In an increasingly fraught world, it’s becoming increasingly harder to make music. What if you are a band in a country like Russia trapped in a political situation and trying to create? Is it possible to create beyond the frontline? Before the Ukraine war there was a thriving underground scene and great bands. Now most of those better off people have left the country but what of the bands who couldn’t afford to leave? is it possible to have great art in dark times? Peter Poleshchuk writes from the Russian far east.
Vladivostok 2025: new weird scene
In Russia, the coastal city of Vladivostok is considered a separate country. Located nine thousand kilometres from Moscow, Vladivostok gives birth to music and a stage unlike anything else in the country. Back in the 90s, Vladivostok gave the country its most popular band – Mumiy Troll, which introduced the fashion for optimistic Britpop in Russia. But those were different times. Today, Vladivostok is giving birth to dark and experimental music that reflects social anxiety and panic. Despite being quite distant from the country’s centre, some groups in the city are already considered crucial in the history of the dark twenties.
Petr Poleshchuk, the chief music critic of the Russian Far East, talks about what people abroad might discover in the music of Vladivostok bands.
Hehehe
The undisputed headliner of modern Vladivostok, if not the entire Russian Far East. In the early 20s, the scene barely existed, so Hehehe became the last man standing band of the Far East, whom no one expected, but it happened. Back then, they played easy-going indie, the best comparison for which would be vanilla latte and a warm blanket. But in 2024, Hehehe released the album “Паника” – and it became the same for the band as Revolver was for The Beatles. Gloomy, complex, but accessible, and most importantly, it matched the spirit of the time. Let’s hope Hehehe has their own “Sgt. Pepper” ahead.
Even if you don’t know Russian, you can feel a sense of brokenness and panic in their inspired Radiohead-esque music, so typical of our time. Despite the band being about to move to the capital, they continue to emphasise their regional identity. We love them for that attitude with the same affection that Mancunians love the Stone Roses and Oasis for theirs.
Кё
Rising from the ashes of the band “Mukuge,” “Кё” quickly established themselves as one of the most interesting bands in Vladivostok right now. No one sounds even remotely like them. There’s a place here for emo, prog rock, folk, and jazz. But the main thing is that they approach sound production like abstract engineering, to the same extent that Bowie’s Blackstar was made – and this isn’t a casual comparison. Listen to their track “Хотелось закончиться” from the album “Перья птиц пронзают провода”. Perhaps more than any other group on the list, Kyo can be universal – they’re not so much about conveying a specific idea as they are about emotion. And it is expressed in a musical language that goes far beyond the borders of the Russian Federation.
Listen – https://band.link/prptprpr
Grand Muff
Listen — https://band.link/grandmuff
I’m not a big fan of genre music, but I am a fan of the people who are dedicated to it. Grand Muff is a band made up of exactly those kinds of people. Music that is jam-like in spirit, seemingly referencing all eras of psychedelic music at once: from 60s rock to 90s shoegaze. Apparently, at least two members of the band share a love for The Verve. And there’s a lot of early The Verve here, when Richard Ashcroft preferred to assault the listener with mind-bending psychedelia. And the music of Grand Muff leaves the impression of neuroleptic weaponry. This is suitable for those who value the vibe in tracks more than pop structure. The rest are waiting for the Gradmaff’s Bittersweet Symphony. Honestly, I’m among them – but that’s a matter of taste. Otherwise, it’s the musical equivalent of Timothy Leary’s “Turn on, tune in, drop out” – and the band excels at each of those points.
Братья Грязь (Bratiya Graz/ Mud brothers)
Listen – https://band.link/ugly24
A noise rock trio heavily inspired by Gilla Band and all versions of The Fall. However, they shouldn’t just be called fans of the genre: they could simply repeat the sound of their favorite bands, throwing abstract phrases on top, but instead, they use them to talk about the current situation. There are songs about the desire to be a safe man, and about the Ostankino Tower as a symbol of the remnants of Russia. The band sometimes expresses themselves in a quasi-poetic language, but the true strength of “Brothers” lies in their sharp and concise phrases that perfectly match the frontman’s nasal intonation. “I got my face punched in the center of Moscow” – it’s no wonder it’s one of the local audience’s favorite tracks. Funny. Absurd. Fun. By the way, speaking of Moscow, “Братья Грязь” is quite reminiscent not so much of a Far Eastern group as of a capital city group, where there once existed their own punk underground scene. Perhaps “Братья Грязь” gathered in the wrong place. God spared the citizens of Moscow – because the brothers outshine half of the capital’s noise rock bands. For a very simple reason: they have significantly less rockstar pretense and more rock and roll spirit. Noise rock that makes you smile – that’s what we want here, please.
Океанариум (Oceanarium/ Okeanarium)
Listen — https://band.link/okeanarium
Groups like these are most needed in terrible times. They’ll let you be sad, and they’ll convince you of some kind of belief in the better. Nominally, the trio “Okeanarium” plays emo, but you won’t find those infamous Midwestern guitar riffs in their music. And that’s a clear positive: Океанариум doesn’t sound like a band from a tired genre; on the contrary, they breathe life into it. This is partly due to an understanding of other genres: emo is paired with Dream pop, Britpop, and even something reminiscent of booming anime openings (listen to the song “пойди поставь сторожа”).
In a certain sense, they are the local Oasis. Their music shares a similar unifying emotion, existing at the intersection of sadness and almost a Christian faith in goodness.
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