If you have been looking for a little bit of drum 'n' bass with a side order of acid jazz and trip-hop then turn to Salto, playing this Saturday at ArteFAQ.
Salto is an eight-piece group that mixes a dozen and one styles, including Slavic folk, to produce mellow, meditative tunes.
"Music should help people become who they really are. Concerts should effectuate a kind of colorful trip into oneself," said Vitaly Rozhdestvensky, who plays the guitar and bamboo flute in Salto.
The group's core — who have been together for six years — is singer Eva Chervonenko, Rozhdestvensky and Anton Safonov, aka DJ Safa who scratches and plays percussion.
"It is difficult to pin down which groups have inspired us," Rozhdestvensky said, "but we are definitely inspired by [the London-based independent record label] Ninja Tune label and the Bristol music scene." And what about the most famous band to come from that scene? "You can add Portishead [to that list], but we are not a pure trip-hop band."
The name Salto means somersault, and the band jumps around musically but always ends up in the right spot at the end of a gig. "Music is unique, music is not about repetition. Each and every single one of our concerts is different," Rozhdestvensky said.
Indeed, the band offers mesmerizing self-introspection through frenzied beats that mix the buzzing sound of the electric guitar, trumpet, sexy saxophone and more.
The psychedelic aspect is amplified during gigs with trippy visual performances by video artists.
Salto released its first EP "Sprouts in Concrete" last year, all of which can be heard on their MySpace page, and it is in talks to release an album this year.
Salto plays Saturday at 9 p.m. at ArteFAQ, 32 Bolshaya Dmitrovka. Metro Chekhovskaya. Tel. 650-3971, www.artefaq.ru. Tickets cost 300 rubles.
Click here to watch Salto in action.
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