Music
Anyone who wants to present Russian music cannot ignore Zemfira. Popular and mainstream – millions of records sold – but also distinctly idiosyncratic. The music is usually accessible (we categorize it under Pop), but the attitude is rock.
Raw Anti-Putin punk from
Nizhny Novgorod /
Нижний Новгород. Loosely based on ‘Maggie’ by The Exploited.
The Retuses 3x
Music
From the green city of
Zelenograd /
Зеленоград. Dreamy indie-folk with a melancholic undertone. Created by
Mikhail Rodionov (1992).
The alarm blares (Ревёт тревога), the road awaits (ждёт дорога). They are many (Их немало), we are few (нас немного). We are in an unjust world (Мы в несправедливом мире) tin wolves in the shooting range (Жестяные волки в тире).
Offret 3x
Music
The word offret is Swedish and means ‘sacrifice’; the band Offret is Russian and makes heavy music. The link between the word and the band: a
1986 film in Swedish by the Russian Andrei Tarkovsky.
До свиданья, дорогая!
Music
A band from Saint Petersburg that makes a kind of post-punk/indie-pop. Not for long yet, so not much material yet. However, they already have a few very successful tracks with original music videos. До свиданья, дорогая is the
Russian title for the film
The Goodbye Girl (1977), but it has nothing to do with it.
Manizha 3x
Music
With
Russian Woman, Russia is sending singer
Manizha (=
Манижа Сангин, 1991) to the
Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam (May 18-22). A song with a message, though not everyone is happy with it.
Йорш (Yorsh) 3x
Music
We are punk rock, our life is scars, the state is the main enemy: Йорш (or Yorsh) in three parts, from 2010 to 2020. Ёрш is
beer with vodka and the old name. Punk from
Podolsk (=
Подольск), since 2006.
25/17 3x
Music
Pop (or light rap) that you can hear 24/7. Figuratively speaking, of course. Formerly (until 2009) known as Иезекииль 25:17 – named after the Bible verse in
Ezekiel (=
Иезекииль), best known for being recited by
Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction (1994).
Three from Дурной Вкус (Durnoy Vkus), which means bad taste (see
synonyms,
Reverso, and
Akademik). It is also the
Russian title of
Bad Taste (1987), the debut film by
Peter Jackson. A band from Saint Petersburg, the music is tasty, but a bit on the cold side.
Seven
deadly sins – ingrained in human nature, a classic theme in art. From
Jheronimus Bosch (or maybe
not) to
Jan Smit (definitely not). In the vast space between the two, the searching soul may find Gospod. Священный металл, holy metal – it would be a sin not to pass on such a discovery.
In the past, Владимир Золотухин (Vladimir Zolotukhin, 1990) sang and played in
Cardio Beat, which even participated in
X Factor (2015). But he performs best alone (now under the name
Zoloto since then). And the more limited the resources you give him, the better the work he returns with.
From now on, call it
Belarus or just keep saying White Russia – most Belarusians currently won’t care much about how their country is called in some faraway land. One day, it will be freed from
Lukashenko, but it’s still tied to Russia, both geographically and linguistically.
Shokalsky Revenge
Music
They say it takes two to tango, but you can rock just as well with two. Everyone knows this since White Stripes, Black Keys,
Black Diamond Heavies, etc. This band is in the same vein, but rocks по-русски (in Russian): Shokalsky Revenge from Saint Petersburg.
Den from Denis, last name Burasnikov, and this Денис Бурашников (1988) does his thing as DenDerty. From
Yoshkar-Ola (=
Йошкар-Ола), a place you’ve probably never heard of, just like DenDerty. But hear this (and experience the opener).
Finding or meeting love (с любовью встретиться) is a difficult problem (проблема трудная). The planet spins round and round (планета вертится круглая, круглая) and flies into the distance (летит вдаль) through the clamor of days (сквозь суматоху дней).
