33ა (33a) is a Georgian folk-rock band based out of Tbilisi. It was founded in 1994, during the troubled “dark 90s” of post-Soviet Georgia, led by Niaz Diasamidze. The name of the band, in fact, comes from the address of Diasamidze’s Tbilisi Apartment – 33a Paliashvili Street. All of the band members are Georgian. Diasamidze […]

Lyuk (Люк; translates to “manhole” in Russian, but the members said they just liked how it sounded) was a Ukrainian rock and rock-adjacent band that broke up in 2011. They’re also affiliated with the genres of punk, acid jazz, lounge, funk, hip-hop, and a bunch of others—the band members themselves have had a hard time defining exactly […]

The Red Elvises (also known as Igor and the Red Elvises; or Красные Элвисы, in its less-frequent Russian form) is a Russian-American band that plays an eclectic mixture of rockabilly, reggae, folk, disco, funk, surf rock, and traditional Russian music. The band is based out of Los Angeles, but has had successful tours in Ukraine […]

Naik Borzov (Найк Владимирович Борзов) is a Russian rock musician, poet, and singer-songwriter. He is known as the founder of the seminal but short-lived Russian punk band Infection (Инфекция), and more widely for his solo work.  Naik organized Infection when he was only 14 years old. During their early career, the group produced two full-length albums, Onanism […]

Boris Grebenshchikov (Борис Борисович Гребенщиков) is a Russian singer-songwriter, and one of the “founding fathers” of Russian rock. He is a founding member of the seminal and long-running Russian rock band Aquarium (active since 1972). As a lyricist, Grebenshchikov has an eclectic style that combines themes of Buddhism, Russian Orthodoxy, alcohol consumption, technology, and so on. […]

Animal Jazz (normally written as Animal ДжаZ) is a Russian alternative rock/pop group based in St. Petersburg. Since their founding in 2000 the group has released 11 full-length records, including four acoustic albums, as well as 16 singles and four DVDs. They have also played a number of important festivals, including Invasion, Wings, SKIF, Megahaus, and Kubana. The […]

Gilza (Гильzа) is a contemporary Russian rock band fronted by Lesya Gismatulina (Леся Гисматулина). Gismatulina has quickly risen to prominence as one of the leading rock vocalists in Russia, and was nominated for Best Soloist by Nashe Radio in 2016. As a group, Gilza is enjoying a lot of popular success as well, having recently […]

SerGa (СерьГа) is a Russian rock band from Moscow. The band is fronted by legendary rock musician Sergey Galanin (Сергей Галанин) of Brigada C (Бригада С) fame. The group plays an experimental brand of rock music, and their official motto is “For those who have ears” (“Для тех, у кого есть уши”). SerGa was formed […]

Northern Fleet (Северный Флот) is a contemporary Russian rock band. Formed in 2013 by members of the seminal King and Jester (Король и Шут) after the death of frontman Mikhail Gorshenov (Михаил Гошенов), Nothern Fleet plays a distinctive brand of rock influenced by metal, industrial, and hardcore punk. Northern Fleet annouced their formation as a band […]