Some records just stop you in your tracks. They resonate with you and feel instantly familiar like an old friend, even on the first listen. SOYUZ's third album ‘Force of the Wind’ is one of those records. It holds all the trademarks, beauty, and eccentricities of classic Brazilian recordings, from the 60s and 70s, that we have come to love. Think artists such as Milton Nascimento, Lô Borges, Burnier e Cartier, Arthur Verocai et al. But this record wasn’t made in Brazil and is in fact a brand-new release. 
 
SOYUZ (which translates as 'union') is a creative collective from Minsk, Belarus, led by composer, arranger, and singer, Alex Chumak, multi-instrumentalist, Mikita Arlou, and drummer, Anton Nemahai. SOYUZ's previous albums explored and reimagined the legacy of jazz-oriented, non-English-language pop music of the 20th century. For their third album, there is a stronger focus, and it is influenced by 70s Música popular Brasileira and building bridges from it to present-day Belarus. Alex notes that from the moment he first encountered Brazilian music, he found in it a kind of concentrated emotion that felt as if it were familiar to him from his childhood. This non-verbal emotion and connection between the listener and musician echoes in the music, regardless of understanding of the language the album is recorded in. 
 
‘Force of the Wind’ includes songs sung in Russian and Portuguese as well as instrumental compositions. Its musical palette is both acoustic and electroacoustic: rich warm Rhodes piano, soaring string arrangements, and a controlled drum swagger sounding both relaxed yet super tight. Alongside Alex's sublime vocals, that grace the majority of the tracks, the album features guest performances by multi-talented musician and vocalist Kate NV and rising Brazilian star, Sessa. Alex also recently arranged a number of tracks on Sessa's highly praised 2022 album 'Estrela Acesa'.
 
On the album, the trio is joined by a cast of friends; NY-based musician of Turkish origin percussionist, Cem Mısırlıoğlu, classically trained composer, Simon Hanes, who aided with string arrangements and conducting the string players, Netherlands-based Brazilian multi-instrumentalist, Gabriel Milliet, on flutes. With the collaboration of these friends SOYUZ have created nine songs/suites that are subtle and plenitude and like the best albums, leave you aching for more.  
 
‘Force of the Wind’ is an enigma, Brazilian yet not Brazilian, vintage yet still contemporary, out of sync with modern culture yet completely relevant and necessary.

SOYUZ (СОЮЗ) Feat. Kate NV - I Knew It (Я Так И Знал)

Written, produced, engineered, composed and performed by Portraits Of Tracy

Lyrics:
As I made the mistake of slipping into a youthful mindset
Everyone else around me felt dull
The values instilled in me withered away, piece by piece as my dreams bloomed
And at first, it felt good as I ran away from it all
But honestly, now it haunts me
The rose that once had beauty is now beginning to wither away

Junie
Junie

You’d always come to the party
To pluck the feathers off all the birds
You’d always come to the party
I will not beg you please

What should I do
I'm lost with no clue
Stuck in the crowd (ah)
But, It's not with you
You brought me here (uh)
You made me feel
Good to be real
Through blues to teals
Greener as I go
You would never know
I hit my highs and
Sometimes I won’t
Well under-true
I’m guessing you’ll
Forever who?
I’m just not, not for you
(You)

Well I’ll just
I’ll stick with the crowd for now

You’d always come to the party
To pluck the feathers off all the birds
You’d always come to the party
I will not beg you please

It been the same damn feeling
for the past 12 months
Thought I could run from it
Oops, Yeah
I was wrong as fuck
Bird ceilings, hella wraiths
Just to mask up all the pain
Who knew that the same thang
That made me bang
Would make me wanna
lay up in my grave
Extra early, my B
Shit too gritty and I keep it buck fifty

Man you never know who gon’ really switching
Sides, they cut so many ties in the night
But I’m not holy, nor wrong nor right
And everyone told me, about fight or flight
Yet I still just freeze, doing nothing ain't nice
Am I right? I rewind
To the high, no weed
I was only 17, No ID
Idols in the CDs
and mp3s
Nobody was with me
123, man my mind ain't never kick out
Bitch I’m not free, oh please

Ema: As Junie heard that crowd cheer
I think apart of him knew that no-one really listened
So it made him turn to a thing that only he thought listened

Junie: Man, now lets go get fucked up

Drive Home

The Party

In “Música da Lagoa,” recorded in 1982, in the Parque Estadual Turístico do Alto Ribeira, municipality of Iporanga-SP, Hermeto Pascoal creates a masterpiece of Brazilian music using sounds of nature and local objects. Featuring Jovino dos Santos Neto, Carlos Malta, Bororo, Pernambuco and Itiberê Zwarg, the performance is a true celebration of the creativity and brilliance of Brazilian great musicians.

Música da Lagoa - Hermeto Pascoal

Recordando a Los Tres Diamantes, Vol. 2

Amor Mio

Car Alarm

Car Alarm (Reprise)

The Smashing Machine

Mark II

Sick & Tired.aiff

Solstice (V1)

Walkin' b/w It's Gone

Walkin'

Kajillionaire (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Infinite Love

@HeyIAmPablo
@KreweOf77

heyiampablo@gmail.com

Solstice (V1)

Batari Lo