9 new Russian musicians to listen to in 2019

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

A selection of young and nimble performers, whose compositions are distinguished by clever lyrics and non-trivial arrangements.

1. Khadn Dudn

"Khadn Dadn" is a Moscow trio performing songs in the mysterious meta genre "Liaoakyn", which the group itself invented. "Liao" characterizes ethnic motives in music, and "akyn" - the knowledge of the world through personal experience.

Varya Kraminova, the vocalist, initially recorded songs at home on a synthesizer. However, she later found a drummer and guitarist and the band formed. Last year, Khadn Dudn presented The Secret Album in two parts, after which the band took the Young Blood Grand Prix of the Russian Jagermeister Indie Awards and gathered the full Moscow 16 Ton club for a solo performance.

The presence of their bright style attracts in their work: all their songs are lively, with complex plots and folklore inserts. They are easy to remember and can be dedicated to anything from a QIWI wallet and, for example, pillowcases, to hometown. The mood of the songs also often changes - from hysterical fun to real Russian melancholy. At the same time, everything together fits into pop music, which is simple by ear.

Aleksey Rybnikov and Soviet musicals like Little Red Riding Hood, Zhanna Rozhdestvenskaya with a high-pitched glass voice and poets of the Silver Age have definitely left a considerable imprint on the work of the vocalist "Khadn Dudn". Varya herself appears before the audience in the form of an innocent Russian girl, whose texts are filled with hypertrophied witty images.

On March 22, the group is planning a big solo concert, at which "Khadn Dadn" will present the album "Liaoakyn".

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2. Looney Ana

Luni Ana is a solo project by young Ani Lunina from Smolensk. Anya makes pop music with airy vocals to minimalistic synthesizers. Many of her songs are dedicated to love. And "Stained Glass", which was released in 2018, shot against the background of the rest of the lo-fi albums of the Russian scene, gaining almost 5,000 likes on its official VKontakte page alone.

All songs from the debut album were recorded by Anya at home using a synthesizer and a computer. Her room means a lot to the young performer, and it is there that she experiences moments of inspiration. Like Anya herself: "Smolensk is crowded and cramped, only at home can I unload and be alone."

Looney Ana's work is an example of touching female bedroom pop music inspired by The Smiths. The girl, like the vocalist of this group, Stephen Morrissey, writes songs about the lives of ordinary people with ordinary problems and feelings.

The performer, despite her low popularity, has already been announced in the list of artists of the summer festival "Pain" - one of the most notable and relevant musical events in the country at the moment.

Go to the community "Looney Ana" "VKontakte" →

3. In a volley

Zalpom is a Moscow orchestra, which, in addition to the usual guitars and drums, includes trumpets, violins and an accordion. The collective mixes Soviet melodies, chanson tunes, gypsy and jazz together, without adapting to a specific genre.

The name perfectly conveys the mood of the group: they do not just play, but bomb, arranging whole performances. iTunes defines their genre as Russian music, and in the recommendation it gives them to Alexander Pakhmutova and Philip Kirkorov.

“Zalpom” can be called an art group, because each of their concerts is an enchanting costume show that takes place in places that are not quite usual for performances. For example, the video shows a concert in the "Violet" cafe, stylized as a Soviet interior.

Some of the members of the group are students of the Moscow Art Theater School, which undoubtedly helps them organize concerts that resemble theatrical musical performances. Having declared themselves last year, "Zalpom" gave concerts at many venues in the capital, went to Altai with a performance, and also played at the "Pain" festival.

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4. Shame

"Shame" is a Tomsk punk group headed by vocalist Lena Kuznetsova, whose fame was brought about by participation in the ironic female group "Vkhora". Most recently, the keyboardist and vocalist of this group moved to Moscow. However, Lena was not taken aback - she took and created a lively, almost hardcore group with man-hating lyrics.

At the end of last year, the group presented a mini-album "Maiden Grief" with evil songs and titles like "A crowd of f **** x men" and "Fashion Holocaust". Such zealous rock with girlish vocals is rare on our stage. Maybe this is partly why the media immediately started talking about "Shame". And not only musical ones. They are ranked among the feminist movement, although the group itself disowns such a framework.

According to Lena, the main thing for her is to speak truthfully. And at concerts - to release your emotions, even sharply and aggressively. It is the freedom of expression and animal passion that attracts in their songs - one feels that there is no falsity here.

"Shame" can take the niche of the main daring young punk band with female vocals, which does not hide their emotions, even shameful ones, and shares them with the audience.

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5. Old age

"Starost" is a Moscow project of psychoactivist Sasha Starosta and musician Stas Gorev. When you first listen to their songs, you can immediately rank them as pop music. But it's not that simple.

