Oakland is a rap group from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan—one of the few (but not the only!) major Kyrgyz rap groups. The group originally consisted of Samat Ismailov (Сэм or Sammy Colt), Dmitry Vorsin (Дима or Noma), and Sardar Zhakypbekov, though Sardar left early on. They rap mainly in Russian rather than Kyrgyz, but they feel themselves […]
Kanykei (or Каныкей; her full name is Kanykei Alymbekova, Каныкей Алымбекова) is a popular contemporary Kyrgyz singer. She is known for singing in the ethno-rock genre—she uses some rock instrumentation, but her music is somehow deeper and fuller than much contemporary rock—and sings in a stunning, powerful voice in both Russian and, more often, Kyrgyz. […]
Мirbek Аtabekov (Мирбек Атабеков) is known as the most famous Kyrgyz singer of today (or perhaps of all time). Limon.kg, a Kyrgyz online newspaper, has called him “our everything,” a title that refers to common way that Russians have of referring to Pushkin. He’s also a songwriter and starred in the 2014 Kyrgyz film Talisman […]
Nurbek Savitakhunov (Нурбек Савитахунов) is a Kyrgyz contemporary pop/rock singer who sings mainly in Russian. Less boy-band-pop-y than, say, fellow Kyrgyz stars Mirbek Atabekov and Omar, he has a smooth, easy-to-listen-to voice that he combines with somewhat harder rock backup. He’s often grouped with indie-folk bands, but he himself considers himself more of an urban […]
What Men Still Talk About (О чём ещё говорят мужчины) is the 2011 followup to the popular 2010 What Men Talk About (О чём говорят мужчины). It is the fourth film made by the Moscow theater group Kvartet I (Квартет И), but this one is the first original film the group made—the others are all […]
What Men Talk About (О чём говорят мужчины) is а 2010 Russian comedy and road movie. It is the film version of the play Conversations of Middle-Aged Men About Women, Movies, and Aluminum Forks (Разговоры мужчин средного возраста о женщинах, кино, и алюмниевых вилках), written and performed by the Moscow theatrical group Kvartet I (Квартет […]
Kazik (Kazimierz) Staszewski is a Polish singer, songwriter, and occasional saxophonist best known for his participation in the long-running rock band Kult. He has performed and recorded with other bands as well, and also has a successful solo career. Kazik hails from Warsaw. He has been a staple of the Polish music scene since the […]
Krystyna Prońko is a Polish singer who mainly performs jazz. Born in Gorzów Wielkopolski, a small city in the far west of Poland, Prońko did not start out intending to become a singer: her first degree is in chemical analysis, and she worked in this field for some time. Her first professional musical endeavor was […]
Andrzej Zaucha was a Polish singer and musician who died in 1991 at the age of 42. Born in Krakow, Zaucha was not trained as a musician. He competed successfully in canoeing nationwide as a teenager, winning some medals at the Polish Championships in the 1960s. He soon switched his attention to music, joining the […]
5sta Family (it is the same in Russian) is a Russian R&B group. They are known for, and are understandably proud of, operating independently and writing most of their songs themselves. The group was founded in 2005 when Vasiliy Kosinskiy (V-kes; Василий Косинский) and Valeriy Yefremov (CoolB; Валерий Ефремов) met online and decided that they […]
Gorko! 2 (Горько! 2) is a 2014 Russian comedy and the sequel to the popular 2013 Gorko! (Горько!). The film has a very strange premise: in stark contrast to that of the previous film, about the wedding(s) of central couple Natasha and Roma, this one is about a funeral. This is particularly odd as the […]
Gorko! (Горько!) is a 2013 Russian comedy. It is filmed as if it were a wedding video made by a young wedding guest. It is about engaged couple Natasha and Roma, who decide to have two wedding parties in an attempt to make everyone happy—one for their parents and relatives, in a traditional setting at […]
