Grounded in 1990s' shoegaze, new recording rock from Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Tallinn have difficulty any finding similar inspiration in 2017. An argument ensues.
New garage, stoner, and doom rock recordings express a growing tension between dreams and actuality. The responses range from desperation to indifference.
Three new compilation albums bring together dance tracks from Russia, Belarus, and Estonia. A range of producers from small towns and provincial cities join forces––in new networks.
The current economic difficulties in Russia and surrounding nations lead to greater levels of reverie. Dreams seem better than reality, yet stargazing is rarely easy.
Various professional challenges emerge in these Russian recordings; most of them have connections to outside, social realia. It's only beyond the border––in Estonia––that civic pressures ease.
Various dissatisfactions emerge in new recordings from Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Kazan, and Nizhny Novgorod. They all lead to a yearning for better values - represented by distant places or prior experience.
Faith in social spheres is a theme discussed in new material from Moscow, Kiev, and a range of Estonian towns. Not everybody shares an optimistic view of audiences and other noisy collectives.
Four publications this month are dedicated to themes of transformation and metamorphosis. Despite their differing styles, they find common ground in a celebration of good-natured change.
All the way from Tallinn to Kazan, a selection of new recordings consider the value of escapism and/or imagination. A growing disappointment with the here and now only makes fantasy work harder.
This year's Schilling Festival is about to start in Estonia. There's a special overlap between the festival's philosophy and the worldview of several Estonian bands taking part. Ideals and actuality coincide.
