Dzhango (Джанго) is the stage name of Aleksey Viktorovich Poddubniy (Алексей Викторович Поддубный), a Ukrainian and Russian pop, rock, and folk composer, vocalist, and leader of a band of the same name. The band Dzhango became especially well-known in Russian and Ukraine after their track “Cold Spring” (“Холодная весна”) was featured on the soundtrack of Aleksey Sidorov’s 2005 film Shadowboxing (Бой с тенью).
Poddubniy was born in Kyiv in 1969 to a journalist father and an engineer mother. From childhood he was interested in music, especially classical composers like Bach, Chopin, and Beethoven, and later became interested in jazz. Poddubniy’s first instrument was the accordion, but he gradually became a multi-instrumentalist. In his early twenties, Poddubniy became interested in rock music, like the work of Pink Floyd, as well as jazz, like that of Miles Davis.
Poddubniy’s musical career began after he finished his military service. He began to participate in a number of music collective, writing songs in English for rock bands like Cool Before Drinking and Jolly Jail, and started his own English-language group, The Plunge. His initial plan was to travel to England to make a musical career; however, when Poddubniy was denied a visa, he refocused his efforts on starting a career in Ukraine.
He founded Dzhango in 2001 alongside drummer Maksim Podzyn (Максим Подзын) and producer Sergey Stambovskiy (Сергей Стамбовский). In 2002 they released their first studio album, She Was She Wasn’t (Была Не Была), using a cast of studio musicians. Dzhango’s first single, “Parrot” (“Папаган”), found heavy radio rotation for three months. Two years later, in the fall of 2004, Dzhango found their big break when “Cold Spring” found its way onto Sidorov’s soundtrack for Shadowboxing. This success brought more opportunities for Dzhango to play for films and television, as well as an invitation to play Invasion Fest in Russia.
In 2005 and in 2007 Dzhango released new versions of their first album, which included most of their biggest hits. The 2007 release came out on Universal Music Group Records, and was a massive success. They have also released one additional album, called Higher Still (Выше. Ещё).
Poddubniy is still active with Dzhango today, and also continues to produce his own music.
Here is Dzhango’s breakout single, “Cold Spring” (“Холодная весна”):
Lyrics for “Холодная весна”:
Холодная весна
Спят дальние огни
Как долго я искал
Мечту моей любви
Хороводит снег с дождём
Мечта дорогу мне согрей
Тебя, весна моя, увидеть надо
Будет теплей
Как плакала весна
Что там будет впереди
Вдаль птица улетай
Любовь мою найди
Хороводит снег с дождём
Мечта дорогу мне согрей
Тебя, весна моя, увидеть надо
Будет теплей
Хороводит снег с дождём
Мечта дорогу мне согрей
Тебя, весна моя, увидеть надо
Будет теплей
Хороводит снег с дождём
Мечта дорогу мне согрей
Тебя, весна моя, увидеть надо
Будет теплей
Хороводит снег с дождём
Мечта дорогу мне согрей
Тебя, весна моя, увидеть надо
Будет теплей
Here is the title track of She Was She Wasn’t (Была не была):
Lyrics for “Была Не Была”:
Была не была
муз. и сл. Джанго
Сигарета самодельная,
Ночь — небесная роса.
Ты, как радуга, ничейная,
До рассвета — полчаса.
Лето…
Была не была, звала, не звала…
Всё опять — миражи по утрам.
Что пела, зачем рассказывала
Свои тайны ночным дворам…
Скоро города огромные
Наши души украдут.
Неба песенки знакомые
Нам послушать не дадут.
Лето, где же ты?
Была не была, звала, не звала…
Всё опять — миражи по утрам.
Что пела, зачем рассказывала
Свои тайны ночным дворам…
