My fave Russian bands, wanted to share Options

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There are several (actually, just a few) russian bands that I listen to. Mostly the music is pure bullshit, but there some really perfect exceptions. Let me tell you a few words about my faves. They mostly come from my hometown, St Petersburg and the city is called the Russian capital of rock.

I start with a band I have been following since 1996. I was 13, had long hair and was into grunge already. I visited clubs for underground acts, some of whom today are pretty big. Some change their names, music and lineup, but some remain true to themselves. So, if you have a spare moment, take a listen if interested.

No 1. I repeat, in 1996 an interesting band appeared. They were called Military Jane. Their first gig was pretty lame and empty, for the third one they gathered a full house of guys in Nirvana, PJ and AiC tshirts. They had 2 albums, and even a video! They played nice grunge and sang in English. The texts were rubbish and full of mistakes, but the music was very nice.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iXG_IyEYJA

After a year they suddenly switched their name and became Pilot. They started singing in Russian and the music grew much softer and acoustic. Still, they played pretty nice punk concerts.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGys9TzBh4E

As time went, they became bigger and bigger. And unfortunately to remain big in Russia you have to go mainstream. And russian mainstream rock fucking sucks. Though the frontman tried to keep nice pop melodies, most of the popular songs do sound horrible to me.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNFxGhHAmEc

Time went and the vocalist, whose name is Ilya Demon (gheghe) turned his face to god (what a surprise!) and here is where we come to a conclusion.

He never left his band. It went through some lineup changes, but the core remained the same. He started releasing pop solo records (!!!) but he never turned his back to the roots (!!!!!!!). Funny, huh? Isn't it how it is supposed to be?

When the band was 10 years old, they re-recorded their first single Wherry in Russian. And the sound of it is spectacular


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrwd20cm3ds


I really do not listen much to them anymore. The vocalist grew fat, though his voice remained very nice... And sometimes they have a wonderful song or two.

And here is what they look like now. Not moving around the stage much, the song is called "Love, Truth and Light" (omfg), they good around (and it is not that funny to me anymore), but damn! Check out the guitar!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL57Db4XhAI


More to come if anyone is interested!

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For all of you who are interested in more experimental side of music: a mix of jazz, folk, blues and electronics, I would advise you to listen to Auktyon.

http://www.auktyon.com/

Because Auktyon’s lyrics are in Russian, it’s doubtful that most of its Western listeners will understand the words to any of the songs on its latest album. But that’s the least challenging element about this disc. Trying to identify the musical instruments is a contest in its own right. One can hear snippets of piano keys being plonked, peculiar sounding horns being blown, and what seems to be several different stringed gadgets being bowed and plucked. Other sounds are harder to discern. Is that a human snort or a saxophone, a flute or the wind? Sometimes it seems both might be true.

That’s not to mention the strange time signatures and weird juxtapositions of volumes and tempos that seem to careen from different directions on the disc. Most songs seem to be in a constant state of evolution/revolution. A few come across as more thematic, such as the eight-minute-plus “Tam-dam”, which sounds like the soundtrack to a science fiction movie about a lonely desert planet. But even the more holistic tunes tend to verge towards chaos and anarchy. The margins always threaten to break apart.

Auktyon isn’t trying to be mysterious. One can buy a DVD of recent concerts with many of these songs performed live and see how they are created. The CD lists the musicians and the instruments played, which includes famous guests like the master of the weird guitar Marc Ribot (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello), avant-garde organist John Medeski (Medeski, Martin & Wood, Either/Orchestra), free jazz reed player Ned Rothenberg (John Zorn, Elliot Sharp), and innovator Klezmer trumpeter Frank London (LaMonte Young, David Byrne). But the 7-piece band from St. Petersburg makes these radical guest musicians sound tame by comparison.

The line-up consists of two vocalists who never sing when they can shout, talk, or make sound effects and who tend to favor discord over harmony. They both also play percussion instruments. A third vocalist/keyboardist also joins in and seems to enjoy playing the strings inside his piano as much the black and white keys. There’s a tuba player that provides the bass line, another horn player on bass clarinet and bass sax, a bass player, and a guest double-bass player. The four of them keep things low and menacing. The drummer keeps the beat or not, as the mood seems to move him. Sometimes he plays so fast and hard that he seems to be two people.

The energy found on songs like “Profukal”, “Dolgi”, and “Debil” could power a major city. Still, the band has a quiet side. The best example of this is the 11-minute-plus title track. The music starts off gentle and slow, with a muted horn wailing over a mix of odd sounds that move at different tempos. A singer with a gritty voice takes over from the horn, and the background players start to play in slightly faster rhythms. Different melodies emerge from the saxophone, the organ, and other instruments. The drummer picks the pace up to a faster beat. A wah-wah guitar funks things up then just goes psychedelic. This leads the other players into making strange noises of their own. But the volume remains hushed. This is not a nightmare, but a pleasant dream. The horn comes back and leads the song to a quiet fadeout.

In an age where every other jazz band seems to be revisiting the standards or recreating tunes of past masters, Auktyon deliberately tries to create something fresh and new. Purists might scoff, and indeed the album does rock, but this disc captures the vitality that can be found in the heart and soul of all real jazz.