Proudly presenting, (If You Ask), a brand new, blissed-out pop production with a 70s AOR touch, by the ever-on-point SOYUZ (). Coming at a period between albums, the single features guest appearances from the sensational musicians, Biel Basile (O Terno, Sessa) and Anthony Ferraro (Toro Y Moi, Astronauts, Etc.). Friends of the band, they add their signature touch on the drums and synth respectively. To complete the package, SOYUZ back the title track with a short but sweet, Wurlitzer-laden, MPB-tinged number, Tenorio.

(If You Ask) tells the story of lost dreams. A track that can be interpreted either as a bittersweet longing for childhood times, or for a native place you cant return to. For the writer Alex Chumak he suggests, “In my case, as in the case of many Belarusians, its both”.

For this song, Alex chose to sing in his native Belarusian tongue. As he explains this language “to me feels underrepresented in pop music, also its a beautiful legacy and sonority that I wanted to share with the listeners of our project around the world”. One of the key inspirations was a Belarusian band (Pesniary), who produced a host of great progressive folk, jazz fusion and AOR, from the 70s to the 90s, predominantly sung in Belarusian.

Another key influence was the music coming out of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais in the 70s, drawing inspiration from the sentimental and harmonious music of Beto Guedes, L Borges, Fernando Oly and Wagner Tiso.

Having parted ways with their drummer Anton, SOYUZ needed to find a new way to produce songs. The answer was to go remotely. Alex contacted the brilliant Biel Basile, who had recorded Sessa’s contemporary classic Estrela Acesa, in which Alex also participated. Utilising Biel and Sessas newly built studio in So Paulo, SOYUZ had Biel record the drums directly to tape to get the rich sound they were after. Adding the final magic into the mix, Californias Anthony Ferraro provided a beautiful Solina String Ensemble synth arrangement, with drummer/recording engineer Albert Karch expertly assisting with the production.

To capture the essence of the single visually, Alex and the Brazilian one-man-industry visual artist Gabriel Rolim, spent a blazing sunny May day in Berlin shooting film and stills one of which became the perfect cover image. We hope you enjoy this little nugget of SOYUZ mastery, a sweet taster to savour while the new album is recorded.