Fader’s Vinyl Archeology: Mother Russia
I was asked to write this month’s Vinyl Archeology for Fader. I chose to focus my article on bands, songs or records that drew from some sort of Soviet influence which not only attracted me to them but helped me appreciate my Russian background at a time when I didn’t. Needless to say it was quite gratifying and an honor to be asked to write an article about music for a magazine of the Fader’s caliber. I also want to give a thank you to my fiance for making my writing coherent for the article.
In the next week or so Fader will also be posting a mix I did to accompany the article. I’ll post up a link as soon as it’s live! For those of you curious to read the article I’ve uploaded both pages as high rez images. Click here for page 1, and here for page 2.
I also want to make a correction to the Into a Circle Assassins part of the article. I was eighteen, not eight when I had the opportunity to change my name from Mikhail to Michael. It was when I was applying to be a US Citizen. Fader incorrectly changed that somewhere between my edit and their final one.
February 24th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
Hey man, congrats. I’ll have to give it a look.
February 24th, 2009 at 10:17 pm
Congrats man! I know how much this means to you!
February 24th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Woah Congrats! Thats awesome, I will definitely check this article out!
February 24th, 2009 at 11:50 pm
much Props to you! I never realized how much we had in common although I’m not Russian.
February 25th, 2009 at 12:04 am
This is the best of the three covers they had for this issue, by far.
February 25th, 2009 at 12:04 am
I just realized they cut my write-up for Moskwa TV! Oh well — here it is if anyone cares:
Moskwa TV Dynamics & Discipline (Westside Music, 1985)
In college I used to work three-hour shifts as a monitor in the Mac lab. One day while listening to nothing but Depeche Mode, Heaven 17 and Visage, I got inspired to track down more synth-pop on the internet. (This was the mid-’90s and the internet wasn’t as easy a resource for everything as it is now. We’re talking pre-Wikipedia.) I eventually found a GeoCities site littered with images of dark angels and a list of mostly goth, industrial and synth-pop acts whom I mostly already knew. But one name caught my eye for obvious reasons: Moskwa TV. After some more searching I found a European website selling a copy of Dynamics & Discipline on CD for about $20 (and another $10 for shipping). I had to beg my friend for an hour to let me use her credit card to order it. Moskwa TV was unique in that they stuck to mostly instrumentals and samples in their particular amalgamation of electro and synth-pop. Creating that ideal hybrid that would then influence countless techno acts who would follow.
February 25th, 2009 at 2:54 am
woah, i just realized MISHKA is on the cover, is that US or the reggae dude?!!?
February 25th, 2009 at 3:29 am
grabbed a copy at magic.. congrats man!! i’m in love with natasha khan by the way…
February 25th, 2009 at 4:31 am
Wait, wait, wait, fiance?
February 25th, 2009 at 10:56 am
It’s the Reggae dude! Just a coincidence :(
PSYCH!! But his new album is getting way more press then his previous two. He goy the pot forums goin nuts!
February 25th, 2009 at 11:25 am
Wait, you’re Russian?
Good read man, congrats!
February 25th, 2009 at 11:33 am
Mishka? Bear cub in Russian? What? Mikhail? What? Mishka, he’s so hot right now.
February 25th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Remember when i first met you IRL and you told me that “…you do realize everyone calls me Mike? Not Mikhail.” Then I was indignant that you should have kept Mikhail because there’s so many Mike’s and it’s just a whatever name. Then you responded with “..but that’s what all my friends call me.”
Well let me follow up that and said article (which like Greg said, I know means a shit ton to you) that it’s better for publicity if you stick with Mikhail.
Besides, do you really want to be in the same league as Jones and Cohn?
February 25th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Nice one Crook! really interesting read.
It’s funny how the sound I’ve always associated with Russia have been very industrial or post punk too, I suppose it has to do with the atmosphere it was created in. I think it’d be funny as hell to hear some Russian disco.
I was always a huge fan of Nikola Volkoff too… always seemed lovable even though he was the “bad guy”, in fact I always wanted him to win when he fought Sgt. Slaughter.
I think you guys should do a Brooklyn Brawler graphic…
February 25th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
yea my parents almost officially named me Gregorio (spanish for Gregory) I SO wish my birth certificate and drivers lic. said Gregorio. :(
February 26th, 2009 at 10:54 am
@ Wendigo: Iron Sheik over everybody.
Kinda off base, and I don’t think I’m alone when I say I’ve always associated with the villians more than the heros. It wasn’t popular when I was growing up, but give me Megatron over any of the Autobots, Destro or Zartan over any Joe, or the aforementioned Iron Sheik over the lot of them.
Bonus points for the bad guys always looking doper; them cats got style.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
@ ElGalloGigante – Iron Sheik was pretty core too but only because of the “Camel’s clutch” – ever try that one on somebody? it’s an ender for sure.
February 26th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
Nah, I wasn’t that kid who learned all the bad ass wrestling moves. I was the kid organizing Mad Max style big wheel races where blood would be spilled and mothers would say, “you’re not allowed to play with that little boy ever again.”
Oh, and drawing tit’s on the sidewalk with chalk.
March 18th, 2010 at 7:59 pm
Good post, some fascinating details. I believe six of days ago, I have discovered a similar post.
July 9th, 2010 at 1:31 am
[...] All the Eastern Europeans know the deal when it comes to Boney M. I even included it in my Mother Russia Vinyl Archeology mix/article for the Fader last [...]