Martin's review: К солнцу, к звездам by Проект Лазарь | Project Lazarus

A Cosmic Journey To The Stars

There are some music albums that leave a lasting impression in your mind and I have to say that this one is certainly of this category. One of the reasons why I am writing this review right now is because for a very long time I have been rewinding and listening the disc over and over again. In cases like this one sometimes it is hard to write something when there are just some many words that come in my mind. So let me try to walk you through the cosmic chaos.

First of all, this is a sovietwave album, actually a great one at least. In order to understand it you just have to rewind the first few tracks at least several times. Only then you will be able to feel the nostalgia of that old analog reverb and gentle synthesizer sounds. Yes, this is a fairy recent album however the composer has done a magnificent job at selecting the right number of sounds and layers.

In terms of composition and feeling there are some points which I find important and I feel that they must be made. There is the space-y background which fills the melody lines, there is a continuation between the tracks which illustrates the completeness of the whole album. There is a clear sense that the general concept is maintained through the whole album. This is an important point to note as not all discs in this genre can provide.


There are awesome moments that are really memorable, one of the examples is the soft sawtooth sound in “Скафандр“, this “hook” has actually stuck in my head for a few days. Just listen to how the arp sound underneath it maintains the atmosphere and the other layers actually add onto it. The “nagging” (intentional) sine wave which comes alive from time to time perfects the track. As I am talking about this particular composition I would like to note that for me personally this is one of the best tracks in the album. Composition wise it is not very complex however it certainly does fulfill the task of transporting you somewhere else. I mean this in both place and time.

Where Dreams Are Made!

If you close your eyes I am certain that you will be able to imagine traveling on the Soyuz to the stars! The ambiance and melody lines do a magnificent job of convincing that this is indeed possible!

This record is one of the many examples of what a composer might achieve with immaculate talent – the direct transportation of ideas from the music medium down to our imagination. I find that this goal has been achieved – while listening to the tracks it is very easy to not just imagine space travel, but to also “feel” the backdrops of the space shuttle. Often the moments where intensity and buildup arise are carefully positioned at the right time.

Talking about the recording as a whole I would like to also point out several important points which come to me as a listener, not a collector or a strict genre maniac, but as someone who appreciates good quality music:

• While the general “flow” is considered by me to be right on track, some listeners may find that the introductory sections of the individual tracks are not pronounced enough. If you have not listened to the whole recording at least several times you might fee lost as to which track is playing right now.
• If I had to make any improvements I would add a few truly ambient sections there and now to reflect the stillness of space. This might not be considered as a good idea by many, but space is not an organized medium. Remember that! Anything can happen anytime and for this reason sometimes we must truly experiment with the melodic structure of a track.
• I would appreciate some faster rhythmic sections in certain tracks.

Please support the music. It’s definitely worth it and I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to experience a magnificent journey into space.

Released July 6, 2019

Music by Project Lazarus
Design by CHKLTK
Dog Artwork by unknown USSR artists