Music always reflected feelings, emotions and also the background of those who produce it. In some way, the listener can grasp the place a band or a singer or a musician comes from. For instance, the Russian and Belarus music is unmistakable. In particular, the music belongs to the post-punk, new-wave or synth-pop genre.
The sonorities are like the reflections of different cultures: Eastern Europe culture.
In Russia and CIS, genres like post-punk have found their right place in the scenario of Russian music over the years and are really appreciated by young people and keen listeners.
The influences a person can catch when listening to Russian post-punk derive from the Russian sonorities of the ’80s but also from the Britain post-punk bands such as Joy Division.
Anyway, this genre is taking hold more and more and maybe – in some years – Russian and CIS groups will establish themselves properly in the rest of the world as well.
Molčat Doma (Молчат Дома)
Molčat Doma is a band from Minsk, Belarus. The group belongs to the musical wave of post-punk. It was formed in 2017 so it is a new band in the Russian and CIS music scenario, but it gained a lot of success between young people nevertheless. Their second album “Etaži” (in Russian Этажи), was released in 2018 and it sold out repeatedly because people loved it. The group is made up of three members – Egor Škutko (voice), Roman Komogorcev (guitar, synth, drum) and Pavel Kozlov (bass, synth). The sonorities of Molčat Doma are really recognisable: they have that pinch of dark sound that mixes together Egor’s unique voice of. Thanks to their song “Sudno”, Molčat Doma have a lot of success also on TikTok.
Ploho (Плохо)
Ploho is a Russian post-punk band who was born formed in 2013 in Novosibirsk, Russia.
In their songs, the group tells about past times – how was growing up in Russia during the ’90s. Actually, if you listen to their songs you will realise that the sonorities are really dark and it’s okay because they are part of the genre but despite that the sense of concern is really concrete. Ploho is a very productive band: since their formation they released five albums, not to mention all the singles they edited over the years. In the song called “По краю острова” they collaborated with Molčat Doma. I think the result is amazing – the bass combined with the voice give to the song that bittersweet flavour.
Buerak (Буерак)
Buerak is another post-punk band that was formed in Novosibirsk, Russia. Actually, we can even call them also “a duo” because the musicians are Artyom Cherepanov and Alexandr Makeyev. They started the “Buerak project” in 2014 and since then they published five studio albums and gained a lot of success in Russia and CIS. In addition, they edited many singles and they are one of the most important groups in the Russian post-punk music scenario. According to the Russian magazine “Afisha”, Buerak is one of the main groups of the new Russian wave.
Nürnberg is a post-punk duo from Minsk, Belarus. They produce songs that remind of the sonorities of the music during the ’80s – they’re rich in synth and “fake drums”. The song “Valasy” is a very clear example. Even in the case of Nürnberg, the melodies are a mix of bittersweet sensations that take the listener back in time. In its music, the duo touches upon topics such as the post-soviet cities depression, existentialism or social problems. Since their formation in 2018, they published two albums and different singles.
Last but not least is the post-punk band from Moscow, Human Tetris. The group, that can be put in the scenario of alternative genre as well, was formed in 2008 and has been very productive ever since. Actually, they only published two albums but they gained a lot of success in Europe and also in Italy where they will perform next November. Differently from the groups mentioned before, Human Tetris write and sing in English and not in Russian. However, the dark sonorities are very recognisable and in their songs the bass and the synth prevail.
Russian and CIS music is gradually taking off in the music panorama, but is not that popular in the Western countries maybe due to the fact that Russian is not as immediate as English. However, I believe that over the next few years we will hear about these amazing groups.
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