Open Space is a

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

and

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band from

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

. Formed in 2006 with an English repertoire and a few Belarusian songs, they later adapted mostly

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

lyrics. The band has released two full

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

s and several EPs and

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, but in recent years the musicians play together mostly as a

cover band A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. ...

. Since 2017, frontman Vitaliy Matievskiy has focused on his synth-pop duo Days of Days, and since 2018 he also writes music for his solo

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

project MATIVI.

History

Open Space was formed in 2006 by Seva Maslov (bass) and Vitaliiy Matievsky (vocals, guitar). They were later joined by Maxim Mestovskiy (guitar) and Andrey Malashenko (drums). In 2007 the band recorded their first demo EP ''Wake Up'' at the Graffity club in Minsk. They began performing regularly in Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. In 2008 they released the 5-song EP ''Beautiful''. In 2009 the band was nominated as Best New Artist at the annual Rock Coronation Awards in Belarus. In 2010 they won the award for Best Pop-Rock Band. Open Space released their first full-length album '' Deal With Silence'' on the local label West Records in 2010. Also in 2010, the band played on main stages at the

Be2gether Be2gether or B2G was the largest annual music and arts festival in Baltic countries. Established in 2007, it took place in Norviliškės, Lithuania, just a few meters from the border with Belarus. In 2007, attendance was estimated at around 7,00 ...

and

Basovišča Basóvišča (pronounced ; Music Festival of Young Belarus) is the festival of Belarusian alternative and rock music, which is annually conducted by the Belarusian Association of Students since 1990. The festival takes place during two July ...

music festivals. The EP ''Let It Go'' was released later that year. Their second full-length album ''Pressure'' was released in 2012. At the 2012 National Music Awards presented by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus and Capital TV, Open Space was honored as Best Rock Band.

Musical style

A columnist for the newspaper

Muzykalnaya Gazeta Muzykalnaya Gazeta was a Belarusian weekly newspaper covered music and show business. History It was founded in Minsk by publisher Anatoĺ Kiriuškin (Publishing house ”Nestor“) in 1996. The newspaper came out once a week initially, later o ...

described the Open Space sound: “It felt like an overdose of

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...

in the music. The only difference is that it is easier, more primitive, not so nice, and does not cling.” The band has been noted for memorable dance rhythms decorated with heavy guitars. The band has “clinging, catchy songs designed for a wide audience,” wrote the Belarusian music portal LiveSound, and “Open Space is a very strong band. The guys play great and will play for a very long time”. The same publication described the sound of the band as soft

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...

, played very smoothly and professionally, though it is occasionally “boring”. In 2010 hosts from

European Radio for Belarus European Radio for Belarus (Eŭrapéjskaje Rádyjo dla Biełarúsi, ERB, Euroradio.fm) is an international radio station that provides independent news, information, and entertainment to the citizens of Belarus launched on February 26, 2006. ERB ...

noted that the band is often confused with

Hair Peace Salon Hair Peace Salon is a power pop band from Minsk, Belarus, influenced by British indie rock. Hair Peace Salon's music is distinguished by its use of English lyrics with emotional flow and drastic mood swings in songs. The group was founded in 19 ...

and

Band members

* Vitaliy Matievskiy (lead vocals,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

) (2006–) * Artem Buryakin ( solo guitar, backing vocals) (2013–) * Seva Maslov (

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, backing vocals) (2006–) * Andrey Malashenko ( drums) (2006–) ;Former members * Maxim Mestovskiy ( solo guitar, backing vocals) (2006–2012) * Roman Sorakaletov ( solo guitar, backing vocals) (2013) ;Timeline

Discography

* ''Wake Up'' (EP, 2007) * ''Beautiful'' (EP, 2008) * '' Deal With Silence'' (LP, 2009) * ''Let It Go'' (EP, 2010) * ''Bookseller'' (EP, 2011) *''Do You Remember'' (maxi single, 2012) * ''

Pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and e ...

'' (LP, 2012) * ''Сделай Шаг'' (single, 2014)

Participation in collections

*''«APS Sound» Volume 1'' (2012)

Press

Ultra-Music.com "Deal With Silence review", January 30 2010

Far From Moscow "Cambridge and Open Space: Pacific Fairy Tales and a Belarusian Happy Ending", January 6 2010

Rolling Stone #65 January 2010, Disc review

Far from Moscow "Open Space: Beautiful", January 23 2009

Adekvat.us Open Space - Beautiful review, May 2008

Livesound.by Boudless rock, May 2008

Relax.by Beautiful presentation review, April 2008

Euroradio.fm presentation review, April 2008

Relax.by press release for Beautiful EP, April 2008

Livesound.by concert review, November 2007

Xlam.by concert review, November 2007

Livesound.by disc review, September 2007

Press release for Wake Up EP, September 2007

British Spirit vol.1 concert, 3 May 2007

Livesound.by portal review, June 2007

Notes

{{Authority control Belarusian rock music groups Belarusian indie rock groups Musical groups established in 2006