Fmsao - Salt (2021)

If honest, simple people are the salt of the earth, what is the salt of music? Could it be the emotional and deceptively simple ambient of FMSAO and his new album Salt FMSAO is Evgeny Shchukin, co-founder of Fuselab and the musician with many names. He produces eclectic electronic music as WOLS and abstract pop as part of duo Narcissi. His previous collaborations include Modul, Sofeet, Wetwe, Zaria and Feldmaus. The latter project, an ambient collective of Shchukin, Alexander ‘’Koett’’ Tochilkin and Sergey Suokas, served as the basis for FMSAO.

Although it is a solo project of Shchukin, it is a place of collaboration with other musicians. Here you can see joint works with AL-90 (post-rock sublime opener Berega), Проделки Больной Головы (almost danceable Naprav Etu Energiyu and Pips), Krikitoka & Barmazuta (caustic improv Mashina Vremeni), MFeld-T (glorious cinematic T-Ode 1229) and Dremming Stroze (nostalgic Slyozy). Соль is a monolith of an album. During its runtime, you will be deeply immersed in the world of FMSAO. The beauty of nature combines here with the artefacts of the foreseeable future. (You can see the sardonic side of this image in the name of the track Non-Fungible Forests). FMSAO’s music is captivating, sophisticated, and amusing. The salt of the music? Well, it’s honest, but not that simple.