During the fall of 2018 I traveled to Georgia to interview MokuMoku, an experimental Hip-hop band from Tbilisi, formed in 2014. With a fresh and innovative sound, these great musicians continue to break ground for the new generation of Georgian artists on an international level. The first reference I had to the band was when…
Category: Location
Artists’ current geographical location
Worn Pop and the musical self-management in Kyiv
It is important to find community in what you do. -Nikita Mekalin (Geuxx)- Ukraine, and especially Kyiv, was at a time of cultural flourishing that had been gestating for years, positioning itself as a contemporary and proactive capital in the artistic and technological field. Unfortunately, the pace of this ascent was interrupted by the Covid-19…
Snowapple: An eclectic proposal with a Mexican touch
Snowapple is, more than a project, a concept that is constantly changing. It was born as a female trio, where different genres, nationalities and instruments converged. Today it is an intercultural and multidisciplinary collective, where the main element is the renewal of its artistic proposal, which is nourished by diverse contexts and causes. Every time…
Ivan Shapovalov: The bridge between languages is a song
Ivan Shapovalov is a name you may not be familiar with. But one of his great legacies as a producer continues to go around the world in the voices of Yulia Volkova and Lena Katina. However, there is much more after the T.aT.u. project. Shapovalov and his ‘know how’ have reached the steppes of Kyrgyzstan,…
Tanator: Russian Thrash taking over Mexico
We just want to play music, it’sĀ the Punk Rock style. -Maxim Mikhaylov- After months of getting along with Russian underground bands back in Moscow, and listening to their reasons and difficulties not to travel to other continents, it was such a surprise when my friend Rodrigo Jardon told me that ‘some guys from Russia’ were…
Berlin Oriental Group: Getting along through beauty
“Berlin has had an Arab population since 1960, when then West Germany invited in thousands of Moroccans as āguest workersā to help rebuild the countryās post-war economy”(1). However, with Chancellor Angela Merkelās decision in 2015 to take in more than one million migrants under refugee status or humanitarian protection, I began getting interested in the…
Murderlust: Thrash from the foundations of Moscow
When I first met Karen Ter-Mesropyan two years ago, I did’t imagine that he will lead me to the underground Metal scene in Moscow. It hasn’t been easy, but from the first guitar lessons he took (and then imparted), the bands he has been part of and the recording studio he runs, he has achieved…
Tamuz Nissim and the language of Jazz
You always find a common language with the people you play music with, but also with people that come to listen to you. Tamuz Nissim is a Jazz singer, pianist and songwriter, whose artistic experience began inside her family and has led her to very interesting places. She was born in Tel Aviv, surrounded by…
Arda, the band who wants to change Metal in Russia
Arda is a Muscovite band from Power Metal founded in 2002 by Pavel Okunev, former vocalist of the group ‘Epidemia’, with great success during the 90s. Since my first visit to Moscow, a place called my attention, the name of which, unlike all the businesses and the craft bazaar opposite, was in English. It was…
Out of Nations: Blurring borders with music
“Where are you from?” This is the basic question that marks the beginning of countless conversations in places where cultural diversity converges almost by autonomy. Iconic cities such as Berlin or New York guarantee in advance the interaction of people from almost every nation, sometimes in spaces of less than 1 square kilometer. However, when…