This shoots like an arrow from a bow and sounds fiery. Гореть красиво (Burn beautifully) by Стрела (arrow) or Strela, from
Lobnya, since 2017. Music that energizes, but with words that may do something else. Take a look.
Sasha Moskalets (feminist and badass according to her own
Instagram) used to sing in
Sewage Sour and now performs under the name ЛЮТИК (or LYUTIK), which means Buttercup. She was also a model, as shown and described by
Reykjavikboulevard (2013), and at some point, she needed (or used to need) something to drink on time.
Everyone hates someone – but discrimination is illegal and out of date. Here’s a solution from Грязь or Gryaz: hate them all, in general. Я ненавижу людей: I hate people – including yourself by definition.
Marijuana and mushrooms with a mind-altering effect are the spices in Наш Хип-Хоп (Our Hip-Hop), and not everyone can handle them well. Someone once said you shouldn’t take one on an empty stomach, but the other might just work. Our hip-hop today always fits in, especially with the bass not too low.
“Band biographies are usually boring to ugly, and after reading them, you feel sorry for the writer, so we’ll try to keep it short.” This is how the bio of Skverna, a power trio with songs about про котов, партизан и всяческую сумятицу – cats, partisans, and all kinds of confusion – begins on their
VK page.
Misery from
Smolensk (=
Смоленск) on the
Dnieper River. At least, that’s where Горемыка (Goremyka) comes from, a name meaning something like a wretch or failure (see
Академик,
поискслов,
Wiktionary). Dark language or страшные звуки (scary sounds) are no surprise then, but it’s all на русском (in Russian), and that works well here.
About leaving and being certain. Не найти в доме дома: no home found in the house. Лучше пусти меня: better to let me go. And что там не ждут меня, that they aren’t waiting for me there: это не беда – it doesn’t matter, no big deal.
The new year begins with “New Day” (Novyy den’), fully titled Новый день (наша Родина – Революция, ей единственной мы верны): The Revolution is our Motherland, and we are loyal to her alone.
телеэкран (Teleekran) 4x
Music
Trio from Saint Petersburg, active since 2017. ‘Noisepop/postpunk/lo-fi/rock/indie/pop/outsider music’ (
VK), and it’s just really good. See Kartaslov for the
meaning of the word «телеэкран», which tells you that a tele-ekran is a TV screen.
It wasn’t mentioned anywhere, and that probably won’t happen again. But for this one time: the R1 editorial team is a fan of WLVS – short for Wolves (dating back to their English-language early days), though friends like to joke and call them Walrus. (A normal introduction to the band can be found
here.)
Two by Marina Tsvetaeva, one by Joseph Brodsky, one by Nikolai Gumilyov. Four poems sung the way more should be sung. By
Polina Agureeva (=
Полина Агуреева, Volgograd, 1976). First and foremost an actress, but listen to this.
As little as there is to be found about Окружающий Мир (The World Around), there’s just as little to report. Virtually nothing. And there wasn’t much to choose from either. It was Танцуй со мной (Dance with me) or nothing. Well then.
ПОРТ(812) 3x + Маррадёры
Music
Yet another punk rock band that’s been around for a long time. Founded in the previous century (1999), you’d think ПОРТ(812) would be nearing its expiration date by now. But judging by their latest album, ПОРТ(812) is still fresh and energetic—and punk is far from dead.
It’s often about photographs in Последний кадр (last frame, shot). And about the memories you see again, after a long time. И только эти фотографии напоминают о том, and only these photos remind you что когда-то всё было так здорово, that once, everything was great.
Anacondaz 4x
Music
Электрофорез 3x
Music
Ivan Kurochkin and Vitaly Talyzin (from St. Petersburg) make up Electroforez. Sometimes spelled with a “k,” which is closer to the Russian spelling but further from English. In both their music and actual
electrophoresis, much happens on its own, requiring few people.
