Sraunus

Sraunus is the moniker of Paulius Markutis – a Lithuanian producer originating from the post-industrial town of Panevėžys and known for his deeply melancholic and dreamy dub techno. Sraunus has been actively releasing music since 2010, and has thus far emitted a handful of wonderful longplays like soft blankets of hypnotic, repetitive pulsations and melodies. He has released records on such notable local labels as Greyscale, operated by another dub-techno master, Grad_U, and the now-defunct Blikmuzik, established by IDM/drill’n’bass producer IJO. His most recent release, Panavision, recalls the ephemeral and drifting washes of GAS, albeit inspired not by wandering through the woods near Cologne, but by a combination of concrete, looming industrial landscapes, and the sprawling green spaces of Panevėžys. Sraunus escapes dub-techno clichés by placing his sound in strangely personal narratives that weave field recordings, delicate pop harmonies and darker emotional undertones. As he himself puts it: “More than music is silence, if she has some sound.”

In the records

STM 251 captures the sensibilities of Sraunus’ sound and includes all of its key elements – the convincing mood and atmospheric layers ranging from blissful brightness to noirish haziness, lively field recordings and a cinematic sensibility enhanced by the on-point Twin Peaks samples. The inclusion of some delicate vaporwave from Nmesh or 1991 adds a futuristic touch to the mix. The overall dynamics constantly overlay the abstract and the personal – Vincent Gallo’s moving performance on Laura drifts through field recordings to a Fennesz/Sakamoto piano landscape, while Jefre Cantu Ledesma’s drone love song is preceded by the meditative explorations of Steve Roach. In the middle, a recording of a casual, but barely decipherable conversation emerges, creating the sense that this mix is a strange, beautiful and bright carousel of memories and dreams. The surreal combination of solemnity, tones of light and shade in Sven Jonson’s painting The Return nicely illustrates this mix where similar patterns are observed. Both Jonson’s painting and Sraunus’ mix combine static with playful dynamics and have a strong emotional charge.