For those who are a bit more familiar with space exploration, Soyuz as a term is related to a Soviet sixties space exploration program, but for Belarussian musician/producer/bandleader Alex Sumak it means another sort of exploration – diving into the depths of the Brazilian musical innovations from Joao Gilberto’s Bossa Nova of the late nineties, through Tropicalia inventions of the late sixties up to arranging and production delights of Arthur Verocai of the early seventies. And yes, there is a hefty dose of Italian-style library music of the same period, all of the above lurking in the three previous albums Sumak recorded with his band.
On Sumak’s and the band’s fourth offering, Krok (step in Belarusian), all the above threads that could have been easily identified on the previous efforts come together in an excellent unison, as they interweave and exchange places throughout the album. It seems that Sumak has sized up all the key elements he is using here in an almost perfect manner, so that the music here sounds like a sort of time travel piece that works as perfect retro clockwork, yet as something that has a rightful place in the current times. Krok is an album that offers quite a few delights, both “old” and new.
