Gnoomes are a husband-wife duo of Russian expats in Slovenia, playing a fusion of krautrock and psychedelia they have dubbed “Stargaze.”

I can name the number of Russian bands I know on the fingernails of two fingers: Pussy Riot and TATU. And I can only name one song by one of them.

Now here is another. And I love their blend of kosmische psychedelia and techno that they call “Stargaze.”

The duo combine propulsive motorik rhythms with shimmering synths and ethereal vocals and, on this new tune Losey, with choral undertones.

Gnoomes formed 12 years ago in the Russian city of Perm, initially as a trio, but kept the name when Sasha Piankov relocated to Ljubljana in Slovenia with his wife and creative partner Masha Piankova. 

Inspired by experimental electronic duo Chris & Cosey, the video – created by the band – aims to depict the moment, in that liminal space between insomnia and sleep, when an overloaded mind begins to lose its sense of what is real.

It’s assembled from their personal phone footage collected over several years, mixed with imagined places, fractured memories, nightmares and brief hallucinations. 

Masha describes the video as a glimpse into his sleepless brain: “I wanted the visuals to become an extension of the song’s emotional movement. It’s that strange threshold before sleep, when your brain is completely overloaded and reality begins to slip. 

“The subconscious doesn’t discriminate: hallucinations, memories, nightmares, impossible landscapes, euphoric dance scenes, and dreams that blur the line between fear and desire all end up in the same room, dancing together until morning.”

Fans of Stereolab are sure to like this. As Masha adds: “This is for weirdos, romantics and anything burned out with the world.”