COIO3 (Soyuz)

COIO3 (SOYUZ) is a creative collective from Minsk, Belarus , founded by composer and arranger Alex Chumak and multi-instrumentalist Mikita Arlou . After moving to Warsaw, they came into contact with drummer Albert Karch and guitarist Wisniewski , with whom they formed a quartet. Hun Russische band name translates to ‘union’ or ‘alliance’, a reference to the creative collaboration at the heart of COIO3. Musically, COIO3 combines an at first sight incompatible arsenal of styles. Influences of Latin American bossa nova and tropicália, Italian library music, and chamber pop are thrown into the blender by the band with elements of Slavic pop and Eastern European nostalgia . The result sounds surprisingly organic and enchanting and found its way to BBC Radio 6, KEXP, BTS Radio, Worldwide FM, and Bandcamp Daily. COIO3 also often collaborates, including with the Russian art-pop artist Kate NV , the Brazilian bossa guitarist Sessa, the Swedish composer Sven Wunder, and Indian singer Asha Puthli. ‘ KROK ’ - their most recent album – was released in 2025 on Mr. Bongo. COIO3 played at leading festivals such as Primavera Sound, OFF Festival, ESNS, XJAZZ, and in a sold-out Botanique in Belgium . Come discover them in Cactus Café.