“I open the browser and think, “Theodor Who? Is he really a bastard?” Then I see, “Karelian Neofolk”. “He is a stoner, this dude Theodor”, I think.” – these are the first words of the review by Dimitris Mascelos from the Greek magazine RockWay. Spoiler: actually it’s a very good review. Next is its followed text. I open Youtube and want to do a little research about the history of this Russian band. I fall on the album “Oikoumene”, the sixth complete opus of this Karelians released in 2012, and I am standing fascinated. love at first hear!
French journalist Stephan Birlouez from Among the living magazine has written a positive review of our album Vetvi. In his opinion, the music of the Russian band Theodor Bastard “literally saves lives in these dark times of covid and depression.” The remastered album “Vetvi” will be released on double vinyl by Season of Mist this month. And we are looking forward to this event.
A new review of the reissue of Theodor Bastard’s album “Vetvi”, written by the Belgian journalist Luc Ghyselen from the “Musika” magazine:“Neo-folk these days: just think of Heilung, Wardruna, Myrkur and the like, who are very much appreciated in the music world, even by metal fans. At the same time the Russian collective Theodor Bastard has been operating in a similar musical path for almost 20 years. Fedor Svoloch, Yana Veva and Aleksey “Kusas” Kurasov – the founders of the group carried their art through the years. For many music lovers, this project became a discovery last year, when the album “Volch’ya Yagoda” was released, which was well received by the audience. Album “Vetvi” were originally released in 2015, but now have a second chance thanks to Season Of Mist, which will be able to provide the band with a well-deserved European breakthrough. Theodor Bastard’s sound fits perfectly into the definition of neo-folk. The musicians use sacred authentic folk instruments that create an exciting and piercing sound. They take the listener on a long journey to long-forgotten times or to places that we have heard only in legends. Of course, it is not always possible to guess about the theme of Russian lyrics, but this does not interfere at all, because the sound is ideally combined with the heavenly voice of Yana Veva and deeply touches the soul. It doesn’t matter if the arrangements go psychedelic or go for an almost shamanic, feeling-oriented tempo and rhythm, the beauty of her voice strikes again and again. Therefore, those who have neo-folk and ethnic music in their music collection cannot do without this reissue of “Vetvi”. Here is the original review: https://www.musika.be/2021/12/26/theodor-bastard-vetvi
We have interesting news. Theodor Bastard recorded the soundtrack for the sequel to the famous fantasy computer game Ash of Gods: The Way. On the video you can hear a demo fragment of one of the new tracks and see a small part of our studio work. We are incredibly proud to partner with AurumDust, the creators of Ash of Gods. After all, the game is sustained in a very close to us style of “dark fantasy”, where the action takes place in a medieval fictional world.
Now a new video has appeared on our YouTube channel. This is a single by Theodor Bastard for the re-release of the album “Vetvi” in English, made by Yana and Fedor this year. The video was directed by Guilherme Henriques.
The instrument is made of stainless steel, it has minimal gaps and a hard tongue, that gives a great opportunity for getting a rich, powerful sound with a lot of overtones. Theodor Bastard had started thinking about creating such an instrument a long time ago, because all the mouth harp models existed before did not completely suit Fedor. Fedor desired to construct a comfortable instrument that fits well in the hand and has a loud, recognizable sound, an ideal tuning, and at the same time a wealth of overtones. Thanks to Nikolai Yurchenko and Alexander Bulavin and their Vargan Ekb manufactory, this idea was turned into reality. The design of the instrument was made by Yana Veva based on the symbolism of the “Volch’ya Yagoda” album. The wooden case of the instrument is also engraved with the symbols “Theodor Bastard”. This mouth harp is ideal for both beginners and professionals and for anyone who wants to join the sound and the universe of Theodor Bastard. It is equipped with a magnetic ball that lowers the tone of the sound, and with a designer’s wooden case made of beech. It’s a very limited edition. Only for connoisseurs!
DESCRIPTION AND FEATURES: Material: stainless steel. Length: 120 mm. Tongue: 75 mm. Dimensions: 120 х 40 х 10 mm. Weight: 58 g. Included: – A magnet for changing the tone; – A designer wooden case made of beech with engraved symbols “Theodor Bastard”. All mouth harps are calibrated and tuned.
