Sovietwave (also styled Soviet wave or Soviet-wave) is a subgenre of

synthwave Synthwave (also called outrun, retrowave, or futuresynth) is an electronic music microgenre that is based predominantly on the music associated with action, science-fiction, and horror film soundtracks of the 1980s. Other influences are drawn fr ...

music and an online aesthetic which originates from a number of

post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

, primarily

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. It is characterized by themes associated with the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

(such as Soviet-style space age technology, military parades, apartment blocks etc.) and is part of the cultural phenomenon of

nostalgia for the Soviet Union The social phenomenon of nostalgia for the era of the Soviet Union (russian: links=no, Ностальгия по СССР, Nostal'giya po SSSR), can include its politics, its society, its culture, its superpower status, or simply its aesth ...

."Russia's musical new wave embraces Soviet chic: Nostalgic young musicians seek connection to culture of the past"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

History of the genre

The first attempts to bring Soviet nostalgia to modern music began in the 2000s, when

trance music Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged from the British new-age music scene and the early 1990s German techno and hardcore scenes. Trance music is characterized by a tempo generally lying between 135–150 beats per minute ( ...

was at the peak of its popularity. Trance music duo PPK used the melodies of Soviet electronic music as the basis of their compositions. "''Electrosound nostalgia''" appeared in the mid-2010s, which is when the genre started to become more well defined. The main inspirations for composers of Sovietwave are often the emotions and collective cultural memories associated with the Soviet Union during the 1980s. Lyudmila Shevchenko, a scholar from the

Jan Kochanowski University Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce ''( pl, Uniwersytet Jana Kochanowskiego w Kielcach)'', formerly the Holy Cross Academy ''( pl, Akademia Świętokrzyska)'' and the Jan Kochanowski University of Humanities and Sciences ''( pl, Uniwersytet Huma ...

, notes that the genre is one of the manifestations of the “''nostalgic myth''”, a “''vivid, sensual and lively''” mythical image based on the recent past. Sovietwave became popular in most post-Soviet countries in the second half of the 2010s.REVIVAL OF SOVIET ELECTRO // «Boombarash» magazine № 7/2015
Интервью с группой «Артек Электроника» It is related to the global proliferation of the synthwave genre, and the phenomenon of nostalgia for 1980s Soviet culture within previous Soviet-bloc states. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Sovietwave experienced a growth in popularity, along with other subgenres of

vaporwave Vaporwave is a microgenre of electronic music, visual art style, and Internet meme that emerged in the early 2010s. It is defined partly by its slowed-down, chopped and screwed samples of smooth jazz, elevator music, elevator, contemporary ...

, synthwave, and, to a lesser extent,

doomer Doomer and, by extension, doomerism are terms which arose primarily on the Internet to describe people who are extremely pessimistic or fatalist about global problems such as overpopulation, peak oil, climate change, and pollution. Some doomers ...

music. This upsurge was driven, in large part, by the success of the Belarusian post-punk band

Molchat Doma Molchat Doma (russian: Молчат Дома, , Houses Are Silent, ) is a Russian-singing Belarus, Belarusian post-punk band from Minsk, formed in 2017. Their current lineup consists of Egor Shkutko (vocals), Roman Komogortsev (guitar, synthesizer ...

on the social media platform, TikTok, where the group's song Судно (Борис Рыжий) from the album ''

Etazhi ''Etazhi'' (, ru , text=Этажи , translation=Storey, Floors) is the second studio album by Belarusian post-punk band Molchat Doma, first released on 7 September 2018 through Detriti Records. Following the band's signing with Sacred Bones Recor ...

'' became a popular meme which, according to Cat Zhang of ''Pitchfork'' connects with Generation-Z's "deep pessimism towards the future". As lockdowns continued across the Western world, Molchat Doma's propulsion of Sovietwave into the mainstream spawned multiple compilations of the genre on music streaming websites, such as Spotify and YouTube, which feature more overt nostalgia for Soviet and space age aesthetics, despite the Belarusian group's criticism of the genre for "fail ngto recognize the harsh realities of life in the region".

Style

Sovietwave is based on modern electronic music trends such as

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

ambient Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to: Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds * Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere * ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby * ...

and

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

, as well as the electronic music of the late Soviet Union.Ridus. RU. Andrey Krasnoshchekov: Electrosound nostalgia. In Russian
/ref> Despite Sovietwave's widespread use of sampling from radio programs and speeches, the genre is not overtly political. Sovietwave music is characterized by an emphasis on the cultural, political and scientific aspects of

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

citizen life,Yandex.Zen. Musical hearse: SovietWave - Nostalgia in every note. In Russian
/ref> with excerpts from educational films and speeches by Soviet statesmen being used primarily to create a nostalgic experience for the listener. Sovietwave usually reflects dreams about space and progress which disappeared with the USSR, together with positive childhood reminiscences and utopic, philanthropic hopes. The genre is influenced by the music of old Soviet films and cartoons, such as ''

The Mystery of the Third Planet ''The Mystery of the Third Planet'' (russian: Тайна третьей планеты, ''Tayna tretyey planety''), aka ''The Secret of the Third Planet'' is a 1981 Soviet traditionally animated feature film directed by Roman Kachanov and produc ...

