By Junior Remy Haring

We’re embarking on Winter Holiday. It’s a good time for sleeping, holiday gathering, and exploring new music. Feel like listening to some Eastern European bands? Remy’s got some bands to start with.

Since quarantine, I have delved into the rabbit hole that is Eastern European bands. Originally, it started off as a curiosity and a way to find sad music from another part of the world and gradually evolved into about half of my taste in music. The following, in reverse order, are some of my personal favorite bands from Eastern Europe. Try them; expand your repertoire; you might like them.

4. Padkarosda (Bench Seat)

Hailing from Budapest, Hungary, Padkarosda is a nihilist punk band. It is a trio consisting of Gergő Vitéz, Rómeó Veréb, and Viktor Böcskey (discogs.com).

With shrieking vocals, frantic guitar and drums, and dark lyrics, I would recommend this band for anyone who enjoys emo or punk. My personal favorite albums are Sötét Végek (Dark End), Visszatérő Rémálom (Returning Nightmare), and Tétova Lelkek (Hesitating Souls).

       

3. Chernikovskaya Hata

Little is known about Chernikovskaya Hata. All I can find about them is that they are based in Ufa, Russia; they do post-punk covers of old 80s pop songs; and that the “band” seems to consist of one person by the name of Ryan Shpirtz. That being said, I think their covers sometimes surpass the original in terms of quality. Shpirtz has a deep, melancholic voice and is a talented guitarist and synth player. My personal favorite songs are “Chio-Chio San,” “Nazhmi Na Knopku” (Press the Button), and “Belaya Noch’” (White Night).

2. Moy Drug Magnitofon (My Friend Tape Recorder)

Hailing from Saint Petersburg, Russia, Moy Drug Magnitofon is an odd little experimental electronic band that consists of Nikita Savra for the vocalist and guitarist, Artem Morgunov, as the bassist and Ira Lapteva as keyboardist and vocalist (rateyourmusic.com).

All of their songs have a great beat and backing track and… interesting vocals. My favorite songs have to be “Obosranniy Geroy” (Crap Hero), “Mërtviy Vecher” (Dead Evening), and “Petlya” (The Loop).

1. Kino (Film)

If there is anything you know about me, I love this band. Kino was a rock band that was popular in the 80s and was also based in Saint Petersburg. To give you an idea of how big this band was, it was like the Soviet version of Nirvana. The songs deal with a variety of themes from love and freedom to war and wanting change. The headman, Viktor Tsoi, wrote all of the songs himself and even at the height of his band, still worked in a boiler room.

Personally, I recommend his songs “Gruppa Krovi” (Blood Type), which is about a man fighting in the Soviet-Afghan war, and “Khochu Peremen” (We Want Changes), which is about life in the Soviet Union and the desire for it to change. Viktor Tsoi had a very distinctive voice, was a really talented acoustic guitarist, and his lyrics remain very poetic. Viktor Tsoi died in 1990.

I hope you enjoy this little list and hope that you check out these hidden gems.  There is truly a massive treasure trove of music that I have only scratched the surface of.

I have found all of these bands through YouTube. Kino and Moy Drug Magnitofon are on Spotify; Padkarosda is on Bandcamp, and Chernikovskaya Hata is only on YouTube as far as I am aware.