Photo: Igor Mukhin
Country
Since the age of sixteen, Игорь Мухин (1961) has been taking photographs. Armed with a
Смена-8М camera, he started his journey. So, when he found himself among artists and musicians in the 1980s, he already had a trained eye – and a better camera. Mukhin (sometimes Moukhin) witnessed major changes and began documenting them.
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).
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.
“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.
Buildings you know from sight but don’t know the official name of. If this were a competition, this one would win: the Pokrov or
St. Basil’s Cathedral on Red Square in Moscow, consecrated in 1561, better known as the
Cathedral of the Intercession of the Mother of God on the Moat.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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).
Davie504 in Moscow
Country
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.
Heavy and dark. Начало (The Beginning), 2016. From the album of the same name, featuring Max Smirnov from
WLVS.