'', ''

Guest from the Future ''Visitor from the Future'' (russian: Гостья из будущего, ''Gostya iz budushchego'' lit Guest from the future) is a five-part Soviet children's science fiction television miniseries, made at Gorky Film Studio, first aired in 1985 ...

'', ''

The Adventures of the Elektronic ''The Adventures of Electronic'' (russian: Приключения Электроника, translit. Priklyucheniya Elektronika) is a 1979 Soviet children's science fiction TV miniseries, directed by Konstantin Bromberg. The series' screenpl ...

'', ''

Courier A courier is a person or organisation that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...

'', ''

Leopold the Cat ''Leopold the Cat'' (russian: Кот Леопольд, ''Kot Leopold'') is a Soviet/Russian animated short film series about a good-natured and prudent cat, Leopold. Leopold always wears a bow tie even when swimming. Throughout the series, he has ...

'', ''

Moscow-Cassiopeia ''Moscow- Cassiopeia'' (russian: Москва — Кассиопея, Moskva-Kassiopeya) is a Soviet comic science fiction film directed by Richard Viktorov based on a script by Isai Kuznetsov and Avenir Zak. Followed by ''Teens in the Universe'' ...

'', ''

Office Romance ''Office Romance'' (russian: links=no, italic=yes, Служебный роман, Sluzhebny roman) is a 1977 Soviet comedy film directed by Eldar Ryazanov. The film's plot is based on the stageplay ''Co-workers'' (') written by Ryazanov and Emil B ...

'', '' One Hundred Days After Childhood'', ''

Three from Prostokvashino ''Three from Prostokvashino'' (russian: Трое из Простоквашино, r=Troye iz Prostokvashino) is a 1978 Soviet animated film based on the children's book '' Uncle Fedya, His Dog, and His Cat'' by Eduard Uspensky. The film has two s ...

'', comedies of

Leonid Gaidai Leonid Iovich Gaidai (russian: Леонид Иович Гайдай; 30 January 1923 – 19 November 1993) was a Soviet and Russian comedy film director, screenwriter and actor who enjoyed immense popularity and broad public recognition in the fo ...

, old episodes of ''

Yeralash ''Yeralash'' ( rus, Ералаш, p=jɪrɐˈlaʂ) is a Russian children's comedy TV show and magazine. Yeralash also runs an actor studio and the "Yeralash Island" camp. The word ''eralash'' means "mixed, mishmash" or "jumble" and is taken from ...

'', and others. Common influences of the genre are soviet composers

Eduard Artemyev Eduard Nikolayevich Artemyev ( rus, Эдуа́рд Никола́евич Арте́мьев, p=ɨdʊˈart ɐrˈtʲemʲjɪf; born 30 November 1937) is a Soviet and Russian composer of electronic music and film scores. Outside of Russia, he is ...

Aleksandr Zatsepin Aleksandr Sergeyevich Zatsepin (russian: Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Заце́пин; born 10 March 1926) is a Soviet and Russian composer, known for his soundtracks to movies, notably comedies directed by Leonid Gaidai. People's ...

and music groups

Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the Sun path, apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. ...

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

,«Причём объявил нас сам Эдуард Артемьев!». In Russian
/ref> Forum, Mayak, and New Collection. However, the genre is also influenced by the work of western artists popular in the USSR, such as

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...

, Digital Emotion,

Modern Talking Modern Talking was a German pop music duo consisting of arranger, songwriter and producer Dieter Bohlen and singer Thomas Anders. They have been referred to as Germany's most successful pop duo, and have had a number of hit singles, reaching th ...

References

External links

The Guardian
Russia’s musical new wave embraces Soviet chic
History & Culture Academy of Latgale
The Nostalgic Phenom of the Sovietwave Music
Peek-a-boo music magazine
SOVIETWAVE. Cosmonauts' day special
Internet radio station «Советская волна»
24-hour broadcasting music in the genre sovietwave.
Soviet Nostalgia Now Has Its Own Soundtrack
''

Jacobin , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = Pa ...

''. February 19, 2022. {{Electronica 2010s in music Nostalgia for the Soviet Union Retro style Russian music Synthwave 2010s neologisms

History of the genre

Style

See also

References

External links