A quick overview of rappers from southern Russia suggests the existence of some regional traits. Joking about their distance from primetime swagger, these young musicians adopt a special tone for quiet towns.
For all the musical inspiration that Russian rap takes from a US heritage, things are very different when it comes to lyrics. We offer three examples of new recordings from Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Three rock outfits from Kazan, Lipetsk, and Kursk take very different views of predestination. They embody romantic melancholy, decadent demise, and a hedonistic dismissal of fate... in favor of the dancefloor.
"Renegades of Bump" is an increasingly important organization within Lithuanian hip-hop. Aiming to brand the output of multiple beatmakers from around the nation, "RoB" publishes regular compilation albums. We examine the last two.
The RussianAdults webzine has now launched a netlabel, "My Favourite Pet." With the help of various friends, MFP celebrates the heyday of Russian cosmic disco and early house in the 1980s.
Today we consider three of the newest artists on our FFM compilation: Thallus, Audiosynthes, and B*tchpleaze. They live in very different, distant towns - yet share a common passion for the kind of reverie that needs no hi-tech tools.
From Vilnius comes nu-jazz in the shape of BrassBastardz. Despite their confrontational stage name, they embody a vivid worldview that's extended by a couple of St Petersburg beatmakers. And thus acid-jazz comes instead to the fore...
Moa Pillar has just released a remix of equally new material from Modul. His reasons for doing so form an interesting parallel with other beatmakers this month - both from Russia and Latvia
Three bands from Moscow, Perm, and Dnipropetrovsk mark three different stages of a musical career. They represent an unbridled romance, early struggles with audience affection, and a return to life away from the limelight
An overview of some house exponents from Russia and Ukraine suggests that aspects of the US tradition are still hard at work. An escapist style goes head to head with actuality