A crossbreed between The Stooges’
I Wanna Be Your Dog (1969) and Anton Chekhov’s
The Lady with the Dog (1899). A bit of rock ’n’ roll and a bit of sophistication. Хочу погладить твою корги: I want to pet your corgi.
Slava KPSS (Слава КПСС) = Vyacheslav Mashnov, born in 1990 and from the rather far east,
Kharabovsk or
Хабаровск. Turned as a rapper—also under the name Sonya Marmeladova, a
character from
Crime and Punishment, and under the nickname Гнойный (Gnoiny), meaning something like festering—with a diss aimed at many.
In Russia too, smoking has been heavily restricted. In many places, smoking is prohibited, and not everyone struggles with that. But in music, the cigarette has never left, and smoking has harmed no one. Without filters or warnings: these are Russian songs about tobacco to inhale deeply.
Brace yourself for something that looks a bit friendlier than it sounds: Vuara from
Petrozavodsk or
Петрозаводск (Karelia). Their self-description (on Bandcamp) reads more like a warning: “A clot of dark and chaotic sound straight from the belly of Karelian swamps, escaping from the throat with a cry of socio-political longing.”
Several things about Киви кошелёк (2019) by Хадн дадн are small or modest. Starting from the very first words. Я переведу 900 рублей: I will transfer 900 rubles – 9 euros 88 at today’s exchange rate. На киви кошелёк: to the payment service (кошелёк means wallet) of
Qiwi.
Louna 3x
Music
Lousine Gevorkyan (1983) has already made an appearance with
Тараканы!, but outside of such collaborations, she is the lead singer of her own project, Louna. Rock from Moscow (since 2008) with an occasional message: ‘The band is best known for its socially conscious songs criticizing Russian political elites’ (
Wikipedia).
Certainly no friend of Russia, this gentleman. Quite the opposite, in fact. Timur Mutsurayev hails from
Chechnya (Grozny, 1976), and advocates for Chechen independence – which quickly makes him an enemy.
Кот Балу (Kot Balu) doesn’t come from Russia but from neighboring
Kazakhstan. Lyrics in Russian, with a touch of something exotic in the music. Слова слова (2011) is great for your vocabulary, as it delivers what the title promises.
Дайте танк 3x
Music
Pop with an artistic edge. Accessible yet original. Дайте танк (Give Tank), officially spelled with an exclamation mark in parentheses, describes their style as Гаражный рок для танцоров-интровертов, скучающих по русскому языку, Garage rock for introverted dancers who miss the Russian language. A small but special target audience.
Punk is often socially engaged, but the nature of that engagement can vary. Индульгенция (Indulgencia) might step on the toes of many punks with Феминистка (Feminist, 2014). Their stance comes from values unusual in the genre, namely Christian ones – and that might be the most punk thing of all.
A well-thought-out composition, but Hanna’s mind wasn’t on it. Hanna (or Ханна) has lost her голова (head), turning it into голову. To a ты (you), the самая сильная слабость, strongest weakness, and самая дикая сладость, wildest sweetness. Then this came out, and it all fit perfectly.
A trio from Minsk, Belarus. Where lately a lot of bad news has been coming from – and music that also doesn’t always sound cheerful. Still, Molchat Doma (Молчат Дома, Silent Houses) is worth a listen. Especially if you’re a fan of new or 80’s wave (now called postpunk or coldwave), and if you could appreciate
Ploho.
From the film
Два бойца (Two Soldiers, 1943).
Mark Bernes (1911-1969) with a guitar, between two battles.
Тёмная ночь, Dark night. Только пули свистят по степи, Only bullets whistle across the steppe. Только ветер гудит в проводах, Only the wind hums through the wires, Тускло звезды мерцают, Dimly the stars flicker.
Oleg Gazmanov (= Олег Газманов, 1951) loves Russia and doesn’t hide it. This makes him both friends and enemies, but that won’t stop Oleg Gazmanov. Чем выше давление, the higher the pressure, тем крепче бетон, the stronger the concrete.
