Mari! Mari! and the Pacific Coast Scene

It's that same new recording that we're offering here.  The full release can be downloaded for free from this location;  it's an impressive EP for a band that only formed in January 2008.  The swift development of their songwriting and crowd-pleasing skills has come thanks to extensive live practice, not only around other Pacific cities like Khabarovsk, but also at the other end of the country, in Russia's "two capitals."

All across the nation, in little pockets of enlightenment, they're establishing a reputation as "young, cheeky, and very pleasant indie-rockers."

One recent interview by the Russian Pacific media caught the band as they began an endless journey to Moscow;  the journalist asked why they were going so far across the map.  The musicians joked - somewhat bitterly - about their chances of fame and fortune.  "We're doing this all for money"  (Laughter ensues.)  "We're going to Moscow so we can sell our butt to a producer and start singing like [girl-band] Tutsi.  Seriously, though, we like doing this - and Moscow gives us the chance to do even more."

"We actually take this whole thing pretty seriously.  I don't want to do anything except play music.  I've already been kicked out of university twice - so I don't really have any other choice.  It doesn't matter, though, 'cos I wouldn't want anything different."

A happy misfortune.

In an ideal world, the problems of Russia's eleven time zones would hopefully be overcome through using the web as a fair(er) distribution tool.  The power of centralized media in Russia, especially television, together with problems of piracy online, make the web a promising - yet often frustrating - field of operation.  Sea, land, and ether;  Pacific bands feel the daunting dimensions of all three.

The members of Mari! Mari! have a special interest in tools with which to combat Russia's enormity, be it dry or wet.  They see the web - in the future - as a way to genuinely revolutionize Russia's music industry.  In fact - on good days - they even think that Russia's long-awaited digital promise is already being realized.

"Before the web, if some group was playing music - and doing so half-decently - it didn't really have any chance of getting it out there, especially if they lived somewhere like Khabarovsk.  The problem was the size of this massive country."

"Now, though, all you have to do is upload your recordings, and everybody has access.  TV and radio used to shape public taste, getting people hooked on some kind of rubbish, like Quest Pistols.  Complete crap.  (You can quote me on that!)  Now, however, there's much more choice - and you can go looking for whatever takes your fancy."

A moment of doubt is audible among the string of optimistic declarations.  "Well... on the other hand... it's all become a huge, endless flow of musicians and bands.  There are too many run-of-the-mill outfits, all trying to get themselves known, since they've basically got the same resources as established groups.  The internet is gradually turning into one big dumping ground."

The odds are clearly stacked against the optimists...

So how does Mari! Mari! get noticed, apart from traveling the breadth of the nation?  The band has a thought or two on the subject of their lyrics and whether words are the deciding factor in standing out from the internet hordes.  "I don't think our songs contain any super-intellectual significance.  They're song lyrics, pure and simple, not conceptual poetry!"

I don't think our songs contain any super-intellectual significance. They're song lyrics, pure and simple, not conceptual poetry!

"The main thing in the music should be emotions, I reckon.  We're not really trying to force people to think about anything in particular.  Well... maybe we'd like them to think something along the lines of 'Good grief!  We used to listen to such rubbish before Mari! Mari!'  That'd be really cool!"

The group tries to bridge the unbelievable distance between their home town in the capital without feigning any dislike for their distant, "provincial" roots.  Quite the opposite, in fact - and maybe it's this hometown pride that raises Vladivostok to the level of a genuine scene.  It's one of the few places where bands appear able and willing to actually help each other, rather than fight for a few moments in the limelight.

Local scenes attract media interest - and therefore investment.  It's not rocket science.

"Vladivostok is a great place to start out, especially in terms of inspiration!  It's a beatiful, fun place to live.  Very romantic.  The mist is everywhere.  And the sea.  People have a good time living here.  But we don't let that inspiration go to waste;  we don't want all our efforts to be for nothing.  Of course we want to go further and not stay in one spot.  But as a starting place - we're really proud that we were born here!"

"I've gone through a lot of Moscow and St Petersburg bands online.  The ones who play in the big clubs.  I don't like the stuff they play.  We're better!"  Hometown pride becomes chutzpah.  That's a good start as you head out on the world's longest train journey.