Russian view of post-punk
The post-punk era in the USSR has come after the similar period of that music in England, but a few years later (England – the end of the 70s – the beginning of the 80s; the USSR – the middle – the end of the 80s).
As the fact it wasn’t the original Russian phenomenon, it was the adopted European music. However, as well as Russian punk-rock (for example, Avtomaticheskie udovletvoriteli (1979) were almost like Sex Pistols at all), and Russian rock as a whole. Bands, such as The Cure, Joy Division, U2, Duran Duran, The Pogues rendered essential influence on the formation of the Soviet post-punk.
So, let’s divide Russian post-punk into the 3 components:
sound;
lyrics;
image.
Now let’s consider these items more in details.
The characteristic sound field of the post-punk was used in the creativity by many Soviet groups of the 80s. From the collective unduly almost forgotten today the Center up to such famous and loud names of the middle 80s, as Alisa (or rather prev. group Stil, album Nervnaya noch – 1984), Nautilus Pompilius, Televizor (‘Shestvie Rib’ album, 1985). By the time of the edition of the album Nachalnik Kamchatki (1984), the music of KINO became well related to the sound of The Cure, and some song places were rather similar (for example, the track ‘Eto ne lubov’ from the same-called album and the song ‘Fire in Cairo’ from The Cure’s album Boys Don’t Cry). By the way, music of this album as a whole is impregnated with minimalism of sound characteristics of the post-punk which gave a «dark» sound. The further sounding, KINO had been affected in many aspects by The Cure, Duran Duran, and less by Joy Division.
Above-mentioned Center is partly the unique phenomenon on the Russian scene (with new-wave collectives of the period of the beginning of the 80s Nikolay Kopernik and Obermaneken). Experimental avant-garde music and the vocal sketches in the initial period, the post-punk and rock’n’roll sound of later creativity in aggregate with midpsychedelic lyrics and using of different vocalists in songs and the boundless talent of the main vocalist and the leader of the band Vasily Shumov didn’t let merge this command with other bands.
In the lyrics of that period the main themes were household sketches, romantic and social texts, avant-garde verses.
The «Boom» of the post-punk fell on the second half – the end of 80s. Bukva O, Missiya Anticiclon, Durnoe Vliyanie, Petlya Nesterova, Agatha Christie, Objekt Nasmeshek, Matrosskaya Tishina… In my opinion, in this period appeared the brightest and most interesting representatives of the russian post-punk, most «characteristic» for this style were created. Sounding, lyrics, image merged so much, that the post-punk for musicians became something more than simply musical style. Acc. to interview of magazine R.I.P. № 3 (October / November 2005) with Alexander Skvortsov, the vocalist of Durnoe vliyanie,:
» R.I.P. The post-punk is a certain style of life?
Alexander: As against the punk, for me it is an image of feeling, understanding of life. We sit, we talk… It is a punk. And if I come home and start to tell about it, having passed it all «through myself», – then it already will be the post-punk.»
More and more influence of the darkest European representatives of the post-punk was gathering momentum. Durnoe Vliyanie searched for inspiration, listening to Joy Division, Bauhaus, Nick Cave; Agatha Christie copied in many details The Cure (but with more electronic sound), Petlya Nesterova was guided by minimalism of the sounding of U2, Echo and The Bunnymen and The Curе, later on Joy Division.
» We had never pursuits of stamps, but at the same time we didn’t escape from them «, – said Ed Nesterenko the leader of Petlya Nesterova speaking about the influence on the music by the European bands.
There are decadent motives, the theme of death, a hopelessness, misunderstanding of themselves is frequently mentioned in the lyrics of this period even more often. There were texts about unaccepting of existing values; the desire to change the society took place too.
Durnoe Vliyanie had the most hopelessness and «dark» texts. «Many texts were about death because this theme is close, intimate, there can’t be a deceit. It is difficult to tell lies, when there is your familiar, lying in a coffin. Only when you face it, you can understand the true values «, – said Alexander Skvortsov in one of interviews.
The band Petlya Nesterova, which was formed on the ruins of other post-punk command Kofe, was very similar with DV. Simple drums, a «front» bass and «dense» sound of electroguitars created, on the one side, not difficult in playing, but on other side – tremendous on influence on the listener the dark sound environment. It supplemented ideally suitable vocal of Edward Nesterenko:
» … I hear a voice calling me.
