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Russian Linesman brings you his amazing double A-side Why Did You Tell Me You Loved Me & Errata on Loki Recordings, to herald his absolutely beautiful album Remember When We Were Thriving out on Friday 21st August.
The Nottingham based producer takes a different approach to digital music, capturing snippets of vocals, guitars and pianos, and enclosing them in what he calls a digital sarcophagus. Jamie Boyer originally started his musical journey as an acoustic singer-songwriter. He later transitioned into electronic production and adopted the mostly anonymous persona of Russian Linesman in 2006 to focus purely on conceptual storytelling.
His moniker is a nod to football history—specifically Tofiq Bahramov, the famous Azerbaijani linesman mistakenly dubbed the “Russian linesman” by English fans during the controversial 1966 World Cup Final.
Russian Linesman is well respected for the beauty of his melodic electronica, his supporters and admirers making an impressive list. Nemone (BBC 6 Music) heavily championed his multi-part EP projects on her Electric Ladyland and 6 Mix shows and even invited him for a prestigious “An Evening With…” guest slot alongside legends such as Jon Hopkins and DJ Shadow.
Lauren Laverne has aired his music on Radio 6 Breakfast Show. Others that have spun his tracks in their DJ sets include Nick Warren, John Digweed, Quivver, Maps (James Chapman), Max Cooper and Laurent Garnier.
First track Why Did You Tell Me You Loved Me is a perfect track to showcase the album. Press play. The track starts with an otherworldly riff, phasing in and out like an alien guitar, as though to the rhythm of the phrase Why Did You Tell Me You Loved Me? The emotional feeling that of being let down after giving another your trust. Layers of synth build a 3D phrase around the phrase, wood blocks panning left and right and an original breakbeat smacks down. The track slows like an adrenaline crash towards the end, showing that Russian Linesman is truly a master of emotional storytelling.
Errata is the second side of the same coin. There are definite nods to Twin Peaks. A dreamy keyboard line brings a feeling of bliss, like opening your curtains on a beautiful sunny day in the Lake District and letting the light pour in. How can the same 3-D synths build a totally different 3-D world? Around 4.20, the track changes, gone are the dreamy synths, replaced by a very computerised bass synth and a hi-hat that glitch, giving Errata its name.
If you love Russian Linesman’s unique approach to making music, then you are really in for a treat when his 14-track masterpiece Remember When We Were Thriving comes out on Friday 21st August. The album does something very unusual, taking your temperament on a journey, leaving you feeling uplifted, like your subconscious has found a certain kind of peace. In fact, The British Psychological Society in an unusual crossover of support, officially endorsed his four-part Eysenck Suites (2017) for its accurate creative exploration of psychological temperament. That’s how incredible Russian Linesman is. Stay tuned for more on the album soon.
