Promo materials by courtesy of staraya derevnya
staraya derevnya – Garden Window Escape
Album | 02/05/2025 | Ramble Records / Auris Media
43:41 | 7 tracks | Vinyl/Digital
Krautfolk / Experimental
Tel Aviv Yafo, Israel / London, England
No Rest In The Old Village
Almost three years have passed since staraya derevnya released their latest longplayer Boulder Blues. You can read a review on the old MangoWave page here if you like. But staraya derevnya mastermind Gosha Hniu and his entourage were not dormant after their previous release. Short time after Boulder Blues has been published, they already began with the recording session for Garden Window Escape. Most of the recording was made on 11 August 2022 in London’s Bonafide Studios. A day earlier, staraya derevnya played a live show at Café OTO which was recorded by Billy Steiger and published on tape via Blue Tapes under the name blue forty-nine. Further recordings for Garden Window Escape were made in the two consecutive years in Mexico, Bulgaria, Israel, and the UK. And now, here we are with forty-four minutes of next-level avantgarde, psychedelic, and weird music.
The Magificient Seven
Compared to previous releases, the septet line-up appears rather small for staraya derevnya. Nevertheless, these seven protagonists have done a fantastic job creating insane soundscapes that are very likely to open portals to unknown spheres or dimensions. Somewhere between shamanic rituals, noisy cacophonies, drones, cries, harsh ambient sounds, and nighmarish tunes, a deeply sedative and meditative sonic world unfolds. On Garden Window Escape, staraya derevnya stay true to their experimental and krautfolk sound as well as their lyrical bond to Arthur Molev. Simultaneously, the reduced line-up has created an even weirder, even more avantgardist soundscape. This is the sound for joyfully digging deeper after encountering the rabbit hole’s bottom, a deeply psychedelic journey for those wo dare to undertake it.
8/10 Mangoes
Gosha Hniu: cries and whispers, wheel lyre, marching band kazoo, percussion and objects
Maya Pik: synthesizer, flute, drum machine
Ran Nahmias: silent cello, santur, oud, voice
Grundik Kasyansky: feedback synthesizer
Miguel Pérez: guitars
Yoni Silver: bass clarinet
Andrea Serafino: drums
Artwork by Danil Gertman
Design by Maya Pik
Lyrics are based on the poems by Arthur Molev
Recording, mix, mastering and production by Gosha Hniu
Mastering for vinyl by Victor Levin
We will dance again
Mia Schem
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