Last year the group presented the album "New Time", which was recorded in collaboration with musician Phil Ginzburg, also known for the "LAVA" project. An interesting fact: it contains the composition "Just Du It", which, because of the phrase "Let's do it quickly, but only beautifully," many perceive as a song about sex.

However, in fact, it was written under the impression of the action of the American Heavenly Gate sect. Its members expected that all of them would one day be taken away by Jesus in a spaceship. And in the late 90s, they committed mass suicide when they learned that a comet was flying to Earth, taking it as a sign.

During live performances, Sasha is not ashamed of her emotions: she furiously clenches the microphone in her fists, hits the wall behind her and screams heart-rendingly, on her knees. Sasha has gone through numerous hospitalizations in psychiatric clinics and is not shy about talking about it. On the contrary, she has built her own psychoactivist community and puts her experience into music - sharp and passionate, with equally passionate performances.

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6. Space on the ceiling

Cosmos on the Ceiling is a new group on the Moscow stage. It is headed by the young vocalist Victoria Frolova. In the fall of last year, the group presented their first album - an art-pop disc "Ice Lemonades" with a child's drawing of the vocalist on the cover. After the release of the album, Apple Music immediately added the guys to the selection of new interesting Russian music.

The members are inspired by The Cure and Soko, and the result is kind and somewhat childish songs filled with bright images and honest lyrics.

Victoria Frolova's lyrics are very individualistic. The songs are written in their own, in some places invented language, and the texts contain memories from life, small details and features of people met on its way.

The group, although it is at the beginning of its creative path, actively performs at various venues in the capital. Their song "Concentrate", written by March 8th, was included in the playlist of "Russian girls who create pop music for which one is not ashamed" on Yandex. Music.

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7. Super Collection Orchestra

Super Collection Orchestra is a St. Petersburg quartet performing songs, the style of which varies from composition to composition from minimalistic pop music to psychedelic rock. The members from the very beginning of their existence were in no hurry to release an album, but immediately came up with their own genre - freepop. It characterizes the way of life that the group lives. And instead of "Sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll" they created their own motto: "Love, dance and freepop".

Around the group, a base of "Frippovites" immediately formed, who wear their T-shirts and help them at concerts. Only their number has long surpassed the format of a flock of fans.

Live, the participants perform together with invited guests from other groups, they can sit not on the stage, but throughout the club, change instruments and find non-standard solutions for each concert.

Last year, SCO released the RED album under the direction of Ivan Dorn and his Masterskaya label. In their native Petersburg, at the presentation, the group gathered a jam-packed club "Mosaic", where all the visitors were dressed in red. And RED itself is only the first part of their "color series". In addition, the group is now preparing a Russian-language album and is gathering more and more people in the clubs of the two capitals.

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8. The second floor is amazing

"The second floor is amazing" - four young Moscow guys who started their activities with the mini-album "Protection", released in March 2018. It's hard to say exactly what genre the participants work in: there are influences from 80s new wave, modern pop music, and tropical indie rock. And in September last year, the group released its debut work "Someone somewhere", which the public "VKontakte" "Native Sound" dubbed the best album of the year.

the guys themselves, in the first place in their songs, is a lyrical hero who constantly asks himself questions and is in doubts. No answers - participants are afraid to cheat. This inner search turns into a musical experiment in finding one's own language.

The group refers the album to the self-proclaimed genre of "synth-indie-lo-fi". Sounds like a spell to avoid clear definition and boundaries.

If you try to compare them with someone, then "Second Floor" can be correlated with the British group Jungle, working in the genre of modern soul. However, in the compositions of the guys there is also a tinge of Russian 80s. Despite the very young years and the very start of a career, the songs of the group are musically verified and differ in high-quality sound, which is also a rarity for beginning Russian groups.

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9. Mirele

Mirele is a solo project of Eva Krause, already known for the project "We". Recently, the group finally disbanded, and with a big scandal. But Eva did not give up and launched a solo project. He continues the line of touching pop music, behind which is a fragile girl. And now she writes arrangements on her own. The full-fledged debut of the project took place with the release of the album "Lyubol".

Eva herself is a famous Instagram blogger. In her profile, she shares personal incidents and feelings with subscribers. Eva puts this very experience into her songs.

Mirele's work is kind of like a TV show for the younger generation. He is followed by thousands of fans, and her songs become as important to them as they are to Eve herself. With her project, the performer proved that she can exist alone and not lose in sound, although it has become more minimalistic.

At the beginning of the year, the performer gave her first solo concerts, performed on the same stage with Luna, and released several videos. Her next concert should take place in April.

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