Collection: SOYUZ (СОЮЗ)

СОЮЗ (SOYUZ) is a creative collective from Minsk, Belarus, founded in 2017 by multi-instrumentalists Alex Chumak and Mikita Arlou. Their debut album Это всё совсем не то was released in 2018. Their second album II was recorded in 2019 at Studio 42 in Minsk with drummer Stanislav Murashko and remastered and released by Mr Bongo in 2024. The album featured tributes to Arthur Verocai and drew from MPB, Ethiopian jazz, and Italian library soundtracks by Piero Piccioni and Piero Umiliani. In early 2022, Chumak, Arlou, and drummer Anton Nemahai relocated to Warsaw due to political unrest in Belarus and the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Their third album Force of the Wind (Сила ветра) was released in October 2022 via Mr Bongo.

Following the success of Force of the Wind, Polish musicians Albert Karch on drums and Igor Wiśniewski on guitar joined the band. In late 2024, Chumak and Karch travelled to São Paulo to record their fourth album KROK at Sessa's studio. Sessions featured Brazilian musicians Marcelo Cabral and guest vocals by Tim Bernardes. KROK was released on 24 October 2025 via Mr Bongo and is the first SOYUZ album written primarily in Belarusian rather than Russian. The album blends Eastern European roots with jazz, folk, and global influences.