During the long and trying silence since their last studio venture in 2021, Karelia’s Theodor Bastard have been searching for a way out of the shadows cast by the pandemic, war and invasive technologies. Now, with their upcoming new album,▽, the world music pioneers are returning with dark electronics for our dark times.
Previous singles “Nebo” “Sverkay” and “Vedma” launched Theodor Bastard back into the international headlines with a feature in the award-winning crime drama The Method and coverage spanning from Headbanger Russia and Belgium’s Grimm Gent to Canada’s Different Stages Radio, Latin America’s Metallerium and Metal Devastation Radio and Wildfire Music in the United States.
Today, Theodor Bastard are releasing the third and final advanced single from ▽ (pronounced V). By reconnecting with the band’s electronic roots, “Ostavlyaem” channels a ritual energy that lifts the spirit beyond our earthly realm.
“Across our new album, ▽, darkwave, indietronica, post-punk and neo-psychedelia are not used as genre references”, Theodor Bastard producer, multi-instrumentalist and founding member Fedor Svolotch says. “They are fused into a single world, where ritual presence and the physicality of live sound coexist”.
“‘Ostavlyaem’ brings a different feeling of farewell than the rest of the album”, Svolotch continues. “It is fragile but communicates its fragility through motion, rhythm and a strange tenderness rather than heaviness”.
Listen to “Ostavlyaem” Below:
▽ comes out November 13, 2026 on Season of Mist.
Pre-order
Theodor Bastard will perform “Ostavlyaem” and other new songs from ▽ this November and December during their 10-date headlining tour of Russia.
Theodor Bastard ▽ 2026 Russian Tour
November 27 - Yekaterinburg @ Svoboda
November 29 - Novosibirsk @ Podzemka
December 4 - Krasnodar @ Port 219
December 5 - Rostov-on-Don @ Krop Arena
December 12 - Saint Petersburg @ Eifman Academy
December 18 - Moscow @ Urban
December 19 - Nizhny Novgorod @ DKRT
December 20 - Penza @ TsKiD
December 21 - Saratov @ Oniks
December 22 - Samara @ ODO
Can’t wait to hear ▽? RSVP for Theodor Bastard’s upcoming Bandcamp Listening Party and hear the entire album before it comes out.
▽ Bandcamp Listening Party
Monday, November 2 @ 1:30 pm Eastern Time
RSVP
▽ reflects just how much has changed since the world last heard from Theodor Bastard. While the band are still recognized internationally as leaders for ritual folk and world music, on their new album, they’ve re-embraced their early electronic impulses because that’s how life feels now: cold, sharp, tense.
“Our sound changed because the world changed”, Svolotch explains. “We had to destroy our own habits and expectations to make ▽. We wanted to start again, as if the band has no past, no safe place, no ready-made formula. As a result, this album is not a continuation of what came before. It’s a different door”.
To a world that’s mired in its own deadly trance, ▽ arrives like a much needed slap across the face. However, compared to the album’s previous singles, “Ostavlyaem” dances to a fragile beat that preserves the ritual spirit that’s always at the heart of Theodor Bastard. Electronic marimba springs lightly between soft drum pads, grounded by vocalist Yana Veva, whose melodies transcend our broken sphere to a place amongst the stars. “Оставляем всё своё земле / Всё своё траве / Всё своё здесь (We leave all that is ours to the earth / All that is ours to grass/ All that is ours to here)”.
“So much has surrounded us during recent years: the pandemic, war, division, fear, anxiety over technology, and a sense that reality itself is becoming darker and more unstable”, Svolotch says. “We have felt so much anger, pain, confusion and disappointment both in ourselves and in the world around us. All these emotions were gathering inside us, changing, darkening, searching for a form, until they eventually transformed into the unexpected on ▽”.
“Across ▽, darkwave, indietronica, post-punk and neo-psychedelia are not used as genre references. They are fused into a single world, where ritual presence and the physicality of live sound coexist”, Svolotch concludes. “It is unmistakably Theodor Bastard, but in a state of renewal, where the band’s recognizable identity becomes a starting point for transformation rather than a limit”.
With ▽, Theodor Bastard return with dark electronics for dark times.
Recording Lineup
Yana Veva - Vocals, Lyrics, Vocal arrangements, Synthesizers, Keyboards
Fedor Svolotch - Arrangements, Guitars, Bass guitar, Synthesizers, Analog synthesizers, Keyboards, Drum programming, Sound design, Sound production, Mixing
Christine Kazarian - Harp
Vyacheslav Salikov - Cello / Strings
Kusas - Percussion, Bells, Metallophone, Marimba, Jaw harp
Ekaterina Dolmatova - Backing vocals
Eli H - Bass guitar
Alexey Kalinovskiy - Keyboards, Synthesizer, Lap slide guitar
Vyacheslav Nikiforov - Drums
Sergey Smirnov - Drums
Maria Starostina - Flute, Backing vocals
Maxim Kostyunin - Guitar
Gale Dorothy - Vocals on Molnii i Svist
Current Lineup
Yana Veva - Vocals
Fedor Svolotch - Sound, Guitar, Electronics
Andy Vladich - Drums
Alexey Kalinovskiy - Keyboards
Kusas - Percussion
Vyacheslav Salikov - Cello
Ekaterina Dolmatova - Backing vocals
Production Credits
Producer - Fedor Svolotch
Sound Engineer - Fedor Svolotch
Mixing Engineer - Fedor Svolotch
Mastering Engineer - Boris Istomin
Recording Studio - Theo Records
Mastering Studio - Knob Studio
Cover Artwork
Fedor Svolotch
Artwork / Layout Designer
Yana Veva & Fedor Svolotch
Pre-order & Pre-save
https://orcd.co/theodorbastardv
Follow Theodor Bastard
Website: https://theodorbastard.com/
Bandcamp: https://theodorbastard.bandcamp.com/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2PQ9UX4kWDE3mf2fYGRzqF
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/theodor-bastard/204585292
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/theodorbastard
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheodorBastard/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theodor_bastard/?hl=en