Popular Music and Society on Popular Music in the Post-Soviet Space

A happy summer announcement: The journal "Popular Music and Society" (32:3 2009) titled "Popular Music in the Post-Soviet Space: Trends, Movements, and Social Contexts" of which Yngvar Steinholt and I, David-Emil Wickström, were guest editors is now out. Concluding about two years of editorial work (and a lot of really interesting submissions) the journal includes the following articles ranging from Russian pop and rock over Uzbek Estrada and Kazakh music videos to Georgian world music:

• Yngvar B. Steinholt; David-Emil Wickström: "Introduction"


• David-Emil Wickström; Yngvar B. Steinholt: "Visions of the (Holy) Motherland in Contemporary Russian Popular Music: Nostalgia, Patriotism, Religion and Russkii Rok"


• Polly McMichael: "Prehistories and Afterlives: The Packaging and Re-packaging of Soviet Rock"


• Stephen Amico: "Visible Difference, Audible Difference: Female Singers and Gay Male Fans in Russian Popular Music"


• Tanya Merchant: "Popping Tradition: Performing Maqom and Uzbek “National” Estrada in the 21st Century"


• Megan Rancier: "Resurrecting the Nomads: Historical Nostalgia and Modern Nationalism in Contemporary Kazakh Popular Music Videos"


• Lauren Ninoshvili: "The Poetics of Pop Polyphony: Translating Georgian Song for the World"

The article abstracts and – for those who have access to the journal through the university library – the articles can be found at
www.informaworld.com/openurl?genre=issue&issn=0300-7766&volume=32&issue=3

happy reading! ;-)

"Rock in the Reservation" as a pdf-version

A pdf-version of Yngvar B. Steinholt's dissertation "Rock in the Reservation" (currently out of print) can now be downloaded from Yngvar's homepage: www.hum.uit.no/a/steinholt/p3.html.

For more information on the book see Sergio's post "Steinholt’s Rock in the Reservation (a review)".

"Drive-ethno-Dance" and "Hutzul Punk": Ukrainian-associated Popular music and (geo)Politics in a Post-soviet context

A short mention that my article on Haydamaky, Ruslana and Svoboda was just published in ICTM's Yearbook for Traditional Music. This article focuses on how the Ukrainian groups Ruslana and Haydamaky fashion themselves based on their country of origin and what role history and traditional musics play in that process. Using a post-colonial perspective I argue that the identity constructed functions to assert Ukrainian sovereignty and thus distinguish the Ukraine from its former colonizer Russia while at the same time Ruslana draws on similar methods of representation when appropriating the Other (the Ukraine in Russia's case and the Hutsuls in Ruslana's case).

The complete reference to the article is:

Wickström, David-Emil: "'Drive-ethno-Dance' and 'Hutzul Punk': Ukrainian-associated Popular music and (geo)Politics in a Post-soviet context"", Yearbook for Traditional Music 40 (2008), p. 60-88

BG in Milan

November 8th, 2008: For the first time in its over 30 year existence the rock band Akvarium will perform in Italy: the only concert will be in Milan at the Teatro degli Arcimboldi. Actually, it is more accurate to say Boris Grebenshchikov is performing, since there is not much else left of the original Akvarium besides its incontestable leader. The other musicians are from the Post-Soviet period: Boris Rubekin, the group's keyboard player (since 1998) and one of the three violinists, Andre Surotdinov (since 1995). 

BG's band will perform with a non rock group, without guitars and a drum set, but with a lot of orchestral instruments (such as violin, flute and cello) and folkloric (such as Indian tabla and sitar and Irish uilleann pipes and bodhrán).

The concert looks very interesting and original - unfortunately, I cannot make it...

БГ в Милане

8 ноября 2008г.. Впервые в его более чем тридцатилетнем существовании группа Аквариум выступает в Италии: единственный концерт в Милане в Театро дельи Арчимбольди. Точнее, было бы точнее говорить только о Борисе Гребенщикове, поскольку от Аквариума, кроме его неоспоримого лидера всех времен, осталось очень мало: Борис Рубекин, клавишник группы с 1998 года, и один из трех скрипачей, Андрей Суротдинов (с 1995 года). 

Группа БГ будет выступать в нероковом составе, без гитар и ударных, но со многими оркестровыми инструментами, вроде скрипок, флейты и виолончели, и фольклорными, как индийские табла и ситар, ирландские волынки "uilleann pipes" и бодхран. 

Концерт обещается очень интересным и своеобразным. Жалко, что мне не получится туда попасть...

Marusia visits Berlin. Cultural flows surrounding the Russendisko

Just a short mention that my article "Marusia visits Berlin. Cultural flows surrounding the Russendisko" was published in the Danish academic journal "Musik & Forskning" (the article is in English). There I discuss the Russendisko in Berlin focusing on the music played and the target group.

The article can be found at cms.ku.dk//upload/application/pdf/6f740c91/Musik%20og%20Forskning%2031_2008_Wickstrom.pdf

New compilation: Ukraine do Amerika

We briefly mentioned the Russendisko in an earlier post (Post Soviet popular music outside the post Soviet space) as an event outside the former Soviet Union where Post-Soviet popular music is played. The fortnightly event is located at the Berlin club "Kafe Burger" and is run by the DJs Wladimir Kaminer (emigrated from Russia) and Yuriy Gurzhy (emigrated from the Ukraine). Besides dj-ing Kaminer and Gurzhy also produce compilations of the music they play.

