THEODOR BASTARD

Theodor Bastard refuse to stay still. In the years since their last studio venture, 2020’s Volch’ya Yagoda, the world music pioneers were searching for a way out of the darkness that’s descended over our reality. The path that they discovered didn’t lead back to their home in the harsh northern forest region of Karelia but away from it, into the coldness of the city and a collapsing civilization. By reconnecting with their electronic roots, Theodor Bastard are reborn on ?. 

“Our sound changed because the world changed”, producer, multi-instrumentalist and founding member Fedor Svolotch says. “We had to destroy our own habits and expectations to make ?. We wanted to start again, as if the band has no past, no safe place, no ready-made formula. As a result, this album is not a continuation of what came before. It’s a different door”.   

Svolotch founded Theodor Bastard in 1995. What started as a solo project grew during the 2000s into what’s now a seven-member band that includes vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Yana Veva, keyboardist Alexey Kalinovskiy, drummer Andy Vladych, vocalist Ekaterina Dolmatova, percussionist Kusas and cellist Vyacheslav Salikov. Blending the lines between ritual folk, electronic and world music has gained them international recognition. They’ve toured and performed at major festivals across Europe, including Fusion, Castlefest and Dark Bombastic Evening.  

With eight studio albums, three video game soundtracks, two live albums, a compilation of remixes and syncs in major films and television shows, Theodor Bastard have also received international acclaim. The band have won a Russian World Music Award, a Golden Gargoyle, an International Acoustic Music Award and multiple LIT Music Awards. Their previous album, 2020’s Volch’ya Yagoda, won the St. Petersburg Best Album award in the Mood category. Its take on the Russian lullaby “Volchok” was a finalist in the World category for the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.  

“[...] their music comes directly from heaven”, Essentially Pop wrote in praise of the album’s single “Les”.  

Folk N Rock agreed. “[...] a well-crafted album and deserves a listen if you are a fan of folk or trip-hop electronic music. 

“Theodor Bastard’s prolific catalogue of music is only getting better with age and experience”, wrote Indie Pulse Music.  

? reflects just how much has changed since the world last heard from Theodor Bastard. While still widely recognized internationally as leaders for ritual folk and world music, the band have re-embraced their early electronic impulses. Long-time fans were pleasantly surprised when the pulse-pounding analog synths of “Nebo” first appeared in the award-winning Russian crime drama The Method. “We did not want to make another comfortable northern ethnic album just because that’s what some people might expect from us”, Svolotch says. “? is electronic, nervous, physical and wounded because this is how the world feels now”.  

The album’s lead single is a sure sign that Theodor Bastard are bound for dark new horizons. Like a space shuttle, “Sverkay” rumbles with distorted bass before it’s suspended high above the earth by a trap-like beat. “???? - ????? (Inhale – Exhale)”, sings a bewitching Veva as she glimpses what’s to come from our dangerous endgame with war, technology and social division.  

“This is not the time for beautiful genre obedience”, Svolotch says. “The world is full of violence, exhaustion, stupidity and fear. Instead of flights into space, instead of discovering the inner abysses within ourselves, humanity is once again busy with destruction, cruelty and self-hypnosis".  

To a world that’s mired in its own deadly trance, ? arrives like a much-needed slap across the face. The album was created during a long and trying period for Theodor Bastard. It offers little comfort; its anger, confusion and disappointment are hurled at the outside world, which through our own actions, is tipping over the edge. The aggressive “Vedma” surges with black cosmic energy, as if summoning the apocalypse. “Ditya” questions the nature of our creation amidst a hybrid of electronic dance music, gospel and the blues. But the band aren’t without hope. At their core, the ritual spirit remains. “Ostavlyaem” dances as light as a feather, only to transcend this earth for a place amongst the stars. 

“Across ?, darkwave, indietronica, post-punk and neo-psychedelia are not used as genre references. They are fused into a single world, where ritual presence and the physicality of live sound coexist”, Svolotch concludes. “It is unmistakably Theodor Bastard, but in a state of renewal, where the band’s recognizable identity becomes a starting point for transformation rather than a limit”.  

With  ?, Theodor Bastard return with dark electronics for dark times.