Moscow-based instrumental group The Diasonics return with “Oriole,” a new single on Record Kicks and the first preview of their upcoming album Ornithology, due 3 October. Rooted in 1970s library music and Soviet-era soul, with threads of afrobeat, modal jazz and psych-funk, the track leans into mood-building through texture and tonal nuance, extending the band’s meticulous take on cinematic funk.

Built around a fluttering, high-register synth line—mirroring both the call of the oriole and the hum of the Russian electric train that shares its name—the track moves with patient precision. A dry, in-the-pocket drum groove and clipped bassline create a sense of forward motion without urgency, while tape-saturated guitars and spare organ stabs lend depth without crowding the mix. “Oriole” sustains a low-lit, transportive atmosphere shaped as much by what’s left out as what’s played.

Since their 2019 debut, The Diasonics have cultivated what they call “hussar funk”—a style that threads Eastern European melodic inflections through tightly wound rhythm tracks. Their 2022 album Origin of Forms was praised for its sonic restraint and analogue warmth, and “Oriole” deepens that aesthetic. Issued on a limited 7″ with B-side “Chickadee,” the single is another finely crafted piece of instrumental storytelling—precise, physical, and unmistakably theirs.

You can listen to and pre-order the album HERE