Russian Music

Auktyon is a slightly avant gardist rock band that was formed in the early 1980’s. They are still quite popular and are regularly touring. The lineup of Auktyon are:

- Leonid Fedorov - vocals, guitar, percussion

- Oleg Garkusha - show, declamation, vocals

- Viktor Bondarik - bass

- Dmitry Ozersky - keyboard, percussion, trumpet

- Nikolay Rubanov - saxophones, bass-clarinet, jaleika

- Boris Shaveinikov - drums, percussion

- Pavel Litvinov - percussion

- Mikhail Kolovsky - tube, trumpet

- Mikhail Rappoport - sound engineer

Vopli Vidopliassova is a humorous folk rock band from Kiev, Ukraine. The band was formed in 1986 and has been quite popular ever since. Vopli Vidopliassova also gained some popularity in France and was reported to have toured with Sonic Youth in the USA. The video below is a nice one, hope you’ll check it out.

Mumiy Troll is a Russian rock group, founded in 1981 in Vladivostok by linguist Ilia Lagutenko. The literal name of the band, mummy troll, has no specific meaning in Russian, and is reminiscent of the Tove Jansson characters, the Moomintrolls.

Zemfira Talgatovna Ramazanova was born on August 26, 1976 in Ufa, and is the leader and lead vocalist of the Russian rock group Zemfira. The group was formed in 1998 and has been immensely popular in Russia and other former Soviet republics.

Gorky Park is a Russian glam metal band, that gained mainstream popularity in USA during the Perestroyka times. Gorky Park is famous for its kitsch use of western stereotypes of Russians, such as pseudo-traditional clothing, balalaika-like guitar design and Hammer and sickle as their logo. It was the first Russian band to be aired on MTV.

t.A.T.u. is a Russian Grammy-winning duo formed in Moscow, Russia in 1999. The group consists of Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova. A third Russian studio album, titled Upravleniye Otbrosami is expected for a 2008 release, while their third English studio album, Waste Management, is expected to be released as the soundtrack for the upcoming film You and I.

Catharsis is a Russian power metal band that was founded in Moscow in 1996 by guitarist Igor Polakov and vocalist Sergey Bendrikov. In 2006 Catharsis was awarded the Russian Alternative Music Prize as the Best Russian metal act.

Nogu Svelo! or cramp in the leg is a popular Russian rock band whose music can be associated with humor and parody, with often childishly simple melodies. Nogu Svelo! often experiments with many styles and have done so in the past, and the band has often paid attention to interesting instrumentation, arrangement, and good production values.