I don’t know, I’m alive or I’m already dead.
I can’t anything, it is the end.
I can’t explain, I can’t find the words. »
Such feature in the general mood of texts is caused partly by the influence of the lyrics of the western artists, partly confusion in the Soviet society of that period.
There were groups which intentionally wrote «unconscious» associative texts, leaving main role to the music. There were Matrosskaya Tishina, Ivanov Daun and some other bands among them.
Separately it is necessary to notice the band from Moscow NII KOSMETIKI. Performances were something more than a simply concert of a musical group. «Texts had bright and romantic mood with a shade of decadence. The visual line was based on the traditions of glam-rock. Concerts of group became some kind of quintessence company when actors on a scene appeared more than musicians. Using skill of a mimicry and gesture, they improvised short gags on a background of sound lines created by group. It was Show. Having a sharp sexual orientation, has quickly won popularity at the Moscow public, and the group actively began to give concerts in the capital and situated near Moscow platforms.» (A.Kushnir «100 magnitoalbomov sovetskogo roka»).
The post-punk of the 90s almost nothing differed from the post-punk of the end of the 80s. Most likely it is connected by that the new names, appeared on a musical scene, which only seemed new. Actually groups arose on the ruins of the bands of the end of the last decade, which disorganized the post-punk. The amount of young collectives decreased in comparison with the past decade.
Perhaps, among the music of that period I can notice the band from Saint-Petersburg, called Ugendshtil. The choice of such unusual name is nothing else but analogy to the choice of the name of the cult post-punk band Bauhaus. «It’s influenced by some trivialities. My name is German, when I was in the army, I served in Germany, and my favorite band is BAUHAUS», – the leader and the founder of the collective German Podstanitsky explained the choice of the name of the band. At the first time the sound had «the Bauhaus manner» too, but further it was harder, and the band got some originality (the similar sounding collective Ivanov Daun achieved little bit earlier). Music of the band represents a powerful stream of energy, decadent texts were from time to time replaced almost not carrying in themselves sense and loadings by phrases (for example, a song Figure skaters (Figuristi in original), text of which consists only of one phrase » we’re the figure skaters on the pink ice», repeating some times in this song).
Image of the post-punk musicians was the diverse. With the brightest clothes and make-up differed the band from Magadan Missiya Anticiklon, and NII KOSMETIKI from Moscow. «The leader of the band, Michael «Mefodii» Evseenkov (vocal, show) left on a scene in the bright make-up and motley clothes, there was sewed the big red hand on the fly front of his trousers – with it he had on the spot struck all «decent» rock – fans». (A.Kushnir «100 magnitoalbomov sovetskogo roka», NII KOSMETIKI). Members of the band Missiya Anticiklon often used a make-up in traditions of glam-rock and «gloomy» club life of England, all this cosmetic «art» was added by the unusual motley clothes. Very often groups wore circus and theatrical suits which were got with the help of familiar.
On a decadent wave of the second half of the 80s russian post-punk musicians more often began to flash black color of clothes (KINO, Durnoe Vliyanie). «I remember how I was taken away by the cops on the Griboedova channel because I went in black clothes «. – recalled Igor Mosin (the drummer and the co-founder of Durnoe Vliyanie). Copying the European idols was observed. «…some cloths with Lurex, painted forelocks, that was such an imitation of DURAN DURAN. We were the first neo-romantics in St. Petersburg, nobody before dared do such imitation (KINO, maybe, in certain degree – then they were already enough brisk)», – said D. Nesterenko (in 86th he still was the member of the band Kofe). Though, for example, the musicians of the collective Matrosskaya Tishina acted in quite daily clothes without strongly pronounced image features.
Now the post-punk music has lost the popularity of the second half of the 80s – the beginning of the 90s, but it does not mean that the Russian post-punk died. And now there are such remarkable bands as QUINSY, the Vinujdenie Kolebaniya, K.O.C.T., inVerse, Letuchie Obesyani, at last Agatha Christie. Still there are fans of this music and those who are ready to play it, those who don’t afraid to be misunderstood and not claimed in Russia.
Kostya »Osty»
‘Grave Jibes Fanzine’
