The Diasonics are a hardcore funk and soul crew from Moscow.
Cinematic funk that harks back to those golden David Axelrod arrangements, the band carry traces of hip-hop in their blood stream, alongside psychedelic fetishes.
New album ‘Origin Of Forms’ is out now, an outstanding release that showcases the chemistry that flows between these musicians. An evergreen staple on the Clash stereo as we navigate our way into the start of Spring, we invited The Diasonics to dig through their record bags.
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Blackbyrds – Mysterious Vibes
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Daniel: The theme of various mediums is close to us, so we cannot fail to mention this composition. The vibe takes us somewhere to a distant place, somewhere in the direction of the synthesizer, which sets the whole mood of the track, it is a great feel good number!
Maxim: Yes, the Blackbyrds worked very skilfully with synthesizers, very concisely and yet delicately, it really does make this track a great feel good track.
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Vyacheslav Meshcherin ‘s Ensemble – Siberian Melody
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Maxim: Vyacheslav Meshcherin is a Soviet musician, composer, conductor, head of the Ensemble of Electro Musical Instruments. Few people know the name of this man, although there are many cover versions of foreign hits performed by his ensemble that are very popular in the USSR. We hear him on TV shows, movies and cartoons. Lost Soviet instrumental music is making a comeback and has been rediscovered and given a new life in recent years.
Everything is perfect in this groovy easy listening track – a strong hip-hop beat, the production is not very typical for Soviet sound engineers and I love that it has an amazing Russian melody on electric keyboards. Vyacheslav Meshcherin was personally acquainted with Yuri Gagarin, and Alexei Leonov, the first man in outer space, spoke about the music of the Meshcherin ensemble: “The music of electro musical instruments is the best match for the state that I experienced in outer space.” It seems to me that this track is also filled with this cosmic mood, a positive look into the future and the universe.
Music by V.V.Meshcherin was restored in 2001-2002 from the archives of the State Television and Radio Fund by Oleg Nesterov and released on two compilations under the title ‘Easy USSR’.
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Bob James – Westchester Lady
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Danil: A multifaceted work of a respected maestro in the style of early jazz funk. The simplest and at the same time it contains a brilliant basic theme focused on four notes which is instantly remembered by any listener, regardless of his auditory experience. In contrast to the simplicity of the subject in other areas the arrangement takes on a monumental scale, due to the addition of violins playing their own very emotional and beautiful.
Maxim: Bob James’s contribution to music can hardly be overestimated. Samples from his tracks were used time and time again in Hip-hop, along with the drum breaks they have become the bible of beatmaking. ‘Westchester Lady’ – a track that having heard once, you will never forget.
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Azymuth – Manha
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Danil: If I were asked what “tropical disco” is, I would turn on this track and start dancing. Of course, what makes it tropical is the cuica instrument, which sets the main movement and colour of the music.
Maxim: To hear the cuica, it is immediately clear that a group from Brazil inspired by the 70s era. In modern music such ethnic nuances no longer determine the geography of music. I would also note electric keyboards and synthesizers – airy morning funk, space sound, the drum section plays a special Latin American groove – tropics, sun, heat, smiles and dances.
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Cymande – Сhanges
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Maxim: One of my favourite classic funk soul bands. Cymande’s music can always be recognized by its sound – great attention is paid to percussion in the tracks. Sentimental soft guitar, bass that cannot be confused with any other, expressive vocals, Afrocentric wind instruments.
‘Changes’ like many other tracks of the band sounds more and more relevant every year, it has a groove that can easily fit into the repertoire of any modern funk soul group. It is always interesting to watch how the music develops inside the Cymande tracks – soul melodies break into funky jam, there its lots of improvisation too yet at the same time, the music remains danceable, they are extremely talented musicians.
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Igor Bril – Street Without End
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Maxim: An excellent example of Soviet jazz funk fusion. Igor Bril is a Soviet and Russian jazz pianist and composer. In 1972, Bril assembled the country’s first ensemble performing jazz on electric instruments. My bass teacher Yuri Andreev was a member of this ensemble, and in fact was the first jazz bass player in the USSR. The time spent in his classes shaped my attitude to music, and sound production in many ways.
The track from the first (of three) albums of the ensemble – ‘Morning Of The Earth’ – funky jazz with an explosive bass, groovy percussion complete with melodic brass and keys. I would especially like to note the space created by the reverb of drums and percussion – it sounds amazing! The ensemble recorded a lot of interesting and original music, but this track is the first one that I heard, which is probably why it made the greatest impression on me.
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Dyke and the Blazers – Black Boy
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Anton (Percussion): One of my favourite tracks. ‘Black Boy’ impressed me so much that for my wedding ceremony I gathered friends from different bands and made a big band especially to perform an instrumental version. It’s hard to say too much about this music, it’s just classic solid American funk!
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‘Origin Of Forms’ is out now.
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