Last year, Orkestar Kriminal remixed and remastered their latest album Ryobra in it's entirely for a special vinyl release, entitled Razlomanye Ryobra ("Broken Ribs" in Russian) with a gorgeous hand-printed letterpress jacket and design by Kiva Stimac of Popolo Press.
Ryobra refers to the clandestine method in which prohibited music was once distributed in the Soviet period, where phonographic recordings were cut into old x-ray films. Throughout the album, listeners will discover 10 old underworld ballads that tell stories of impoverished people from the interwar period, driven to a life of crime. Razlomanye Ryobra offers a unique instrumentation that includes a sousaphone, trombone, saxophone, trumpet, musical saw, bouzouki, baglama, piccolo, flute, violin, lectric surf guitar, accordion and drums. The album was recorded live off-the-floor at Hotel2Tango by Grammy award winning engineer Howard Bilerman (Leonard Cohen, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Arcade Fire), produced by Josh Dolgin (Socalled, Abraham Inc., Canailles), mixed by Orkestar Kriminal's Étienne Barry along with Francis Duchesne (Les Deuxluxes, Sophia Bel, Sons of Arrakis) and mastered by Ryan Morey.