When it comes to
Monetochka (translated as Little Coin), the conversation quickly turns to her voice. Elizaveta Gyrdymova’s (Yekaterinburg, 1988) voice is on the higher side. Not everyone is fond of it, while others love it.
Meet Monetochka, the popstar fast becoming the face of young Russia (Russia Beyond, 2018).
Russian reggae? Yes, it exists. Some might already know this (or still) thanks to
Nina Hagen (lyrics:
In the Soviet Union, we celebrate reunion), but for many, this may come as a surprise. Reggae is often associated with sunshine and summer, and Russia is not Jamaica.
Казускома 4x
Music
Good music in the spectrum where Казускома (Kazuscoma) operates is not easy to find in Russian. This trio from Moscow is a discovery worth sharing with great pleasure. Call it hard rock, blues rock, seventies, or stoner—this is rock that doesn’t care about names. Denim jackets and long hair, Flying V (or Gibson SG) guitars, and Marshall amps make the party complete.
Надежда Кадышева (1959), a cross between Dolly Parton and the Zangeres zonder Naam. See that photo on Wikipedia,
English or
Russian; more bio and portrait on
24 СМИ and
Узнай всё. She hails from
Tatarstan or
Tatarstan, and was lucky enough to
pose for a picture with Putin. Here, she sings about nights, likely with someone else.
Yanka Dyagileva
Music
Yanka Dyagileva (Янка Дягилева), also known simply as Yanka, originally Яна and musically associated with Янка и Великие Октябри (“Yanka and the Great Octobers”), was born (in Novosibirsk) in 1966 and died (in 1991) at the age of 24. Allegedly by her own hand, though the official version states утопление в результате несчастного случая – drowning as a result of an accident.
After some introductory skirmishes, this story opens with a drum roll in the very first sentence. Twenty brave boys hurry off to war (двадцать бравых ребят на войну спешат), and you’re right there with them. Brief description:
prikaz on their chest, and before that, a machine gun (а в груди у них приказ на груди автомат).
Supruga (Супруга) 3x
Music
Artyom Tyganov, Dmitriy Avargin, Ksenia Kundenko, and Pavel Molov – a quartet from Samara (from the Dark Zhiguli Region). Like
WLVS, also musically in the same regions. But Supruga (usually) does it with a female singer, though you might think otherwise if you just listen and don’t watch. Супруга = wife, in the sense of spouse (see
Reverso). Must be a stormy marriage.
Lucidvox 3x
Music
Lucidvox (from Moscow) self-describes (on
VK) as ‘psyched-out krautpunk, noisepop / lucidcore’. No men involved; four women – Anna, Alina, Galla, and Nadezhda – do the work. You may have seen them before. Lucidvox crosses borders more often than the average Russian band, even making it to our country.
Луна (Luna) 3x
Music
Not to be confused with the
Korean or
Bulgarian Luna, nor with
Louna from Moscow, or
Luna the Spanish flamenco singer from Overloon. All the light on the Ukrainian
Kristina Viktorovna Gerasimova (1990), from Kyiv but born in Dresden (East Germany), and as Luna/Луна sings in Russian.
Ploho 3x
Music
Surely many good things come from
Novosibirsk. Although, for example, vlogger Varlamov is not very positive about some parts of it. Novosibirsk is for the sad ones (
для грустных), in Novosibirsk is hell (
ад в Новосибирске). From that city also comes Ploho, the Anglicized spelling of плохо, which means bad. Only the word, not the band. The band may sound cold to some, but it’s certainly not plócha.
The summer of 2019 in Russia (like 2020) was very turbulent. Journalist
Ivan Golunov was arrested and (after much uproar) released again, opposition candidates were denied entry into the
Moscow City Duma elections (on September 8), and protests broke out. Volodya Kotlyarov, lead singer of PornoFilms (Порнофильмы), picked up his guitar and sang.
