{"title":"SOYUZ (СОЮЗ)","description":"\u003cp\u003eСОЮЗ (SOYUZ) is a creative collective from Minsk, Belarus, founded in 2017 by multi-instrumentalists Alex Chumak and Mikita Arlou. Their debut album \u003cem\u003eЭто всё совсем не то\u003c\/em\u003e was released in 2018. Their second album \u003cem\u003eII\u003c\/em\u003e 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 \u003cem\u003eForce of the Wind\u003c\/em\u003e (Сила ветра) was released in October 2022 via Mr Bongo.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFollowing the success of \u003cem\u003eForce of the Wind\u003c\/em\u003e, 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 \u003cem\u003eKROK\u003c\/em\u003e at Sessa's studio. Sessions featured Brazilian musicians Marcelo Cabral and guest vocals by Tim Bernardes. \u003cem\u003eKROK\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"союз-soyuz-krok-2025-mr-bongo-vinyl-lp","title":"СОЮЗ (SOYUZ) - Krok (2025 Mr Bongo Vinyl LP)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eСОЮЗ (SOYUZ) - \u003cem\u003eKrok\u003c\/em\u003e | Vinyl LP - 2025 Mr Bongo (MRBLP318, Optimal Media GmbH)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eСОЮЗ (SOYUZ) formed in Minsk, Belarus, drawn to the sound of 1970s Música Popular Brasileira and the jazz-pop tradition of non-English-speaking pop music. In early 2022, composer, arranger and vocalist Alex Chumak and original members Mikita Arlou and Anton Nemahai joined tens of thousands of Belarusians leaving the country following political repression. Resettling in Warsaw, the band released \u003cem\u003eForce of the Wind\u003c\/em\u003e (2022) on Mr Bongo to considerable international attention. By the time they began work on \u003cem\u003eKrok\u003c\/em\u003e, Chumak had relocated further, to São Paulo. The core sessions were recorded there direct to tape by Sessa and Biel Basile at Estúdio Cosmo, with Brazilian musicians Sessa, Biel Basile and Marcelo Cabral. Chumak then added Rhodes parts at Sven Wunder's studio in Stockholm, and string and woodwind arrangements written by Chumak and Polish musician Albert Karch were recorded at Polish Radio Studio S4 in Warsaw. Tim Bernardes, the Brazilian singer-songwriter, co-wrote and sings on \"Lingua Do Mundo\" (A2). Manami Kakudo guests on the closing \"Смак жыцця\" (B4).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Krok\" means \"step\" in Belarusian — and the title track was the first song Chumak wrote in Belarusian as an adult, choosing to move away from Russian, which functions as a lingua franca in many post-Soviet countries. The nine pieces move between folk balladry, jazz-driven pop, cinematic library music and soft-focus AOR without ever settling into any single frame. \"Cichi Karahod\" opens with acoustic guitar and bass in a near-Pat Metheny register before transitioning into jazz-folk territory. \"Voo Livre\" references Alessandro Alessandroni in its choir and woodwind writing. The album is thematically unified by its title: every track is in some sense about the act of taking a step forward in conditions of uncertainty. Mr Bongo MRBLP318, pressed at Optimal Media GmbH, tip-on sleeve with printed inner.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mr Bongo","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43294882660411,"sku":null,"price":65.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0630\/3203\/3339\/files\/a2393948265_10.jpg?v=1774042241"},{"product_id":"союз-soyuz-force-of-the-wind-2022-mr-bongo-vinyl-lp","title":"СОЮЗ (SOYUZ) - Force of the Wind (2022 Mr Bongo Vinyl LP)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eСОЮЗ (SOYUZ) - \u003cem\u003eForce of the Wind\u003c\/em\u003e | Vinyl LP - 2022 Mr Bongo (MRBLP262, Optimal Media GmbH)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eСОЮЗ (SOYUZ) — composer and vocalist Alex Chumak, multi-instrumentalist Mikita Arlou and drummer Anton Nemahai — had spent their first two albums working through the possibilities of jazz-oriented pop music. For their third record, the focus sharpened. \u003cem\u003eForce of the Wind\u003c\/em\u003e is the sound of a Belarusian trio absorbed in 1970s MPB — the Clube da Esquina circle, the orchestral productions of Arthur Verocai, the particular quality of Brazilian vocal harmony — and attempting to build something from that tradition rather than simply reproduce it. The songs are in Russian and Portuguese and were recorded at Studio 42 in Minsk between March and November 2021.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe album's wider reach required collaborators. Kate NV, the Russian avant-pop musician and producer, sings on \"I Knew It\" (A3). Sessa, the São Paulo-based singer-songwriter, co-wrote and sings on \"How Are You\" (A5), his vocals recorded separately in Brazil. Flute across several tracks is by Gabriel Milliet, a Netherlands-based Brazilian multi-instrumentalist. String arrangements were written by Chumak and classically trained composer Simon Hanes, who also conducted the string players — Kate Goddard and Ruby Wang on violins, Hannah Selin on viola, Ansel Cohen on cello — with those sessions captured at Gary's Electric Studio in Brooklyn in August 2021. Chumak handled the final mix. The album is dedicated to Valentin Chumak, his father, who died during the making of it. SOYUZ left Belarus in early 2022, weeks before the album's October release, as the political situation made their return impossible.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mr Bongo","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43294885543995,"sku":null,"price":65.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0630\/3203\/3339\/files\/a4129130141_10.jpg?v=1774044087"}],"url":"https:\/\/lushliferecords.com.au\/collections\/soyuz.oembed","provider":"Lush Life Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}