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Staraya Derevnya — Garden Window Escape
(Ramble Records RAM-195, 2025, LP)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2025-10-24

Garden Window Escape Cover art

Staraya Derevnya, or Старая Деревня as they were on their earliest recordings, is the name of a British and Israeli aggregation of musicians that numbers anywhere between five and seven, perhaps some are guests and others are regulars, who knows? They have produced ten recordings since their 1999 debut Экспедиция. That looks like Bulgarian, and apparently parts of Garden Window Escape were recorded in Bulgaria, but none of the band members call it home, nor Mexico, where other parts were recorded; mostly this was recorded in 2022, at Bonafide Studios in London, with additional recording taking place in 2023 and 2024 in Israel. Frankly, this is probably one of the strangest albums I’ve written about in a long time, a combination of music, noise, spoken parts, bizarre sounds, cries, and mysterious electronics. There are lyrics on some of the tracks, but in what language? The credits say that the lyrics are based on poems by Arthur Molev, an artist from Saint Petersburg, Russia, who apparently writes books of poetry as well. The group’s website won’t be of much help either, but they are described on a well known third-party website as ‘an experimental psychedelic band’ and ‘krautfolk.’ Is this what ‘Art Damage’ sounds like? There are melodic bits and pieces here and there but there’s always a twist of weirdness and the uber-bizarre. The credits don’t specify who wrote what, but the players on these seven tracks are Maya Pik (synth, flute, drum machine, and design), Ran Nahmias (silent cello, santur, oud, voice), Gosha Hniu (cries, whispers, wheel lyre, marching band kazoo, percussion, objects), Grundik Kasyansky (feedback synthesizer), Miguel Perez (guitars), Yoni Silver (bass clarinet), and Andrea Serafino (drums on three tracks). After the first few measures of the opener “Tight-Lipped Thief” the listener is lost in a chaotic world of strange sounds, and other cuts like “Cork Fight Operation” and the lengthy “Half-Deceased Uncle,” or even “Onwards, through the Garden Window,” seem equally strange, but after a few times through this all begins to seem less outré. Definitely one for the fearless explorers among us.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Staraya Derevnya

More info
http://starayaderevnya.bandcamp.com/album/garden-window-escape

 

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