DE LUDO GLOBI

Somehow, I missed out on 2022's 'Isosessions', but I reviewed the four albums prior to that and have always been in awe of these Russian musicians who bring together loads of different styles in a way which somehow always makes perfect sense. There is less of the space rock which they were originally known for, although it is still present, while the violin often brings in a folk element, and the listener quickly understands here is a band who are refusing to stay inside any sort of musical pigeonhole but instead go where the muse takes them.

This album contains just two instrumental tracks, a part one and a part two (each slightly more than 20 minutes long), and Ivan Fedotov (drums & percussion), Arkady Fedotov (bass, synth, noises, sampler), Alexander Kuzovlev (guitars), Alexey Klabukov (keyboards, synths, sampler, trumpet, winds arrangement) and Vitaly Borodin (violin, kalimba, sampler) have again used the talents of guest Alexey Esin (tenor & soprano saxophones, flute) who has been on the last two releases as well. This is not a jam band as such, as there is way too much intricacy and duetting between the musicians, but there is the feeling these pieces started out that way and then they honed and worked together to create something which has that live and interactive feeling but also feels very rehearsed while also spontaneous. One of the highlights for me is also one of the simplest techniques they utilise. There are multiple sections here, with the guys returning to different motifs, but five minutes from the end we get a single low rumbling note on the keyboards which then forms the basis for the rest of the track, with pizzicato violin pitched against the drone, and lots of swirling sounds. It is quite mesmeric and compelling, setting us up well for the second song, which starts with picked electric guitar and cymbals, with the melancholic violin slowly coming in over the top.

This is highly atmospheric music and is an absolute delight from beginning through to the end, with a group of guys who trust each other implicitly and head into the studio with no preconceptions but instead know they will come out with something at the end which is often remarkable. Another very solid release indeed.

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