Белый Острог | en

Белый Острог (Belyi Ostrog) is the Russian name of White Fort and Two Siberians.

Artyom Yakushenko (electric violin) and Yuri Matveyez (electric guitar) are literally the TWO SIBERIANS. The talented gents hail from the vast and ruggedly beautiful land of Siberia, essentially “Out of Nowhere”. Indeed their name and the title of the CD tell some of the story. The pair that used to entertain all walks of life at photographers exhibitions and the like for shots of vodka now have their own album to boast of on the award winning Heads Up International label.

When I saw the name of the artists, I had to wonder a bit, it seemed out of the ordinary for Telarc/Heads Up to send me a CD with a name like TWO SIBERIANS, and then to find out that the performers are actually from Siberia, well that was the icing on the cake. Right from the beginning of the opening track “Outpost Radio”, I was enamored with their sound. For two instruments, for the most part, the sound is incredible. The duo exchanges parts with Michael Brecker (sax), George Whitty (synth), Matt Garrison (bass) and Mino Cinelu (percussion), all guests that add some nice filler to their already full-bodied rich sound.

What you will hear is a gorgeous combination of jazz-rock-fusion and ethnic compositions from this dynamic duo (excuse the reference to Batman for those of you that remember). This kind of music requires close attention to the details of each track and many listens before you will honestly appreciate it. The focus and depth of the artists and their music is exceptional. I can say without hesitation that this music is unique and completely refreshing. My only wish is that you give yourself and opportunity to hear it.

As of Spring, 2011, Yakushenko and Matveyev signed with the independent label Cool Hat Records to distribute their music outside of Russia. Their albums are being released under the artist name White Fort, with song names in English. Current releases include:

"Two Kings" (Два Короля) (tracks available here on Last.FM) .