Eduard Artemyev - Siberiade theme (1979)

Just stumbled on his Siberiade theme [1] recently, I hadn't listened to it in a couple of years, it hit me back hard how great this music is, even genius-like, I would say. There's a slightly re-mastered version by PPK [2] that manages to "increase" that genius a little. Amazing stuff. [1] [this video] [2] [link]

[this video] It's Eduard Artemyev, by many considered "the Russian Vangelis". His work has been truly defining for a handful of Russian sci-fi masterpieces.

Conceptually similar, there was also the ANS synthesizer [1] designed by the Soviet engineer Evgeny Murzin. Unlike the Mellotron, it was opto-electronic, giving the composer more direct access and control over the "samples". Waveforms were drawn on glass plates, and pressing one of the keys would scan across the associated plate, feeding the generated signal through various filters, etc. It features prominently in the soundtrack by Eduard Artemyev, for the historical film Siberiade from 1979. [2] [1] [link] [2] [this video]