STARAYA DEREVNYA

Staraya Derevnya biography
Staraya Derevnya was founded in Haifa, Israel, in 1994. Members are Gosha Hniu (real name: Gosha Shtasel), an avant-garde musician and sound engineer based in London, originally from Israel or Ukraine, and London-based electronic music artist Grundik Kasyansky. Both of them are involved in a number of experimental music projects, apart from Staraya Derevnya.

This duo is named after a historic district located in St. Petersburg, Russia. Now based between London and Tel Aviv, Staraya Derevnya is forging its own route in the field of experimental psychedelia. The musical style that the pair describes themselves as "Krautfolk" is actually characterised by an uncommon combination of instruments and captivating rhythms. According to accounts of their live performances, they are performed in an underground gloominess underlined with interesting animated artworks that are projected in favour of provoking a psychedelic brainstorm alongside the music.

Staraya Derevnya released six studio albums: "Expedition" (self-released, 1999; remastered edition, 2009); "From Inside the Log" (self-released, 2010); "Kadita Sessions" (self-released, 2016); "Still Life with Applem, Collaboration with Hans Grusel's Krankenkabinet" (Steep Gloss, 2020), "Boulder Blues" (Ramble Records, 2022), and "Inwards Opened the Floor" (Raash Records, 2020).

On August 10, 2022, at their London concert held as always with a bunch of additional musicians in the already legendary Café OTO, their magnificent album titled "Blue Forty-nine," released in November 2023 on the Blue Tapes label, was recorded so beautifully. The primordial oddity of Staraya Derevnya's studio recordings is heightened and elevated to a whole new level, released on an attractively designed cassette album.


- Lumenko, December 2023