In this week's blog post we head behind the scenes with Dionis Afonichev who records as Dionisaf, the artist behind his Whitelabrecs debut 'Mississippian'. Once again, Ryan Watts (AKA Akira Film Script) is the interviewer, giving us the chance to delve deeper into the stories, memories and sounds that shaped this deeply personal record about a time and place.

Throughout the interview, Dionisaf reflects on his journey from Siberia to Mississippi and the time he spent there before moving recently to Washington DC. At the heart of Mississippian is a $50 acoustic guitar and from here, the conversation explores the process behind the album, the use of field recordings, the contribution of Dutch flautist Liesbet Leroy and more.

The conversation also takes us deeper into the personal memories behind the track titles, from magnolia flowers, cotton fields and abandoned roads to Amish communities, dark skies and the forests of the Apalachee. Dionis discusses Mississippian as a collection of musical memories, created during a period of transition as he prepared to leave Mississippi for DC, while also reflecting on where his music might take him next.

Scroll down to read the full interview, where you'll also find photographs and an embedded Bandcamp player. As always, at the bottom of the page you'll find links to learn more about Dionisaf and to listen to Mississippian for yourself, if you haven't done so already...

Hey Dionis! Thanks for taking time away from Chitra, Ambient Cat, and your daily hustle and bustle to meet with me for this chat! We're all very excited to see Mississippian see the light of day on Whitelabrecs.

Can you start by telling us a bit of your personal music journey, about leaving your home country, traveling to Mississippi, what brought you there specifically, and what ultimately led you to landing in D.C.?

I am originally from Siberia, but in 2018, I moved to the U.S., where my fiancée, now my wife, was studying at the University of Mississippi. We moved when she earned her PhD and got a job. I have always worked from home - as an astrologer, teacher, blogger, composer, and musical producer - so relocating wasn't an issue for me. We live in Washington, D.C. now, because it's where my wife wanted to pursue her career. Fortunately, I've always found something to love about wherever I live.

Wow, what an incredible journey! And here I thought just moving across the US itself was a big change - doesn't hold a candle to the flame that is Siberia to Mississippi to D.C

Refocusing back on the state of Mississippi, as it is central to the album's themes, I understand you purchased and refurbished an old acoustic guitar in Mississippi that became the central instrument across this album. Can you tell us a bit about said guitar, where you acquired it, your refurbishing of it, and what struck you about its unique tones so much to center an entire project around it?

I found this guitar in the Cotton Warehouse Antique Mall in Batesville, Mississippi. That was actually one of my favorite antique stores - a place where I always found something interesting. For instance, the metal xylophone (or rather, metallophone) - which you can hear in many of my electro-acoustic works and also see on my YouTube channel (the yellow one) - was bought there for about 20 dollars.

The guitar cost 50 dollars and wasn't in the best shape. I cleaned it up, changed the strings, tried to straighten the neck, and ended up with a pretty interesting instrument. I love a raw, uneven sound in tracks (which explains my love for tapes), and an instrument like this is perfect for that. This guitar, along with my other guitars, features on various albums of mine besides ‘Mississippian’ – ‘House Plants’, ‘The Stories of Paper Planets’, and ‘Memories of the Present’.

Sounds like a wonderful companion to your output that's added emotional value because of how you took care to refurbish it, and in a way, make it uniquely yours.

While the guitar is central on the album, you also included kalimba, xylophone, shakers, and synths on the album. What did your full live instrument setup look like, and what was the guiding light or principle behind which instruments made a feature on the album?

My creative process is highly intuitive. Before recording anything, I spend some time improvising and meditating with the instrument. Often, while recording one instrument, I start imagining other parts that would complement it, and then choose the instruments that best fit those ideas.

When visiting musician friends, I always use a chance to record and capture various samples with their instruments - sounds that might not come in handy until years later, when I finally hear that specific timbre in my mind. That was the case, for instance, with the African mbira recording on the track "Path" from the album ‘The Stories of Paper Planets’. However, on the album ‘Mississippian’, the guitar with effects takes up about 80 percent of the sonic space; everything else - whether it’s a ukulele or a xylophone, etc. - serves merely as an additional touch or counterpoint.

I love that the guitar takes center stage on this album, and I also adore how it sounds like a guitar that's built to play the blues - just a unique charm and character that permeates this whole album.

Field recordings also play a part in the album - what was your subject matter for the fields, are they all from Mississippi, and what was your field recording gear setup like for this album?

I don’t use expensive gear for field recordings. It’s always just a single stereo recorder with a wind filter. This is actually really convenient, as I often take the recorder along when I’m out for a walk or traveling. I can start recording the moment I hear something I like. Sometimes I switch it on at the airport, in a museum, or in a park; other times, I simply place it by the window when it’s raining, or the birds are singing.

