Philipp Gorbachev, the Russian musician and DJ, has been throwing killer parties and making some of the most innovative and exciting electronic music to come out of Moscow in years. In 2014 he released his debut album but when invited to perform a live Boiler Room set of the material featured on it, he decided that he wanted to take things to another level rather than be just another DJ stood motionless behind decks. “I could have just gone out there with linked CDJs but I had this rush in my veins,” he says of his decision to form a band for the performance, which he did by advertising on Craigslist and holding casting sessions. The resulting concoction was not something locked into a 4/4 beat or synonymous with techno or house but rather a much more organic, groove-based sound with funk-strutting bass lines and live drums that rolled and flurried around the beats and squelchy synths that jumped around leading the charge of the songs along with Gorbachev’s Damo Suzuki-like vocals.

The success of this performance led to the band—also featuring Marco Rivagli and Kevin Bucquet—to begin to create new material as a fresh outfit, separate from the solo work of Philipp. The finished seven-track album is a wild ride that jumps genres, switches paces, and alters tones frequently.

While Gorbachev cites a range of influences from Beck to Blind Willie Johnson as being core to him, the primary motivation is the live nature of the project itself. “The main influence is the constant live experience I have as a performer. I want to get the most out of every party, every jam, and every dancefloor.

Tracklisting

01. Goodman
02. Soldier
03. Public Joe
04. Ready For The Rifle
05. Pentonville
06. Skinny Bones
07. Ivan, Come On, Unlock The Box (Live Version)

Ahead of the album’s June 16 release, “Skinny Bones” is exclusively available to download below.

Skinny Bones