That Black

Donetsk project THAT BLACK was created in 1991 by Vladislav Kreimer. The name of the project comes from the musical device – kind of a loop sampler-sequencer invented by Vlad. The project has undergone lots of changes both in its composition and musical style (from blues-rock and avant-garde to rap).

The breakpoint in the artist’s life was the year of 1998 when Vlad started working with the electronic music. His first album under the same title ‘THAT BLACK’, released by Citadel Records one year later, determined the artist’s main stylistic priorities: DRAM’n’BASS, BREAK BEAT, TRIP-HOP. The second album ‘Connection’ was a great success – it took THAT BLACK only one year to reach a very high musical level. The artist was asked to make remixes for Mummy Troll, Tatu, Smath, Vitas, Zdob’Si’Zdub and other artists.

In 2000 the project was awarded the first place at the world remix internet-contest organized by the site www.intermusic.com. At the same time Vlad was developing his easy-listening project, released by English label Cooking Records (Good Looking Organization) as well as the conceptual ULA project, where Kremer tries to make the voice synthesis.

The third album of THAT BLACK project – ‘Open’, issued by Citadel Records in October 2003, is the most live from all the albums and needs the tiny attitude from the audience. The Ukrainian singer Aleka helped Vlad to make the album.

The latest Kreimer’s work is ULA with the album ‘Just an Engine’. ULA project is unique because there is a virtual singer, the first robot girl in the world. The entire vocal on the album is synthesized and no real person took part in the recording. The latest achievements in the voice synthesis allowed Vlad to make the synthesized voice sing. ULA with its album ‘Just an Engine’ was represented twice at the International Music Market MIDEM 2004 and 2005 and was a great success among the professionals and the mass media. The world press notes the uniqueness of the project and of the computer technologies used by Vlad (RNE radio, the national Spanish radio company; internet radio station M+M; the magazines ‘Rolling Stone’ and ‘Trax’). In Spain the album was issued by the label Red Musical. In Russia it was issued in 2004 by the independent Moscow label Citadel Records.

In the near future Citadel Records is going to release THAT BLACK’s new album – ‘Ocean’. It’s a new ambient album that Vlad wrote in the state of meditation. Five tracks of the new album are full of harmony and calmness. The quite and peaceful music gives you the feeling that can only be described as ‘gravity-free state’. “Ocean” is an invitation to immerse in the ocean of music and still.