Тараканы! 3x
Music
Believe it or not (check it on
Google), but тараканы means cockroaches. The band originally called themselves Четыре таракана (four cockroaches), with singer Yuri Lenin. Now, they are
Тараканы! (or Tarakany, with an exclamation mark), led by Dmitry Spirin. Punk rockers (from Moscow) since 1991. Like cockroaches, they’re tough to kill.
Captain hates the sea, that’s how the band name translates. Kapitan Nenavidet Morje. A band from Череповец or
Cherepovets, with more info via the links below. Starting with a suggestion to stop smiling, and that sounds good.
Герой нашего времени (Hero of Our Time) is a novel (from 1840) by
Mikhail Lermontov, but you probably already knew that, and if not, check
Wikipedia. If you change the й to и, you turn the hero into heroes (an explanation of plurals in the nominative case can be found
here), and we’re right where we need to be: with the song (from 2018) with a striking video by НАИВ (or NAIV, Naïve).
Dora, or Дора, also known as mentaldora, actually Дарья Шиханова, comes from Саратов (
Saratov) and was born in 1999. A young twentysomething, but presents herself as even younger. She describes her music as ‘cute rock,’ and that probably has something to do with it.
Korsika – Rage
Music
Ярость means rage. It is not only dangerous for the one it is directed at, but also for the one consumed by it. Because it grips you by the throat (держит тебя за горло), not a drop of oxygen (ни капли кислорода), chances of escape are close to zero (шансы уйти под ноль). The grip of rage is painful (держит тебя так больно), thoughts taste like blood (мысли со вкусом крови) and no, this is not a movie (нет, это не кино).
Convince – Religion
Music
Being convinced of one thing, swearing by another, with religion you can go in any direction. The guys from ‘Venomous d-beat crust hardcore beast’ Convince (Moscow) are convinced that it all means nothing. To say the least. Their Религия (Religion) is more anti-religion.
Sabi Miss (Сабина Ахмедова,
Rostov-on-Don 1999) is going to put her phone on silent mode. And strongly advises, if it’s still necessary: don’t call me (не звони мне) and don’t write me (не пиши мне), all directed at a сука (a rather impolite term). Not very flattering, but it does rhyme with без звука (without sound). Поставлю трубку на режим «Без звука»: I’m putting my phone on silent mode.
Дельфин 3x
Music
A Russian problem is a проблема. The plural is проблемы – problems usually don’t come alone. Pharaoh (or Фараон, meaning pharaoh) and The Chemodan Clan are dealing with them too.
Misery. At least for those who don’t like winters and Mondays. Каждый день зима: every day is winter. Каждый день понедельник: every day is Monday. That’s how время без тебя (time without you) is, and оно меня убивает (it’s killing me).
Russian Corona Song
Music
The corona song in the Netherlands was not a success, to put it mildly. Let’s not waste more words on it. If you’re curious, you can listen to
Peter Pannekoek again. How can you
be cynical about contributing to good causes? In this case, how could you not.
A poem by
Mikhail Lermontov (
Михаил Лермонтов), written long ago (1841), shortly before his life came to an end. It was set to music by
Elizaveta Shashina in 1861 and has since been performed by many.
The sparks fly in Искры летят от огня (2017) by Truckdrivers. Искры means sparks, летят means fly, and от огня means from the fire. It nicely rhymes with мы покидаем дома (we leave home) and так умирает зима (so winter dies).
Vadim Kurilev – Harakiri
Music
Face 3x
Music
A whole portrait in a few headlines.
Meet Russia’s most controversial rap star – Dazed (2018) introduces rapper Face (sometimes Фэйс). Another notable headline is
‘I Am the Enemy of the State’: Russian Rapper Compares Russia to Prison Camp – The Moscow Times (2018). Despite this, he was named (by the Financial Times) as one of
The Russian rappers Vladimir Putin wants to befriend. That might be difficult.
Lemonday – I Sniff
Music
A female duo (Zhenya Il and Yulia Nakaryakova) plus a drummer from Saint Petersburg. Лемондэй (or Lemonday) disbanded in 2015. Fortunately, they left behind this gem from 2013.
