Gnoomes

Gnoomes hail from Russia and coined the word “stargaze” for their fusion of Krautrock, shoegaze, and techno. Propulsive motorik grooves, throbbing electronics, and guitars that shift between dreamy and ferocious textures helped the band reach a wider European listenership during the late 2010s once they joined the U.K. imprint Rocket Recordings. After issuing their debut LP, Ngan!, in 2015, the group wove psychedelic electronics and club rhythms into later recordings such as Tschak! (2017) and Ax Ox (2023).

The musicians came together in Perm during 2014, with Sasha Piankov handling vocals and bass, Pasha Fedoseev on drums, and Dima Koniushevich on guitar; each member also contributes synthesizer parts. Their earliest recording, the cassette EP It’s Moonbow-Time, Boy, appeared on the domestic Pikkalma Product label in July 2014. That tape drew interest from the British psychedelic outlet Rocket Recordings—home to Gnod, Oneida, and White Hills—which promptly signed the band and issued Ngan! the following year. In 2016 Gnoomes shared the split EP Repetitions with Josefin Öhrn + the Liberation. Following shows across England and a slot at the Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia, they delivered the synth-driven full-length Tschak! in 2017. Before cutting their third album the lineup expanded to a quartet when Masha Piankova joined as permanent keyboardist. That record, 2019’s Mu!, reflected a more direct concert-oriented energy. Ax Ox, the first Gnoomes album recorded entirely in Russian, surfaced in 2023.