The ruble will rise again, for an hour or so Friday at least, when singer Sergei Shnurov, famous for his foul-mouthed lyrics and insubordinate attitude, takes the stage with his new group. Having disbanded the legendary St. Petersburg outfit Leningrad last fall, he has since formed a new rock quartet called Ruble that will play its debut concert in Moscow at Ikra.
The new group, which includes Leningrad members Andrei Antonyenko, Konstantin Limonov and Denis Mozhin, is heavier and harder than Leningrad's irreverent brand of ska-punk. Shnurov is as brash and outlandish a character as ever, now sporting longer hair and a scraggly beard that makes him look as if he lives at Leningradsky Station. It also complements the entourage of swear words that travel with him everywhere.
Shnurov told Russian media that Leningrad's increasingly mainstream acceptance was the reason why he disbanded the group. Once an underground success for their catchy songs and use of taboo Russian mat, or swear words, Leningrad's songs quickly became anthems for millions even though they were banned from radio and from playing in Moscow. The Moscow ban has long passed and Shnurov and the group had increasingly begun to play at corporate events and move into the mainstream.
"It seems to me that Leningrad stopped being what it had been about a year and a half ago," he told Russian Newsweek, saying they had become part of an entertainment scene he hates, "turning into something resembling a musical 'Comedy Club.'" Comedy Club is a glamorous stand-up television show that has had enormous success in recent years.
The new Ruble delivers raw, pounding rock 'n' roll that the group describe as "fitness rock." Tired of what he calls the glut of "f---ing art projects," in Russian music, Shnurov has embraced the omniscient crisis and used it as inspiration to write a series of harsh, primal songs.
"It's a typical crisis-era project," he said in his first interview about Ruble in November. "Like it was in 'Dixieland.' ... There was a similar depression in America, and this amazing style of 'bebop' started with Charlie Parker."
The only traces of bebop in Ruble's repertoire can be found in the immediacy of the recordings. Shnurov's blunt, expletive-filled lyrics are delivered in howls and growls, while the instrumental arrangements have the subtlety of a hammer.
The group's name would seem to be obviously linked to the crisis too, but it is far simpler than that. Originally, the quartet wanted to call themselves Zhelezyaka, which refers to iron, but Shnurov deferred for linguistic reasons rather than wanting to make a point about the ailing currency.
"Zhelezyaka is an incredible name, but I don't like the way it is spelled," said Shnurov. "I'm not crazy about the letter 'zhe,' and then 'le' -- they don't go well together. Now, Ruble -- it's got a great spelling.
"After listening to the material again, I realized that of course Ruble was better, and not Zhelezyaka, because it's sharp. 'Ruble' from the word 'rubit' [to chop]."
The group's songs are raw but effective. "Doshirak" named after the cheap, just-add-water noodle bowls, incorporates a blunt riff somewhere between the aesthetics of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me" and a group of cavemen who have just learned how to play guitar. "V Mire Zhivotnykh," or "In the World of Animals," brings to mind the immediacy and attitude of Nirvana's 1991 album "Nevermind." Shnurov's thoughts about the current state of rock music in Russia aren't far off from that group's disdain for the American heavy-metal scene in the 1990s.
"In Russia and the Soviet Union, no one has played real rock music as far as I can recall," he said in a recent interview. "We don't have any rock groups -- not one."
Ruble release their first official recording, a four-song EP, only on vinyl on Feb. 1, but it is just a taste of what is to come, as a full album is to follow later.
Shnurov may be crude, but he is also a precious musical commodity, reminding us that sometimes the most primal creations are the ones that accurately capture a collective mood.
Ruble plays Friday, Jan. 30, at Ikra, located at 8A Ulitsa Kazakova. Metro Kurskaya. 778-5651 for tickets. www.ikraclub.ru. The group's web site, www.ru-bl.ru, has YouTube footage of the few concerts Ruble has played and downloadable mp3s.
The new group, which includes Leningrad members Andrei Antonyenko, Konstantin Limonov and Denis Mozhin, is heavier and harder than Leningrad's irreverent brand of ska-punk. Shnurov is as brash and outlandish a character as ever, now sporting longer hair and a scraggly beard that makes him look as if he lives at Leningradsky Station. It also complements the entourage of swear words that travel with him everywhere.
Shnurov told Russian media that Leningrad's increasingly mainstream acceptance was the reason why he disbanded the group. Once an underground success for their catchy songs and use of taboo Russian mat, or swear words, Leningrad's songs quickly became anthems for millions even though they were banned from radio and from playing in Moscow. The Moscow ban has long passed and Shnurov and the group had increasingly begun to play at corporate events and move into the mainstream.
"It seems to me that Leningrad stopped being what it had been about a year and a half ago," he told Russian Newsweek, saying they had become part of an entertainment scene he hates, "turning into something resembling a musical 'Comedy Club.'" Comedy Club is a glamorous stand-up television show that has had enormous success in recent years.
The new Ruble delivers raw, pounding rock 'n' roll that the group describe as "fitness rock." Tired of what he calls the glut of "f---ing art projects," in Russian music, Shnurov has embraced the omniscient crisis and used it as inspiration to write a series of harsh, primal songs.
"It's a typical crisis-era project," he said in his first interview about Ruble in November. "Like it was in 'Dixieland.' ... There was a similar depression in America, and this amazing style of 'bebop' started with Charlie Parker."
The only traces of bebop in Ruble's repertoire can be found in the immediacy of the recordings. Shnurov's blunt, expletive-filled lyrics are delivered in howls and growls, while the instrumental arrangements have the subtlety of a hammer.
The group's name would seem to be obviously linked to the crisis too, but it is far simpler than that. Originally, the quartet wanted to call themselves Zhelezyaka, which refers to iron, but Shnurov deferred for linguistic reasons rather than wanting to make a point about the ailing currency.
"Zhelezyaka is an incredible name, but I don't like the way it is spelled," said Shnurov. "I'm not crazy about the letter 'zhe,' and then 'le' -- they don't go well together. Now, Ruble -- it's got a great spelling.
"After listening to the material again, I realized that of course Ruble was better, and not Zhelezyaka, because it's sharp. 'Ruble' from the word 'rubit' [to chop]."
The group's songs are raw but effective. "Doshirak" named after the cheap, just-add-water noodle bowls, incorporates a blunt riff somewhere between the aesthetics of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me" and a group of cavemen who have just learned how to play guitar. "V Mire Zhivotnykh," or "In the World of Animals," brings to mind the immediacy and attitude of Nirvana's 1991 album "Nevermind." Shnurov's thoughts about the current state of rock music in Russia aren't far off from that group's disdain for the American heavy-metal scene in the 1990s.
"In Russia and the Soviet Union, no one has played real rock music as far as I can recall," he said in a recent interview. "We don't have any rock groups -- not one."
Ruble release their first official recording, a four-song EP, only on vinyl on Feb. 1, but it is just a taste of what is to come, as a full album is to follow later.
Shnurov may be crude, but he is also a precious musical commodity, reminding us that sometimes the most primal creations are the ones that accurately capture a collective mood.
Ruble plays Friday, Jan. 30, at Ikra, located at 8A Ulitsa Kazakova. Metro Kurskaya. 778-5651 for tickets. www.ikraclub.ru. The group's web site, www.ru-bl.ru, has YouTube footage of the few concerts Ruble has played and downloadable mp3s.
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