Label: Mr BongoRelease Date: 24th October Born in Belarus and recorded in COI03's sonic heartland of Sao Paulo with lush strings and woodwinds recorded in the band's new homeland of Warsaw, composer Alex Chumak's project pulls in that Euro-Soviet experimental orchestral rock with the tropical warmth and folk of Brazilian MPB. Sonically one of the finest records I've heard all year, meticulously recorded to tape and with collaborations from modern Brazilian greats Sessa, Biel Basile, Marcelo Cabral and Tim Bernardes. Despite immense challenges, SOYUZ have delivered a career-defining albumin KROK."Krok" means "step" in Belarusian - and for Alex Chumak and hisband this word comes with a lot of meaningIt's the title and theme that ran throughout COIO3 (SOYUZ)'s fourth album, reflectingthe journeys the band has navigated in recent years, having moved to Warsaw due topolitical unrest in their homeland of Belarus and the outbreak of war in Ukraine.Embracing the uncertainty became both the inspiration and main lyrical theme forAlex Chumak, SOYUZ' composer and arranger, who also decided to go a step furtherand change the language in which he writes songs from Russian, which is used aslingua franca in many post-Soviet countries, to his native Belarusian. The result is ninesongs about dreams and outer space, ordinary miracles, things very close and verydistant at the same time.In early 2022, Chumak and original members, Mikita Arlou and Anton Nemahai, joinedtens of thousands of Belarusians seeking safety abroad. Resettling in Warsaw, theband released Force of the Wind in October 2022, garnering widespread acclaim, astring of major European gigs, and led to Polish musicians Albert Karch and IgorWisniewski joining the band.Deeper and more melancholic than previous works, KROK is quintessentially SOYUZ,laced with hope, dreams and a celebration of life. Given the difficulties with findingrehearsal and recording spaces in Warsaw and the departure of the drummer AntonNemahai from the band, Chumak explored alternative options. He reached out tofriend and fellow musical collaborator, Sessa , about the possibility of recording thenew album in his recently finished studio in Sao Paulo, with Sessa and Biel Basilecoming onboard as recording engineers.At the tail end of 2024, Chumak and SOYUZ' new drummer, Albert Karch, made the tripto Sao Paulo to record the first sessions for KROK. Laid down directly to tape, thesesessions featured prominent Brazilian musicians Sessa, Biel Basile, and MarceloCabral, with a guest vocal feature by Tim Bernardes recorded at a later date. The finaltouches were then added back in Europe. Lush string and woodwind arrangementswritten by Chumak and Karch were recorded at the Polish Radio studio in Warsaw, andRhodes parts were added by Chumak at Sven Wunder's studio in Stockholm.Though primarily recorded in Brazil, KROK is not a Brazilian or MPB album. It blendsthe band's Eastern European roots with jazz, folk and global influences. The genre ofthe music is hardly identifiable: there are folk ballads and jazz- driven popcompositions covered in lush and often dissonant string and woodwind arrangementswhere each note is placed with care and meaning behind it.The title track was the first song Chumak wrote in Belarusian as an adult, making for afitting opener and one of the band's finest tracks. Darker than most of SOYUZ' songs,the tensions lift and lighten as the track progresses. The cinematic library jazz of 'VooLivre', with ghostly vocals sung by Cica Goes and Ina, feels like a modern twist on theItalian library composer Alessandro Alessandroni through its sublime choir andwoodwind orchestration. Elsewhere, the heartfelt 'Lingua Do Mundo', composed,written, and sung by Chumak and the incredible Tim Bernardes, features one of thestandout string arrangements from Chumak and Karch. 'Cichi Karahod' is an instantSOYUZ classic, almost Pat Metheny-esque as it opens, with the acoustic guitar andbass riff transitioning into jazzy AOR / pop-folk territory. The record closes with 'Smakzyccia', a gentle, dreamy spoken-word poetry