Their latest compilation was just released with the name "Ukraine do Amerika". As the title indicates, the focus is on groups with ties to the Ukraine. This includes Ukrainian groups like Mandry, Perkalaba, Mad Heads XL and VV (with a cool Ukrainian cover of AC/DC's "Highway to Hell") as well as groups from outside the Ukraine - but with ties to the country like the Berlin based Rot Front (which is Yuriy Gurzhy's group) and the St. Petersburg based Svoboda - the group I played in while doing fieldwork (this is actually the first officially released recording of the group).

Musically the groups reflect the style at the Russendisko - the use of a horn section, a ska-punk influenced idiom and influences from traditional music (melodic, harmonic and instruments). The primary language - and here the CD to some extent differs from the previous ones - is Ukrainian, not Russian.

All in all an interesting CD - especially if you do not know these groups from before and need an introduction to Ukrainian popular music.

---

Новый сборник: Ukraine do Amerika

(Русская версия - адаптирована Sergio Mazzanti)

Мы кратко упомянули Russendisko в предыдущем посте (Постсоветская популярная музыка вне пределов постсоветского пространства) как событие вне пределов бывшего советского Союза, где играют постсоветскую музыку. Ежедвухнедельное событие происходит в берлинском клубе "Kafe Burger" и его проводят ди-джеи Владимир Каминер (переехавший из России) и Юрий Гуржий (переехавший из Украины). Те же Каминер и Гуржий выпускают сборники музыки которую играют.

Только что выпустили их последний сборник под названием "Ukraine do Amerika". Как показывает заглавие, упор делается на группы связаны с Украиной. Это вклячает такие Украинские группы, как Мандри, Перкалаба, Mad Heads XL и ВВ (с крутой украинской обложкой из "Дороги в ад" AC/DC), как и группы вне пределов Украины, но связаны со страной, такие как основанная в Берлине Rot Front (которая является группой Юрия Гуржего) и основанная в Санкт-Петербурге Svoбода - группа в которой я играл во время своих полевых исследовании (это до сих пор первая официально выпущенная запись группы).

Музыкально группы отражают стиль Russendisko - использование духовой секции, около ска-панковский стиль и влияния традиционной музыки (мелодика, гармоника и инструменты). Основной язык (и в этом компакт-диск до некоторой степени отличается от предыдущих) - украинский, не русский.

В общем интересный компакт-диск - особенно если ты не знаешь уже этих групп и тебе нужно вступление в украинскую популярную музыку.

Ost Klub

Founded 2005 Ost Klub has developed to one of the central venues of Eastern European music in Vienna. Nomen est omen also in this case, as the club's owner Matthias Angerer explained during an interview with me last July:

“[D]er Name des Lokals ist so zusagen auch Programm, also osteuropäische Musik oder eben Russische oder Musik aus dem Balkan, aber auch weiter. Also die musikalische Achse für uns ist sozusagen Wien - Vladivostok, also. Und alles was dazwischen liegt und das ist ja doch´ne ganze Menge [...] Ich freu mich schon auch ein mal auf eine Usbekische Band oder eine Band aus Azarbadjan, also der Osten ist weit und insofern wird's musikalisch, glaub ich, auch nicht fad so schnell.”

Matthias Angerer, Wien 13.07.2007

("The club's name is so to say also its program, in other words Eastern European music or Russian or music from the Balkans, but also further away. Also the musical axis for us is so to say Vienna-Vladivostok, also. And everything between and that is actually quite a lot [...] I also look forward to hearing a Uzbek band or a band from Azarbadian, well the East is vast and thus I doubt that it soon will become boring musically.")

This is reflected in the program covering musicians and groups from the Balkan (they are one of the venus for Balkan Fever 2008), former Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

The club is situated close to the Rennweg (the address is Schwarzenbergplatz 10) and Angerer placed it and its location within a historical context pointing out that Metternich proclaimed "Der Balkan beginnt am Rennweg!" ("The Balkan starts at the Rennweg!"). Thus the club and it's music policy focuses on the cultural legacy of imperial Vienna.

The Club itself - occupying a basement - is enormous, encompassing two stages, a dance floor, a lounge and bar areas (prior to Ost Klub three clubs occupied the premises). In addition the club has a spacious backstage area with catering possibilities for the performing groups. Angerer stressed that he wanted to return the hospitality he experienced in Eastern Europe and from my own observations the club is really generous to performing musicians (I spent time backstage talking to musicians from Apparatschik and Bolshevikings).

My interest in the club has been based on bands linked to the former Soviet Union performing for a (mainly) non-Russian speaking audience. During my visit in Vienna last July I heard Apparatschik perform. The Berlin based group plays modernized versions of (primarily) Russian folkssongs and also own songs using Balalaika, Bass balalaika, Baian and Drums - in Russian. While both the vocalist and drummer are from Germany, the Bass balalaika player is from the Ukrainie and the Baian player from Beloruss.

Pictures from Apparatschik (taken by the author)

The concert last friday (April 18th, 2008) was advertised as Skanking Night and featured besides the headliner Bolshevikings The Skaddicts (Austria) and Jokerface (Süd Tirol / Italy). The Bolshevikings were interesting, since while they are based in Stockholm, the band's line up at the gig consisted of three Swedes, two Ukrainians and a Russian. The vocalist and main motor behind the band is from the Ukraine, but has been in Sweden since the end of the 1980s. Unlike Apparatschik the Bolshevikings sing in Russian, Swedish (with an Russian/Ukrainian accent), English and a little French. A very interesting concert, especially since while taking to the band it again dawned to me how important (and effective) transnational diasporic networks are when organizing tours.

Pictures from The Skaddicts and Bolshevikings (taken by the author)