Cross Cultural X-periment: The Vanguard

Alexander Fedoriouk is a Ukrainian cimbalom player, currently living in Cleveland, Ohio. The cimbalom is the hammered dulcimer of Eastern Europe, probably most identified outside the region as being Hungarian. Fedoriouk is also an instrument maker, crafting a wide variety of folk flutes, as well as the cimbalom itself. In addition, he runs his own record label. This album often has the sound of a self-produced session, pieced together with overdubs, and sometimes sounds stilted, without much drive, or audible responses between the participants.

It’s not a problem with the sound quality, more with the production and style, the way in which its elements are assembled. Inhabiting an easy listening corner, the fusion frequently sounds both hesitant and old-fashioned. Fortunately, the tunes hold a degree of optimistic enthusiasm, revealing Fedoriouk’s keenness for pairing his cimbalom solos alongside features for other instruments. The percussion sounds quite tired in places, as if it’s following rather than driving. The cimbalom itself is always well played, shimmering with fleet figures, but on one occasion the effect is spoilt by cymbal crashes that are way too high in the mix. The best match is on ‘Once Upon a Time in Chernobyl’, where Fedoriouk duels with fuzzed guitar on an imaginary filmic soundtrack stage.