LA MINOR. St.Petersburg, Russia. Cool and jazzy urban folk... Bandits ballads... Odessa beats... Russian chanson... The ensemble LA MINOR was founded in summer 2000. The ensemble performs in the style of street chanson with Russian folk and Klezmer influence. Once by the unknown people the style of LA MINOR was named as “Odessa beats”. It s the most precise determination in which LA MINOR live, create and perform. The music of LA MINOR enriched by bayan (Russian accordion), saxophone and contrabass brings you back to the atmosphere of 20-40-es years and reminds the soundtrack to good old films about gangsters’ tragic love and great swindlers of that time. Happy and nostalgic in the same time their music will not leave you untouched. The collective consists of professional musicians. More...

MESSER CHUPS. St.Petersburg, Russia. Gothabilly, surf, B-movies and wonderful Zombie Girl
Messer Chups is the project of Russian composer Oleg Gitarkin, and while the band’s instrumental rock is hard to neatly categorize, it’s safe to say that it would be enjoyed by fans of rockabilly, horror punk, scratchy surf records, Italian slasher films, pulp fiction, lounge music, Ed Wood, the theremin, the Cramps, Russ Meyer movies. Gitarkin incorporates all of these elements and more, layering samples from Russian B-movies over weird vintage keyboard chirps and groovy horn loops. Messer Chups have already released over a half dozen albums and a greatest hits collection, which is a little extreme unless you’re a diehard fan of this kind of stuff. Since the Ipecac release, Messer Chups has slowly developed a cult following around the world as one of the most unique and genre-defiant bands. More...

IVA NOVA is a band from St.Petersburg. The music of IVA NOVA is described as extreme girl’s folklore or folk-avant-garde. IVA NOVA was formed in St.Petersburg in 2002, when five young Russian ladies met to create a new collective of musicians. All of them had had vast experience of playing at gigs with various groups and having found themselves to be really kindred souls, they started off their joint career, naturally and courageously combining the tunes and instrumentation of traditional Slavonic music with the energy and attitude of punk. Their original songs with tunes and lyrics based on the riches of the folklore, are catchy and sensitive. IVA NOVA's sound is driving and powerful, their live acting is cheerful and often humorous: this high-spirited music will hardly leave anybody untouched. More..

Evelina Petrova (St.Petersburg) is a virtuoso accordionist and vocalist of extraordinary range and versatility. A rising star of Russian new folk, she first came to prominence as a member of trumpeter Vyacheslav Gayvoronski’s quintet and her solo songs are heavily influenced by jazz and improvised music. Her album Year’s Cycle, featuring astounding vocal interpretations of Russian folk songs, has already caused a stir in the music press but you have to see and hear her live to experience the vital force of her music. More

Dakha Brakha (Ukraine) is an exciting Ukrainian folk band that consists of three girls Nina Garenetska, Irina Kovalenko, Olexandra Kleynis, Olena Tsybulska and frontman Marko Halanevych.
They use native Ukrainian folk motifs, but add African, Arab, Bulgarian and Hungarian ideas. Dakha Brakha is still somewhat of a cult phenomenon in Ukraine, appealing to a discerning audience of knowledgable fans who like their aggressive sound, which involves a lot of ritualistic tribal rhythms and frenzied, sometimes caterwauling, vocals. They perform in native Ukrainian dress, as befitting their faith in Ukrainian culture, which they believe has enormous potential that should be explored and retained. More

GURZUF (Belarus) is a highly unusual instrumental band, which performs since 2005. This is a duo of an accordionist Egor Zabelov and a drummer Artem Zalesskiy. They are playing... well, if I am allowed to add a bit of personal impression here, I’d characterize this as "imagine if King Crimson were to play the tunes of Philip Glass with an accordion". Gurzuf’s music is a synthesis of alternative music styles such as punk, hard rock, hip-hop with classical and folk music - highly expressive, challenging kind of tunes. More

NOM (St.Petersburg, Russia) Cult Russian collective of musicians, artists, writers and film makers
The band "NOM" appeared in St. Petersburg in 1987 as an absurdic-ironical answer to the great number of "rock" bands in post-soviet Russia. The band used musical cliches of all kinds mixed queerly together with elements of mimic show of idiots, thus reaching strong emotional effect over public. Critics called NOM "The last bastion of ruthless Russian satire", following literaturial traditions of Gogol and Kharms. NOM's music is a fascinating combination of traditional Russian melodies, rock, progressive rock and even opera. NOM has been famous for its astonishing live shows and really amusing videos in which it has made fun of all the taboos which had something to do with Soviet Union or also modern Russia. More

DRUM ECSTASY (Belarus)– three drums and bass-guitar – heavy dance music. Drum Ecstasy are one of the stars of the underground music scene in Belarus. A quartet of 3 drummers and 1 bassplayer who play propulsive polyrhythmic anthems bedded in dark, sub-industrial low-end smear; they have been a fixture on the club scene for a number of years. In individual compositions electric drills and saws noises and sound effects are used. In average Drum Ecstasy performance lasts 40-90 minutes, often slides and videos are used. There is also another variant of sounding with industrial percussion. More...

KLEVER (- a clover- ) from St. Petersburg plays instrumental music on the edge of post-rock and ethno-elements: guitar, drums and pipes, bringing out an atmospheric psychedelic result. This multi-winds choir, beautifully surrounded with electric guitar, drums and percussion, provides a very special and original sound. Klever is the synthesis of post-rock with experiments on the folkmusic field, plus the sparks of absolutely paranormal sounds, but always leading back to a rhythmic groove. Live concerts draw maximum attention from the very start and their intensive performance provides a breathtaking, hypnotic experience. More ..

VELMA does not content itself with usual live musical performances. The band has developed an original form of musical performance which runs decidedly against the codes of mainstream live music. Velma's music is cuddled with loops, haunted by samples or playful sound effects, evokes instinctively Can at its peak. Poetry and liberty constitute the dominant features of a canvass of classical or electronic resounding samples working for elegant and refined melodies. Velma universe is quite different. Punk minded, arrogant, the Swiss combo plays thoughtful provocation. A first violent track followed by a four minutes silence serve as an appetiser for a concert marked by its singularity powerful and extravagant. More...

EU | elochnye igrushki - Ilya Baramiya and Alexandre Zaitsev duo from St-Petersburg, Russia. They are doing electronic music since 1997. Released six albums on local record labels and abroad (UK,Germany). Frequently performing in clubs of St-Petersburg and Moscow organizing concerts and festivals of electronic music. Took part in several European music festivals in London, Berlin, Antwerp. Also played gigs in Bristol, Glasgow, Birmingham, Cambridge. In collaborations with different record labels we did a few compilations of Russian electronic music (like »RU.Electronic« parts 1 and 2 released by London based Lo rec. label; and »out to city« p.2 & 3 on local Cheburec label). Collaborating with different vocalists and poets. Another our projects (well-known in Russia) are 2h Company - (rap-poetry with electronic music), and EU & Stas Baretsky - experimental electronica with Russian chanson. More...

SILENCE KIT (Moscow) revolutionized Russian indie rock and captured critical attention by intertwining elements of a variety music genres from the past two decades including kraut-rock, noise-rock, avant-garde, classical minimalism, psychedelic, ambient and space music. "Silence Kit is the key to a world of mystery, passion, intrigue and musical muscle all this Moscow band's very own." More...

SKAZY LESA (St.Petersburg) Bewitching "forest chanson" with their "three-pack-a-day" voices and Andrey Figa's spacious accordion, bagpipes, fiddle, all kinds of flutes, double-bass and a special drum. More