Theodor Bastard is a little Russian gem that has been around for a good 2 decades now. Pioneering a eclectic world music and (neo)folk sound in their home country, they’ve honed their sound into something truly unique. It took about 5 years for them to get a new full-length put together and with ‘Volchya Yagoda’ here it finally is. Apparently this caught the attention of some other people as well, since after 20 years of being an indie band, they officially signed to Season of Mist at the time of writing this article.

Album opener ‘Flute Song’ sets a very dreamy and ethereal atmosphere with a beautiful Asian sounding quality to it. And that’s exactly the atmosphere that gets carried throughout the whole record, created by combining traditional tunes and instruments like the nyckelharpa with many samples and electronic elements. Every song contains a rather meditative energy and the rather exotic sounding Russian vocals add another layer to the already gorgeous music.

Just listen to a track like ‘Urzala’ and try to not imagine a shamanistic ritual going with the trance-inducing rhythms, captivating vocals by Yana Veva and supporting background choir. Definitely one of the top tracks on this album. Some tracks have a distinctively traditional folk sound, while others have a more trip hop feel (like ‘Pozhato’) with well chosen electronic elements infused into the music. But every single song from the very beginning to the end, takes you to a place of contemplation and meditation. I can perfectly envision this as the soundtrack to a lone hike through the forest, connecting me with the primal energy of nature.

Theodor Bastard‘s newest release ‘Volch’ya Yagoda’ is an ode to the primal beauty and magical energy contained within this planet’s nature. It’s a simply gorgeous release that will take you to a realm of calm and a meditative state that I feel is much needed and looked for in the craze that often is this world. I simply can’t get enough of it and I hope you will feel so as well, they deserve the recognition.

Release date: April 20th, 2020
Label: Self-released
Tracklist:

1. Flute Song
2. Shumi
3. Skejgored
4. Urzala
5. les
6. Kamen, Sneg, Metal
7. Secrety
8. Requiem
9. Pozhato
10. Volchok (Russian Lullaby)
11. Obereg