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Sounds of Sputnik Picks Up National Award as Album is Released‏

December 10, 2014

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Sounds of Sputnik
New Born
Ear to Ear Records
21 November 2014

For lovers of: Lush, Wolf Alice, Hammock, Curve, MBV, Twilight Sad, M83, No Joy
recommended for: 2014 ‘Best Of’ playlists; Bands to Watch in 2015; Playlisting

“A beautiful voice combined with the swirling ambience of lush layered guitars to create a unique sonic landscape” ~ Malcolm Holmes (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark)

“Transcends physical and political boundaries to make sonic nu-dreamscapes” ~ Impose Magazine

“Utterly transfixing, as though visited upon by some celestial happening” ~ God is in the TV Zine

A ground-breaking band to keep your eye on in 2015, Sounds of Sputnik defies the stereotypes of Russian music by tastefully mixing electronica, alternative rock, shoegaze, dream pop, and noise,  This project was spawned from a love of bands such as Jesus and Mary Chain, Ride, Sonic Youth, Happy Mondays, and Slowdive.

Last week Sounds of Sputnik received Russia’s top honours at the Jagermeister Indie Music Awards, beating thousands of other bands to victory in the ‘Young Blood’ category and gaining special recognition for ‘Overdrive’, which features powerhouse drums by Graham Bonnar (Swervedriver, Brian Jonestown Massacre), and vocals by Shauna McLarnon of Canadian-Ukrainian duo Ummagma.

Sounds of Sputnik is the brainchild of Roman Kalitkin, a twenty-year veteran of post-punk, alternative and shoegaze bands, and the first Russian artist to remain in the CMJ charts for seven weeks. The debut album ‘New Born’ is released on UK label Ear to Ear Records. It is loaded with reverb-soaked guitar, penetrating drums, thick bass, and angular guitars mixed with ethereal vocals and intricate electronica.

‘New Born’ boasts several legendary guests, with remixes from Malcolm Holmes (OMD), psych rock producer Fran Ashcroft (Damon Albarn, Lords of Acid), Russian producers Oleg Mezherovsky (Zapreshennie Barabanshiki) and Morozov (Galaxy Garbage), as well as Mind Movies, who is Brazil’s answer to Crystal Castles. British producer Marc Joy (Primal Scream, Oasis, Bernard Butler of Suede, Mike Peters of The Alarm, Golden Fable) also played a role in shaping and mastering this album.

On Ummagma
This duo emerged on the music scene by releasing two LPs (Ummagma Antigravity) in 2012, followed by 3 more releases on Emerald & Doreen Recordings. The band has enjoyed a full-page feature in Rolling Stone Russia, won Alternative Eurovision competitions for 2 years in a row (Amazing Radio & Pure 107.8 FM), and received 2 awards at the 2013 Australian Independent Music Video Awards. That’s not the only feather in Ummagma’s cap, as they’ve caught the attention of Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins) and Malcolm Holmes (OMD), who have both remixed tracks for release this winter.

On Ear to Ear Records 
Founded in Wales in 2013, this label specialises in dream pop, shoegaze, and indie rock. Originally working with local bands, such as Lights That Change and Indigo Sky, the label soon grew to also include several bands from Europe and North America, such as Ummagma and Soundsof Sputnik. Ear to Ear recently released an EP by Lights That Change and plans releases in coming months from Indigo Sky, Blood Lips and Tape Runs Out.

LINKS
http://soundsofsputnik.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/soundsofsputnik
www.soundcloud.com/soundsofsputnik
http://twitter.com/sosputnik
www.youtube.com/kalitkindoors

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