Since their foundation in 1994, Moon Far Away, hailing from Arkhangelsk, Russia, have developed a unique style out of the established neo-folk tropes of the western world and the musical heritage of their home turf - the Russian North; a hotbed within the country for literature, visual arts, architecture and, of course, music. With influences as diverse as their background, they engaged in neoclassical dark wave and world music on earlier releases, and have remained a relatively unknown gemstone until this day. In the meantime, the group has honed its colorful blend to quasi-perfection, which is more than evident on its fifth record and Auerbach Tonträger/Prophecy Productions debut, "Athanor Eurasia".
While deftly weaving together acoustic guitars and wind instruments, as well as both female and male voices, this new album is a neo-folk release of outstanding quality with the traditional song format always in focus. In part, the result harks back to the likes of Death In June, Forseti or Sol Invictus (whose Tony Wakeford appears as a guest on 'Celebrate!') whereas other tracks are adaptions of passed-down Northern Russian folk tunes the band collected on expeditions to the Arkhangelsk Oblast - the musicians' subarctic home region. Within this dense tapestry all threads, regardless of their geographical or cultural origin, make up a unified whole that defies categorization.