russian prog rock

Yes some Russian progressive rock from Vespero. And very good they are too. In fact there are some imaginative and creative bands coming from all over the country these days and they deserve far more recognition in the West. Of course whether they can find contacts and have the resources to play more in other countries is the big question, but there's no question they deserve the recognition.
Fortunately Vespero haven't gone unnoticed by the ever progressive Fruits De Mer Records here in the UK and the band is leading the way with the latest batch of vinyl on the label released this November (we'll cover more of those later).
The band confirm their interests "Since the very first demos their sound has been influenced by GONG, early FLOYD, FAUST and related bands from that era"
The A side track of the new single reflects just that with their version of Pink Floyds classic "Careful With That Axe, Eugene". An ambitious cover to attempt and they do it with style.
Keith at FDM : "I'm sure whoever invented the 7" single had nothing like this in mind at the time for the format - but the guys squeeze everything they can into the grooves and it makes for epic listening"
Here's a two minute extract of just that. Get your advance order in at fruitsdemerrecords.com.

the tolstoys

So who in the West knows what's going down with bands in Russia? Sure we get to hear when one of the world rock stars like Paul McCartney get to play there but finding out what's happening with their new young bands. Not straight forward.
That changes though once you're looking around Souncloud where you're as likely to find some kid from the Ukraine with a mix going on as you are from the states or anywhere else.
So, now take The Tolstoys, by the way great name guys, they're from Ekaterinburg, right there near the Ural Mountains, and if that's no clearer get a map. Russia's big.
The Tolstoys originally started out in 2010 (as 'Ipcress') where they earned some local respect at Ekaterinburg's main music venue the Teleclub, with a damn good 60's beat sound.
"From that times many things have changed.. we became more grungy and wild... with a 'dirty' guitar sound you can find on the classic rhythm-and-blues of the 60s"
They had an an E.P. cut in July 2012 and stuck the tracks on Soundcloud.
They'll be headlining the Ekaterinburg Fiels Rock festival this year. We'll post their new video here. Russian bands don't have to be a secret.
Here's The Tolstoys - Redneck Stomp. It's proper garage rock and we dig it.