Нюхаю = I smell, or I sniff, I snuff. From the verb
нюхать.
Murakami 3x
Music
Murakami is, of course, a Japanese writer, but also (as Мураками) a Russian band (from
Kazan). Named after the writer, as noted by
Popkult (2016). Pop rock with a female vocalist (Dilyara Vagapova /
Диляра Вагапова), loved by everyone.
MViPD – How Sweet I Am
Music
Humility may be a virtue, but sometimes an anti-humility song can be fun. Какой же я милый (How sweet I am, 2015) offers a whole list of compliments to the self, all in just under a minute.
Sonic Death – Space Ark
Music
The band name looks just as Russian as the song title – but both are as **русский** (Russian) as the Red Square or the Kalashnikov. Listen to the song, see the [lyrics](https://genius.com/Sonic-death-space-ark-lyrics). You’ll learn that it could also (or better) have been titled **космический ковчег**. The first word is cosmic, and a **ковчег** (*kaftyek*) is an ark.
A bitter farewell from someone who’s not feeling very well. Directed at the other person.
Пока ты живёшь дальше,
Я утопаю в говне.
Прости за всё и пожалуйста,
Никогда не скучай по мне.
Я утопаю в говне.
Прости за всё и пожалуйста,
Никогда не скучай по мне.
Несогласие (Saint Petersburg) translates to
disagreement. Linguistically related to
соглашаться / согласиться (the verbs for agreeing, being in agreement); also, the word for consonant (согласная) is easy to recognize in the band name. You could even call it Counter-Consonant.
This is America by Childish Gambino (
Donald Glover) in a Russian version and setting. That becomes Это Россия (This is Russia, 2018). By Юрий Хованский (
Yury Khovansky), also known as
MC Khovansky (1990).
Grechka – Picture
Music
About an unreachable goal or an unattainable desire. Something beautiful that will never be yours, or worse. As in this case with Гречка (or Grechka), which means buckwheat. Maybe that’s why she can’t achieve it.
Pasosh – Stop, Max
Music
Останови is the imperative form (informal) meaning stop. Addressed to Макс (= Max), who is behind the wheel of a машина (car). The trip isn’t going very well. Я уже близок к тому, чтобы сомкнуть руки на твоей шее: I’m close to putting my hands around your neck. Мне кажется, эта машина везёт нас ко дну – it seems this car is taking us to the bottom.
A trio from Samara with a simple lineup: guitar, bass, drums. Music that goes straight ahead with force. Bassist Max Smirnov sings along. They used to sing in English (
The Last Gang in Town, 2013), but since
Человек человеку волк (2015), it’s been in Russian, and thank goodness for that.
‘Pornofilms’ doesn’t exactly sound like a name that would easily conquer the world. But for the members of Порнофильмы (Pornofilmy), it seemed like a good idea—or perhaps the band name was just punk enough.
Serebro 3x
Music
Girl group with a changing lineup. In Russian, the name is Серебро, but the spelling in Latin letters is common. It means silver. From
Wikipedia: “a Russian trio that placed third at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song Song #1.”
Kizaru 3x
Music
You might not know much about Kizaru. Then read a
Russian-language bio and also see
punch-line.ru. The question Что ты знаешь обо мне (what do you know about me) is answered by Kizaru himself. Ты ничего не знаешь обо мне, you know nothing about me.
Komsomolsk 3x
Music
Азбука = abc, плохой = bad, and вкус = taste. It becomes плохого and вкуса due to the genitive case. Eyes closed, tongue bitten (глаза закрыты, язык прикусан), this is the ABC of bad taste.
Smeh 3x
Music
Keep watching me from the side constantly (Постоянно косо смотришь на меня) and be careful not to break your neck (Постарайся себе шею не сломать). That’s how Мозг мне не еби by Смех (or Smex or Smeh) begins. It’s something like “don’t mess with my head.”