For the ‘Mississippian’, I used a few bird sounds and the sound of rain, as well as recordings from an Amish settlement. I used to visit them often when I lived there - probably annoying them with my presence, haha. Give the track "The Amish" a listen; the field recordings in it are exactly what daily life among the Amish in Mississippi sounds like.

It's amazing that you incorporated not only your living space and sounds from around it, but capturing a recording of The Amish at work is a fascinating addition, and very regional; we didn't have any Amish in California to speak of for all my years recording fields out there. That's so cool.

The lone feature on the album is from Dutch flautist Liesbet Leroy; how did you two come to meet, work together, and do you have any plans to work again in the future?

I know Liesbet through social media. She is a wonderful, positive person and a brilliant flautist. We get along well, even though I’m not naturally a very social person. When I recorded the guitar and steel drum parts for the track "Forgotten Trails of Apalachee," I realized it was missing a flute; I’m not particularly skilled with wind instruments myself, despite having tried to learn the saxophone back in college. So, I asked Liesbet to record the flute part. She kindly agreed and even offered some great advice on the composition. We trimmed away the excess, and the result was a beautiful piece of music - dreamy and bright, yet with a subtle touch of melancholy. I hope we’ll have a chance to collaborate again in the future.

Her input seems invaluable in that case, seeing as it's such a beautiful composition. One day you'll have to show me the original version - I'm very intrigued to know there was a previous iteration of that track!

While Mississippian is deeply rooted in electro-acoustic environments, there's a strong nod to 80s and 90s New Age recordings, like those of the Windham Hill label; was this an intentional choice, or was this more of a by-product of your focus on the acoustic for the album's emotional core?

That’s a very interesting observation. Perhaps the choice of the primary instrument is what creates that impression, because there was no such intention. It might also be some kind of intuitive, subconscious connection. I sometimes enjoy it when someone tells me what my music is about or what inspired it, because I often have no idea myself, haha.

I feel you there; I often get so lost in making my stuff, I forget that others might hear something completely different in it. I always find these connections fascinating, and honestly, they've opened doors to listen to things I'm compared to that I may not have even listened to yet, finding new artists and all.

As someone who just moved myself, and doing a fair bit of "farewell" recordings, releases, and events before departing, my understanding is that these sessions occurred as you wound things down in Mississippi before departing for DC on your end of things. Was this intended to always be a bit of a farewell record, or did it evolve into that as you found out you'd be departing and these sessions were already in process?

It often happens that I start writing one album but end up with something completely different. That was the case here, too – the first track emerged more than a year before I moved, inspired simply by the beautiful yet fleeting autumn in Oxford. Yet, the final touches were added while I sat in an almost empty apartment, my belongings packed, fully aware that I was leaving and might never come back.

I know that moment well. It can be a touch emotional, which the album is in no absence of emotion, nor sense of reflection; in fact, quite the opposite - it spills over with these feelings.

The song titles are simple and devoid of over-explaining; however, they feel deeply personal and very specific; can you walk us through a few and what the backstory is to them?

In reality, this is an album of my personal impressions and memories. I do this sometimes. Some people keep photo albums, others collect drawings or postcards; I collect musical memories. For example, when I first visited New York City, I was so struck by the city's sonic diversity that I brought home a huge number of recordings and soon released the album ‘New York Environments’. You can find it on streaming platforms. It’s the same here – every track represents a specific memory or impression.

Magnolia blossoms would appear right outside my window every year, and the first track “Magnolia Flower” is dedicated to that. In my naivety, I thought that leaving Mississippi meant I’d never see magnolias again, but it turned out there are plenty of them in Washington, too, haha.

The track “Cotton” is dedicated to another symbol of Mississippi - the endless cotton fields. It is a striking sight to watch white clouds of cotton whiz by outside the car window. My wife carried a bouquet of cotton on our wedding day, a meaningful nod to the place where we were getting married.

“Abandoned Road” is dedicated to old, empty roads that are so plentiful in those parts. I really love the sight of cracked asphalt with vegetation pushing through it. You don't see that kind of thing in big cities.

The track “Forgotten Trails of the Apalachee”, recorded with Liesbet Leroy, is somewhat of an esoteric piece. As someone exiled from my homeland, or, one might say, forced to leave it, and feeling like an outsider wherever I went, I sensed an inner connection with the ancient spirits of the Apalachee in the forests of Mississippi, where I often loved to walk alone. These people once lived there, hunting, trading, and singing. Today they are gone, yet the very spirits of nature with whom they lived in harmony remain - there in the mountains, forests, and prairies.

“The Amish” is dedicated to the Amish community located in Pontotoc County. These are remarkable people who live by subsistence farming and their own labor, which allows them to remain almost unaffected by the crises and problems of the modern world.

