Nashe Radio plays popular music that isn't quite "pop." What's big in Russian-language rock, rap, punk, R&B, and alternative? Nashe Radio's all-Russian and eclectic play list can tell you. Once a month, SRAS provides a snapshot of what's at the top of their charts, with YouTube videos and additional commentary taken from the Russian Popular Music page of our Library.
1. «Песня о свободе» - ДДТ
DDT (or ДДТ in Cyrillic) is a popular Russian rock band founded by its lead singer, Yuri Shevchuk, in Ufa (Bashkirtostan) in south-western Russia in 1980. The band started its existence with cover-versions of songs by Rolling Stones, The Beatles and other Western rock-bands. For some time musicians even argued whether it was possible to play rock-music in Russian, unaware that many Russian rock groups were already finding success in Moscow and Leningrad (now St.Petersburg). After many changes in group’s lineup and eventual relocation to Leningrad, it became one of the most successful and prolific Russian musical groups of the 20th and 21st centuries.
2. «Счастье?»- Король и Шут
King and Jester is another veteran group, formed in 1988. Their style blends punk music with the epic stylings and black humor of their apparently vampire-obsessed lead singer Mikhail "Gorshok" (Jug) Gorshenev. ) The group’s songs often have horror story or fairy tale themes. The members cite many Western punk bands as influences and often perform wearing Misfits-style make-up onstage. The band holds a devoted cult following and their albums almost instantly top the charts after release.
3. «Шейк»- Алиса
Alisa is considered one of the most influential banks in Russian rock. They formed in 1983 in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad) and the group’s name is from Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland." The band's songs and lyrics started out as typical themes of rock and roll and social protest, but after lead singer Konstantin Kinchev's baptism into the Russian Orthodox Church in 1990, the band's lyrics began to take on the themes of Christianity and Slavic unity. This caused the group to lose some of its "hardcore" fan following but most of the "Alisa Army" (what their fans call themselves) have remained loyal.
4. «Одинокие люди» - Слот
Слот is a popular Russian bands whose style varies from heavy electronic rock to rock-pop. Their first breakthrough came with hit movie “Boomer” when two songs written by Слот were featured on the film’s soundtrack and became the band’s first official releases. After a joint performance with Jonathan Davis of the American heavy metal band KOЯN, he praise them as “a great mix of Linkin Park and Evanescense.” In August 2011, the first English-language album of “The SLoT,” as they became known in English speaking markets. Their album Break The Code is now in US and Canadian music stores.
5. «Космос» - Глеб Самойлоff and the Matrixx
After the well-known Russian rock group Agata Kristi (named after the mystery writer) disbanded in January 2010, Gleb Samoiloff (the former lead from Agata Kristi) and some other former members decided to create a new band. The result was Gleb Samoiloff & The Matrixx. The band has become immediately popular due to its already-famous members.
