VESPERO / FOAM

Sometimes the best music hits me by surprise. For instance, I got this promo in the mail and I put it on to get a little sample of the music and just forgot about it when I was doing other things. After about the third or fourth song I had to stop and think, "Who is this?!" I was getting into it so much that I just had no idea what I put on. The effect was very subtle but quite successful. Ok, now that you know I like this, let's examine the music in more detail.

Vespero is a group from Astrakhan, a city in southwestern Russia. The sound this band makes could probably be best described as space rock world music. While they make use of synths, guitars and bass like most space rock bands, Vespero is distinguished from the others by the virtual absence of a drum kit. Instead there are two percussionists that play middle eastern instruments like tablas, shakers and other things. This gives the music a very exotic flavor to say the least. The band consists of Alexander Kuzovlev on guitars and loops, Arkady Fedotov on bass, flute and synth, Alexei Klabukov on keyboards and electronice, and the two percussionists Ivan Fedotov and Alexander Krupin. Also on a few tracks, the band is joined by wonderful female vocalist Natalya Tjurina.

They’ve released several self-produced CDR albums since the band was formed in 2003. Their first CD, titled Rito, came out on the Russian label R.A.I.G. and was engineered by Alisa Coral of the band Space Mirrors. Their newest CD, Foam is a live performance recorded at the Union of Theater Artists in their hometown and has been put out on the U.S. label Trail Records. Although it is a live album, you would hardly know because there is no crowd noise and the sound quality is crystal clear.

While the mixture of world music and space rock might not be such a new idea, Vespero seems to put a wonderful mellow slant on the groundwork originally set out by artists like Ozric Tentacles and Gong. The space rock element of the music reminds me of artists like Escapade, Zone Six and SubArachnoid Space. I’d definitely recommend this wonderful disc for folks interested in stuff like this.

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