The story behind “Starry Sky” begins with an invitation from a friend. At the time, he taught astronomy at the University of Mississippi and took us to a dark-sky site outside Oxford, where we could experience the night sky free from light pollution. It was absolutely beautiful! It reminded me of my childhood, when my grandfather used to take me outside in the evenings to show me various constellations and planets. The second time we saw such a mesmerizing night sky in the U.S. was in eastern California, when we were camping in Joshua Tree National Park.

The title of the seventh track was taken from William Faulkner's novel “The Sound and the Fury”. Faulkner is the writer most closely associated with Oxford, Mississippi. He lived there for much of his life, and his home, now preserved as a museum, is still open to the public. In this novel, the protagonist often spoke of his sister smelling like trees. After living in Mississippi for some time, I understood exactly what that scent was. When my wife came in from outside, she carried it with her – the earthy, sun-warmed scent of leaves, bark, and humid forest air.

The track “The Leaves Turn Yellow and Red” was inspired by Autumn foliage. The album actually started with this track – I thought it would be something like ‘The Seasons’. At that time, I was not yet thinking about the impending farewell to these places, but the very theme of falling leaves and autumn reflects the motif of parting like nothing else.

The final track, “A Tired Horse”, has a bit of a bluesy feel. An old, weary horse trudging across a field – that is an image of rural life that has stayed with me, representing something archaic and enduring

All very deeply thought through, and personal - thanks for sharing all of that with us.

Owning quite a few of your albums myself, and following your output closely, Mississippian stands out amidst drone works, Blade Runner-inspired sounds, traditional School-of-Eno, ragas, and other ambient approaches/experiments, well documented on your YouTube channel; do you have any intentions of following up the sonic palette you're painting with on Mississippian, especially given how deeply personal this set is?

That’s an interesting question, and one that’s hard for me to answer. I don’t like repeating myself in my work, yet I do it all the time. I don’t think Southern themes captivate me enough to keep exploring them when I’m not actually there. But I can’t make any concrete promises. Life moves in phases; new impressions come along, and sometimes memories flood back. Music is my language. Through music, you can express things that words can’t capture – states of mind, sensations, sometimes even revelations, but I can’t promise anything. Sometimes I plan one thing, but something entirely different emerges. There are times when I’m working on something, and it just isn’t clicking, but then I sit down to simply play my instruments, and something great is born. There was a period when I stopped writing music for ten years, and I felt no regrets about it. I was busy with other things. That’s why I can’t predict or plan anything.

That all makes perfect sense. Yes, I too have had periods away from music writing or making for various life reasons, but I always return to it - I love your point about music being your language, and also your point about being unable to control the flood of past reflections when they hit.

The cover art for the album is very recognizable - it has that 'you've seen it once, you've seen it a million times before' sort of thing about it; what's the story behind the image, and is it directly tied to Mississippi too?

I took this photograph – like the others used in the album's artwork – not far from my home in Oxford. It's a typical scene for that part of Mississippi, a state defined by its lush greenery and abundant vegetation. I wanted the cover to reflect that landscape in a subtle, understated way.

You hit the nail on the head.

Any plans for live dates to support the album stateside, or any live shows in the works to speak of in general?

I rarely perform, but I hope to play a few concerts here in Washington, D.C. this autumn and perhaps do a short tour to New York, Boston, Chicago... depending on how things work out. Anyway, keep an eye on my social media.

Will do! I can't wait to see how things materialize in the live performance space for you.

Well, as we wind down, I'm always keen to ask if you're open to sharing what you're currently listening to, as well as any stone cold classic albums you'd care to share with the Inner Echo community?

Naturally, I listen to a lot of ambient, including music by my friends from Chitra and Ambient Cat, such as KapTep, Logic Moon, Sebby Kowal, Piscean Daydreams, etc. But lately, I’ve been really into various forms of ethnic and traditional music.

Here are a few interesting recordings not from the ambient world, but highly meditative, that I’ve picked up recently:

Inlakesh – The Dreaming Gate (Didgeridoos, Tibetan Horns, Gamelan Gongs & other dreamtime tools)

Erica Azim – Mbira (Healing Music of Zimbabwe)

Deuter – Nada Himalaya 2

Stan Richardson – Moon on the Water (Shakuhachi Flute)

Terry Riley – Shri Camel

Awesome stuff for us all to explore, so thank you kindly!

I greatly appreciate your time today, Dionis. Thank you for chatting all things Mississippian with me!

We hope you enjoyed this interview! To explore more about the artists, you can follow the links below...

Bandcamp
Label

'Mississippian' is available in a limited repress of 100 vinyl-effect CDrs, as well as a digital options in a range of high quality formats. You can take a listen to the album in full HERE!