Tag: Russian music

Otava Yo: What Are Those for Songs!

February 1, 2016

Just as Greenwich Village nurtured the American folk revival in the Sixties, so is St. Petersburg, Russia’s cultural center, the stage for a back-to-the-village folk group whose members dress like peasants and play like virtuosos. Founded by Alexey Belkin, Dmitry Shikhardin and Alexey Skosyrev in 2004, Otava Yo (Отава ё)—now five men and one woman—are known for witty banter, tight harmony and a musical palette of psaltery, fiddles … More Otava Yo: What Are Those for Songs!

Akvarium & Boris Grebenshchikov: Greatest Hits

September 21, 2015

The history of Russian rock music could fill volumes, but much of it can be summed up in a single word: Akvarium (Aquarium). Launched in 1972 by Boris Grebenshchikov and friends, the band—unapproved by Soviet culture authorities—initially played in apartments, recorded albums on homemade tapes and sometimes hitched rides to distant gigs on freight trains. As the Soviet Union and Russia … More Akvarium & Boris Grebenshchikov: Greatest Hits