Bubamara Brass Band’s Infectious Oompah Oompah

Bubamara Brass Band igniting a Russian nightspot

Question: What’s stranger than a brass band recording what seems to be a square dancing album for Greek weddings? Answer: A Russian brass band who creates jazzy toe-tapping swing dance music out of Balkan folk melodies using a complete horn section, the tuba’s oompah-oompah, a jazz vocalist, and an ever-increasing tempo on some songs as to leave dancers and listeners breathless.

Listen to this sample track “Vasja Prelijte Rakijom!” which showcases everything that’s good about this EP and this group: humor, jazz, and infectious rhythm

Their EP Bubamarija / Kashtanizma out on the always interesting Clinical Archives netlabel is a mixture of 1950s American jazz and European folk song and features four of the best tracks from previous albums Bubamarija and Kashtanizma. It’ll sound perfect as a soundtrack to a Jewish wedding, a German beer drinking party, a middle eastern belly dance routine, or simply a short break from the fatigue of work. Too bad it’s only four songs long!

It’s easy to picture the Bubamara Brass Band (led by Aleksandar Kashtanov) as hep jazz cats out of Russia who probbaly explode onstage when they play live. I mean, if this EP can get me dancing in my seat at work, then they could probably whip a live crowd into a frenzy that would put Zumba exercisers to shame.

Summary:
Get this because it’s happy, energetic and exotic music that’ll pump some Russian good will into your blood.

Details:

• Download the 4-song EP from the Internet Archive.

• The band’s official website is at: http://www.bubamarabrass.ru/

• Listen to more of their tracks on SoundCloud.

• And join them on Facebook too!
  

Lawyer’s fast and furious ragga in “1979″

[rz019] Lawyer – 1979

The beauty of ragga/jungle is in its fast, furious beats and rowdy, macho vocals. Here’s one that will not disappoint fans of pitter-pattering jungle (drum ‘n’ bass). Lawyer‘s latest EP entitled simply “1979″ is a 4-song opus that pits whip-cracking snare drums to ragga vocals that burst at the seams with attitude. Gotta love his vocal style, peppered with rum-pum-pums and manically-edited vocals. Three of the EP’s tracks are remixes, with only Track 3 “1979″ as the original tune. For the life of me, I can’t make out a lot of the lyrics, (apart from Track 2 “Champion Remix”) but that’s more a lack of exposure to ragga than anything else. Lawyer (real name: Vladislav Smirnof) is a Ukrainian jungle DJ who remains active in his native city. This entire release is a fun, frenetic collection that will get your pulse up, and your feet tapping at the very least.

Track Details:
4 MP3s at 256 kbps stereo.

Download Details:
Download all files on a single zip file. (23 MB)
Release page on the RUS ZUD netlabel.
RUS ZUD netlabel website.

Moroza_knozova’s lush ambient “Valek Polkis”

moroza_knozova: Valek Polkis

From the netlabel Kahvi Collective comes “Valek Polkis” by artist moroza_knozova (Russia). This is a beautiful 7-song EP that combines melodic phrases and lush, sweeping synth pads with glitchy, IDM rhythms. It is a collection that is simultaneously graceful / subtle and vaguely menacing.

Track Talk
Track 2 “radiastrmix (takladno)” for example, soars on a synth pad for the first half before going into a menacing bass section with beeping and clanging everywhere. A vocal sample taken from a movie called RadioAstronomy adds mystery to it all.

Track 3 “dance” combines jumping keyboard phrases with epileptic beats. Track 5 “rtyjd2″ is a groovy urban romp through echoing landscapes with scientifically calculated rhythm imperfections. Track 7 “zvuki” is another midtempo ambient piece that meanders rather than runs to its conclusion, allowing us to take in the musical patterns.

All in all, a riveting EP. Get it because it improves with repeated listens and because ambient IDM is brain candy.

The Artist
Moroza_knozova (real name: Georgiy Stefanov) is a Moscow native who plays and records classical piano as well as his own electronic music. He also serves as organizer for Russian electronic music events.

DETAILS
EP release page on Kahvi Collective.
TOTAL SIZE: 90.9 MB
ENCODED AT: 44.1 kHz, 320 kbps

DOWNLOAD all MP3s (FTP)
DOWNLOAD all OGGs (FTP)