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Self-Titled Summer | KINO (КИНО) (1991, USSR)

Our next Self-Titled Summer spotlight is on number 265 on The List, submitted by roboticowl. Here’s a quick rundown:

Point of origin(s): This rock band formed in 1981 in Leningrad (the hub of the Soviet Union’s rock music scene) out of two local underground groups, Палата № 6 (“Chamber No. 6”) and Пилигримы (“Pilgrims”), originally as a trio named Гарин и гиперболоиды (“Garin and The Hyperboloids”, after 1920s sci-fi novel The Garin Death Ray). At the time of their debut album (the folk rock 45, released in 1982), КИНО (“The Movies” or “Cinema”) was only a duo of Viktor Tsoi and Aleksei Rybin, accompanied on that album by friends from local band Аквариум (“Aquarium”), who they would collaborate/share members with for years. After the release of their second studio album (the more electronic/new wave Nachalnik Kamchatki, 1984) and performance at a festival held at the Leningrad Rock Club (the first legal venue for rock music in Leningrad), КИНО’s popularity in the Soviet Union started to take off. It wasn’t until their fourth (and more post-punk) studio album though (Noch, 1986) that they had an official commercial release on an actual label…though without the group’s permission…and possibly due to the government trying to ‘prove’ there wasn’t an underground music scene, or something. Prior to Noch (and also afterwards), КИНО’s albums (as with other rock music at the time, local and bootlegged Western bands) were distributed via magnitizdat, essentially copying and recopying tapes privately and passing them onto friends to do the same, due to being unable to distribute commercially under the strict Soviet rules. Noch would sell 1 (or 2?) million copies, and a period of so-called “Kinomania” would follow. Their next album, the excellent and more political Gruppa krovi (1988), would be КИНО’s most popular album in the Soviet Union and abroad, its title track (“Blood Type”) eventually ending up on various best-of lists and even the Grand Theft Auto IV soundtrack. Fast forward to the summer of 1990, the group – now a quartet of Tsoi (vocals, rhythm guitar) plus Yuri Kasparyan (lead guitar), Igor Tikhomirov (bass, keyboards), and Georgy Guryanov (drum machine) – began recording their seventh studio album. However, on August 15, the day after they recorded a rough demo version of the album, the group’s beloved frontman and songwriter Tsoi tragically died in a car crash. The surviving members completed the album, but didn’t give it a title. It has since been named Чёрный альбом (“The Black Album“) by fans, and can be found under this title.
Tasting notes: New wave, post-punk, synth rock, a different era
Standout track: The opening track, “Жду Ответа”, which is depressing and about how summer will be over soon, so, yeah; also “Кукушка”.
Where are they now?: Following the release of this album, the band broke up for nearly 30 years. КИНО is regarded not only as a highly influential band in the Soviet/modern Russian rock scene, but also in the Russian music scene as a whole. Tsoi in particular is considered a cult hero, and memorial graffiti can be found in various places including the Tsoi Wall in Moscow. Guryanov died in 2013, but the other surviving members reunited around 2019 and have since been active again. Most of the albums have also been re-released in the last couple of years.
Websites: Band website, Bandcamp, Wikipedia

I typically say “happy listening!” but, well, that’s not the right sentiment for this album. I do encourage y’all to explore the earlier albums though, it’s definitely a cheerier experience when not ending your listening session with this album.

YouTube: КИНО – The Black Album (has English subtitles for most songs); also on Bandcamp but, as with the rest of the albums, only the first 2 songs are available for free
Discogs: КИНО – КИНО

#1990s #КИНО #Kino #music #musicDiscovery #newWave #postPunk #rock #RussianRock #selftitled #SovietUnion #ViktorTsoi