- country:Russian Federation
- style(s):Rock, Ska
- label:Eastblok Music
- artist posted by:Eastblok Music
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Leningrad is a phenomenon. Wherever they appear, they leave people breathless. The cult is growing and has by now also found them fans among people, who have nothing to do with Russia. Currently there are 16 members in the band, or rather orchestra Leningrad. This makes their live performance an unforgettable experience. This makes up for the irresistible appeal of Leningrad. The music is a mixture of ska, Cuban salsa and Russian prison chanson, sung with their hearts on their sleeves. Nowadays, there are also rap influences and hard rock guitars in Leningrad's music and the songs always tell stories and little dramas. Within a few years Leningrad turned from a club band into a stadium act without loosing any of its credibility.
Most chart bands in Russia copy their Western counterparts. Leningrad may well be the only Russian top ten band, who is musically and lyrically denying itself to the mainstream. Post modernism meets folk&roll and urban underground in a tasty cocktail. Leningrad's lyrics deal with the Russian every man from the streets, mostly interested in sex and alcohol, but who has the heart in the right place. Shnur's songs use a plethora of swearwords as well as the language of Soviet dissidents' chansons to grab things 'by the balls', similar to Soviet underground writers: rude, but not dumb. This is most likely the reason why Leningrad is loved not only by the common people, but also by the intellectuals, who cannot but grin at this clever poetic swearing. Theirs is a language everyone understands, while pretending not to speak. Their songs are about things, most people in Russia can identify with these days: booze, sex, death, irony, money, love, love for money, no money, no luck, no future.