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St. Kraut — Roerich Trilogy
(Fruits de Mer strange fish twenty five, 2017/2022, 3CD / 3MC)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2022-06-16

Roerich Trilogy Cover art

Fruits de Mer Records introduces the world to another incredible Russian band, this one called St. Kraut. Originally intending to include just one track from them on an FdM sampler CD, the effort somehow morphed into a triple CD. Over the course of 18 months, St. Kraut released three separate albums: Boris and Gleb, Ann without Hand, and Fire Madness from Outer Space. FdM and St. Kraut then decided to release this musical triptych as the Roerich Trilogy, named for the artist Nicolai Roerich. As implied by their name, the music is groove-laden instrumentals with more than a hint of classic Krautrock. St. Kraut’s sound grew out of jams they recorded in 2017. These recordings gathered dust in the archives, forgotten until St. Kraut looked for material to release on FdM. The two and a half hours of music on this set shows different sides to this band. Boris and Gleb contains five trance-inducing tracks with relentless beats that take time to appreciate. St. Kraut is feeling their way here, and once they lock into to a  groove, the music grabs you. The track titles have a spiritual feel;  “Inner Altar,” “The  Himalayas,” “We Met a Wise Man in the Forest, He Was in Yellow” (an obscure reference to Tom Bombadil?), “Mishiva, the King of Adventure,” and the shamanic 24-minute “Tropic Slumber.” Now, having found their identity, St, Kraut kicks into full-on Krautrock jams and motorik beats with Ann without Hand. The six mysterious tracks present some of the best music on the set. “3  Excess Shots, 2 AM 1 Hazy Way Home” and “Lucid Dreams Exchange” are quite impressive and draw immediate comparisons to Harmonia and Camera. And the curiously titled “Aerial Whales” is a slow track that is akin to deep breathing. The third, Fire Madness from Outer Space, explores deep space science fiction: “Arrakis,” “Worship at the Gate of Night,” “Fire Maidens from Outer Space,” “Subconscious Ride,” “Fire Madness from Outer Space,” and “Everything Will Be Fine While This Music Plays.” Now St. Kraut turns more cinematic in their compositions with kettle drums on “Arrakis” and the power chords on “Worship at the Gate of Night,” which alone is worth the price of the set. This is cosmic music at its best, baby! There is also some sense of Acid Mothers Temple and the Ozrics on this third disc. Taken as a whole, the Roerich Trilogy is quite an impressive release, though I would suggest skipping Boris and Gleb until you’ve listened to the other two albums first.

Filed under: Archives, 2022 releases, 2017 recordings

Related artist(s): St. Kraut

More info
http://stkraut.bandcamp.com

 

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