Слот – Russian Soul
Music
Where people elsewhere talk about the heart (in the heart, from the heart, etc.), in Russia, you would more likely speak of the soul (душа). Русская душа is the famous Russian soul. One of the characteristics presented by Слот (or Slot): Сначала сделаем, а думать будем потом: first, act, then think. Живём один раз, а после нас хоть потоп: we live once, and after us, let the flood come.
Heavy and dark. Начало (The Beginning), 2016. From the album of the same name, featuring Max Smirnov from
WLVS.
Kerry Force 3x
Music
These days, Karina Novotutova (1991) mostly posts pictures of her kids on
VK, but in a previous life, she was a rapper. And not a bad one either. With a great flow and attitude. In 2015, Kerry Force (or Карина Форс) released a “Best of” album with 14 tracks (
Spotify) and then disappeared from the scene.
Чёрная Речка – Monster
Music
Besides the never-to-be-surpassed
hardbass version, see
Adidas), there is also a Три полоски (tri paloski) by Animal ДжаZ (Animal Jazz). From Saint Petersburg, check out the (English-language)
Wikipedia and
song lyrics. From 2009, and still holds up.
Grivina 3x
Music
Grivina (also known as Dasha Grivina) comes from
Abakan, located in Southeast Siberia. She is still young (born in 2000) but has come a long way. Her music (like her lyrics) isn’t highly sophisticated, but that’s not a requirement in this genre. 222K followers on
Instagram; Grivina has come from afar and is going even further.
Guf 3x
Music
Гуф (or Guf), formerly Rolexx and born as Aleksei Dolmatov (Алексей Долматов), was born in 1979 and, like Slim, comes from Centr. He has a reputation as a guy who occasionally runs into problems. For more information, you can visit
Wikipedia or check out
Гуф – о героине, разводе и новой жизни (Guf on heroin, divorce, and a new life, 2017).
Зануда 3x
Music
A Зануда is someone who’s a downer or a bore. The rapper Зануда (Zanuda) was born (in 1981) as David Nuriyev (Давид Нуриев) in
Baku (Azerbaijan), but moved to Moscow at age nine. He was part of Centr and also goes by Птаха (Ptaha).
Каспийский Груз 3x
Music
Каспийский = Caspian; Груз = cargo or load, also meaning goods or a burden.
Каспийский Груз comes from
Azerbaijan (which borders the Caspian Sea) but sings in Russian, and that’s all that matters.
Би-2 – Hipster
Music
Against hipsters, that’s Хипстер (= hipster) by
Би-2. Whether the lyrics start with Болью хипстер (tormented hipster) as
here is claimed (with a translation that’s not entirely correct), or with мой милый хипстер (my dear hipster) as seen
here and in many other places, he gets the short end of the stick.
Me and your cat warm your bed, don’t sleep without us, and don’t run away from us – that’s what Я и твой кот/ греем твою кровать/ без нас не уснуть/ от нас не сбежать says (roughly). Furthermore, the chorus mentions that when she went to sleep (когда она ложилась спать), he chased her in her dreams (он догонял её во снах) – the ‘he’ being a young man with a flower (красивый юноша с цветком), so it could be worse.
Centr 3x
Music
Rap is (or was) popular in Russia. Центр (tsentr) or Centr is one of the pioneers of modern rap. It began in Moscow in 2004, founded by Rolexx (now known as Гуф or Guf) and the Princip – see more on
Wikipedia.
Slim – Recently
Music
Slim, or Slimus (Moscow 1981), comes from Centr. From his EP Место под луной (A Place Under the Moon, 2018), Намедни means something like: recently, lately. Slim gives his take, and the visuals are equally striking.
Amatory – First
Music
Not all beginnings are difficult. Первый (pjervie) means ‘first’, and the first words you hear are Попадая в мою кровь. Freely translated: creeping into my blood. You can see in the clip what can creep into a man’s кровь (blood).
