of warming wonder about it, and brought to mind mid-summer days watching bees flit in & out of heavy flowers heads. Lastly we have "Track Six", which returns to slight more darker territory- as we get a drift & sailing drone which has an almost aircraft-like quality to it, and around this we get a detailed map of circular pops, snaps, and micro shops- all ending the release in a mysterious through fairly dreamy manner.

 
With Insect Cult Pakhomv skillful creates a range of moods & images in one's mind- be it broodingly & strange, lush & detailed, or alien-yet-goldenly intriguing. This set will definitely appeal beyond just the HNW/ ANW/ Lowercase crowd- as there is much more going on here than just simple textured noise- so I’d say if you enjoy any form of subdued ambience, or subtle field recording type work then you’ll also enjoy what we have here.