The band OT VINTA ("Let’s get cracking!" in Russian) got together in 1994 in Rivne, western Ukraine. The styles their music is closest to are rockabilly and psychobilly. From the very start, OT VINTA sang in Ukrainian. That was pretty unique back then, given that most rockabilly and psychobilly bands over the world - including the Ukraine - sang in English, thinking that no other language was good for the style. But the guys from Rivne broke the mould and what is more, started their own style, called ukrabilly – an energetic blend of rock-n-roll drive with serf, blues and country tunes, flavored with Ukrainian folk music. Another interesting thing about the band is that instead of the unwieldy double bass OT VINTA are using the kozabass, a traditional Ukrainian instrument. No one else has been known to use the kozabass in rock music.
In 1994-99 OT VINTA toured all over Ukraine, performing in clubs and at open-air venues. Their first recorded songs appeared in the compilation "The First Ukrainian Rockabilly Front", where OT VINTA was the only band singing in Ukrainian. The song "You said we were going to listen to some rockabilly on Sunday" became a hit not only in Ukraine, but also in Russia.
1999 saw the band’s first concert in Moscow. The same year, OT VINTA was named Ukraine’s best rock-group at "This Season’s Pearls" music festival. Next year, the band made its first trip to Poland to play a few gigs in Warsaw and to perform at the "Pidlyasska Osin'" festival in Bialystok. Later, OT VINTA toured more actively at home and abroad. Today the band is fairly popular in Ukraine, Poland and Russia for its club performances and festival appearances. Festival history of OT VINTA includes rockabilly gatherings ("Psychobilly Night" in Poland; "Ukrabilly Explosion" in Kyiv, Visagino Country in Lithuania) as well as ethno festivals ("Pidlyasska Osin'" and "Lemkivska Vatra" both in Poland) and main rock festivals of Ukraine ("Rock Sich", "Nivroku" etc.).
During the summer of 2007 OT VINTA had a string of appearances at powerful rock festivals across the Europe - Hodokvas (Slovakia), Campus Fest (Germany), Zwarte Cross (Netherlands).
The band’s discography includes three albums:
"Dryg-Tyn-Dymba" 2002
"Darma ya nayivsya tsybuli" ("Shouldn’t have eaten so many onions") 2005
"Poperedu" ("Ahead") 2006).
A few tracks of OT VINTA can be found in collections, such as "The First Ukrainian Rockabilly Front" (1998), "Psychobilly Night" (2003/2004, Poland), "Aloha from East Europe" (2004, Russia).
Blue Suede News.CD Reveiw Gagarin Brothers / Twist Behind The Iron Curtain
I like variety and after reviewing a couple of Rockabilly albums I was ready for this - a Russian quintet! The Gagarin Brothers' music is a wildly entertaining mix of Rockabilly slap bass, 60s music from the instro rock of the Ventures and swinging bands my parents danced to, crooner type and jazzy material - all the while incorporating a hefty dose of Russian, Jewish and Eastern European music including Gypsy Jazz. While the 14 titles printed on the CD insert are in English, the Gagarin Brothers exclusively sing in Russian (and that's probably a good choice!). Alexei Cekatskii is an exceptionally good vocalist with an almost operatic voice, prominently standing out in the excellent mix of guitar, upright bass, drums and accordion - all skillfully mastered. The sound is perfect, too! Bassist Dmitry Ilyin can slap with the best of them all the while being very tasteful when it comes to the jazzier offerings. Gitarrist Alexei Andreev is in a class by himself, too. Extra hot is the dynamic opener "International Panorama" with space-age effects. Check out the Tango of "Beauty Queen", the hoppin' "Last Train", the cool "Twilight" and "Road Shuffle", the slap-heavy Bill Haley style "Sea Devil" and the Neo-Swing of Black Cat". This is just a really fun and groovy album in a 60s spirit and while it's not a Twist album per se, the Gagarin Brothers (named after the famed astronaut) twist mend and bend genres to their full advantage. -GMB -Marc Bristol www.bluesuedenews.com
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