SOYUZ (СОЮЗ) featuring Asha Puthli & Sven Wunder - Spring Has Sprung

This one is very special to us. We linked three of our cherished musical family together; the wonderous band SOYUZ, legendary cult artist Asha Puthli and Swedish maestro Sven Wunder, for an exclusive production made especially for the Mr Bongo Record Club 7 compilation. We were so blown away with the results, we wanted to share it as a stand-alone single too.

They say don't meet your heroes, but this is not the case with Asha Puthli. You couldn't meet a more inspirational, gutsy and funny spirit, who is rich in stories, experience and knowledge. At the age of 79, Asha has embarked on her first-ever world tour, returning to the stage after over 40 years.

The track that would go on to become this collaborative piece, started out in Minsk just a month before the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine and SOYUZ’s emigration to Poland. Spending time in the studio playing around with different instruments and recording ideas, SOYUZ’s Alex Chumak wrote the initially piano-driven track, influenced by Azerbaijani pianist and composer Vagif Mustafazadeh, with hints of Holger Czukay weaved within.

As longtime fans of Asha’s music, SOYUZ were incredibly excited about the prospect of a collaboration. Asha loved the demo, so the band recorded a proper studio session, sending it to her in Miami where she returned it with her mystical vocals, that as Alex explains “were like a revelation – strange and beautiful at the same time!”.

To put the icing on the cake, Alex met one of our heroes, producer and composer Sven Wunder from Stockholm, whilst playing Sessa’s live band. After playing him the Asha track, Sven wrote a glorious string arrangement that was recorded with the Stockholm Studio Orchestra and conducted by Erik Arvinder.

Lifting the track even further, subtle percussion by Anders Scherp and Anders af Klintberg delicately dusts the grooves. It was a pure goosebumps moment when we first opened the finished track at Mr Bongo HQ and got to hear the song in its entirety. At just over two minutes it's short, but oh-so-sweet, beautifully encapsulating Asha's character and personality - playful, wise and serene, whilst also perfectly capturing SOYUZ’s cinematic, song-writing prowess and Sven Wunder’s distinctive style.

[vahekhachaturian]

The collab that I absolutely didn't expect!! I used to prey for times like this

[haspadynia]

Як жа гэта прыгожа! Я проста не магу, гэта сапраўды геніяльная прыгажосць 🤍