Markscheider Kunst

Yes, Russians can skank too. Get ready for the funnest album of the summer. If Benny Hill ever recorded a long lost rocksteady record, it would have surely sounded something like this. The frothy, sun-soaked mix of vintage Jamaican and Latin grooves, coupled with Russian folk and a horn section that fell off the circus truck, makes Utopia a non-stop dance party. Russia's 13-piece Markscheider Kunst offer us everything from ska-jazz improvs to '70s kitsch. "Odnazhdy" could have been an outtake from the Hawaii Five-O soundtrack and "KU" is what would happen if the Skatalites were in fact all gypsy by birth. Instrumentals abound and even electro-dub-y excursions aren't out of place. Expertly performed and boundlessly energetic, Utopia turns cultural stereotypes upside down and gives us a dose of the lighter side of Russian music.