In our distant childhood, vinyl always seemed incredibly attractive. The records were carefully kept on shelves. These were father’s collections. Taking the vinyl out of the cover, putting it on the turntable – then it was the pure magic. No one could have guessed that after so many years the format of the vinyl record will again delight us and evoke the same emotions. By the way, we did the mastering under the vinyl of our album in quality 24 bit / 96 kHz and the sound there is revealed in a completely different way: deeper and more powerful.
Interesting news: Theodor Bastard became a finalist of the American competition “John Lennon Songwriting Contest 2021”, established in 1997 by the widow of Lennon Yoko Ono. The lullaby “Volchok” from our last album won in the category “world music”. Now we receive letters from the USA from listeners who discovered our music for the first time. We also won many different prizes. But this is not the main thing, it is important that the language of music is international. And music in the heart of everyone, regardless of the language barrier, will find its way. You can congratulate, praise and scold in the comments.
Theodor Bastard — “Let’s Live” with the gusli + instrument review
9-string gusli by Theodor Bastard designed in collaboration with the Mir Gusley manufactory. The body is made of alder, the resonance soundboard is made of spruce, the bridge is made of beech. The design of the resonator rosette was made by Yana Veva. The size of the gusli is 79x19x4cm (excluding tuners), and the weight is only 1.4 kg. The gusli kit includes a tuning key and a gift Theodor Bastard “Volch’ya Yagoda” CD. Initially, the gusli is a primordially Russian multi-string plucked instrument, the history of which goes back several millennia. And this is one of the most frequently used instruments of Theodor Bastard both in the concert program and when recording albums.Check out how beautiful this instrument sounds and looks when performed by Theodor Bastard on our YouTube. You can buy the gusli at our bandcamp. Or write to our email.
9-string gusli by Theodor Bastard designed in collaboration with the Mir Gusley manufactory. The body is made of alder, the resonance soundboard is made of spruce, the bridge is made of beech. The design of the resonator rosette was made by Yana Veva. Initially, the gusli is a primordially Russian multi-string plucked instrument, the history of which goes back several millennia. And this is one of the most frequently used instruments of Theodor Bastard both in the concert program and when recording albums.Check out how beautiful this instrument sounds and looks when performed by Theodor Bastard on our YouTube. You can buy the gusli at our bandcamp. Or write to our email.
The French magazine Soilchronicles has written an impressive review of our album Volch’ya Yagoda released by Season of Mist this year. For some reason, with quotations from Depardieu and Churchill about Russia. This is curious. But the European view of Russian music and our work in general is interesting. Link to original: https://www.soilchronicles.fr/chroniques/theodor-bastard-volchya-yagoda
Studio version of the song Love’s Secret Domain recorded by Theodor Bastard has become a part of a tribute compilation “Channeling The Solar Lodge” published by the US labels Coitus Interruptus Productions and Crunch Pod. It gets released in the studio-quality for the first time. Originally the track was issued on the compilation “…It Just Is (In Memoriam: Jhonn Balance)” in 2005 but since then it has gone through a lot of changes. It’s a very personal and important composition for us. The band Coil was a source of inspiration for us for many years.Even then, there was no doubt that this very composition from Theodor Bastard would be included in the tribute. Love’s Secret Domain (LSD) has become a psychedelic anthem for us at one time. Quotes in the song refer to the poem “Sick Rose” by William Blake:O Rose thou art sick. The invisible worm, That flies in the night In the howling storm: Has found out thy bedOf crimson joy:And his dark secret loveDoes thy life destroy.In our version, we tried in our own way to embody the symbolism of this poem in the form of a dialogue between a fragile and vulnerable rose (Yana’s vocals) and animal and passionate power (Fedor’s vocals). In 2005 we were lucky to meet the founder of the project, Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson and shown him our interpretation of the Love’s Secret Domain. Sleazy also heard the live performance of this song and gave it his warm approval, which was very important for us. To the great sorrow none of the members of the COIL project are with us any more, but their music always is. And that is wonderful, music is eternal.
THEODOR BASTARD: Yana Veva – vocal Fedor Svolotch – vocal, sampler,Drum Kusas – percussion, marimba, kalimba Andy Vladych – drums Alexei Kalinovskiy – keyboards Vasil Davletshin – bass Ekaterina Dolmatova – back vocal Slava Salikov – cello
